Underwater Energy Cable in N.Y. Unused During Blackout

[DeathvadeR]

The 24-mile-long cable, running between Connecticut and New York, can supply energy to about 330,000 homes. It is buried beneath the Long Island Sound to avoid mucking up the waterfront or obstructing large ships. And it's ready to use.

But when the electric grid that crisscrosses the East Coast faltered this week, the underwater cable remained idle, just as it has for the past 15 months. Despite repeated pleas from New York to flip the switch to lighten the load on the region's overburdened grid, Connecticut has blocked its activation, arguing that the cable is not buried deeply enough under the water in at least seven places to meet state permit requirements.

"It is the worst form of parochialism I have ever heard of," said Richard M. Kessel, chairman of the Long Island Power Authority, which has a 20-year lease on the cable. "The electric-transmission system in this county must be above politics."

<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1299-2003Aug15.html>

[NNN0LHI]

1. I am not registered with the Post so I am not sure if this is mentioned?

The worry of turning it on is that some experts believe that the low frequency noise emitted by these underwater lines will ruin the shellfishing business in these areas. Could cost many fishermen their livelihoods? Other experts do not agree with this assessment.

But this is not a case of politics, or really even an ecological problem. It seems more like a jobs problem. It could put many people out of work in a worse case scenerio.

I don't know who to believe on this, though if you have ever been near overhead high voltage lines you have probably heard the buzzing noise created by them? Underwater that noise would carry far further then the above ground lines due to underwater acoustics.

I can see both sides of this arguement and would like to see a study done that was truly impartial before someone makes a definitive decision on this.

Don

[karlschneider]

2. We have some 440 KV lines running just over the edge of our yard, we

don't worry about them. I did see Pataki on TV yesterday saying they had 'energized' those lines though...

[Dover]

3. It sounds like the issue is that they aren't buried deep enough.

If that truly is the reason then I wonder if that would eliminate the buzzing sound you are talking about?

[DeathvadeR]

4. Lets not forget EMF questions as well.

[NNN0LHI]

8. I don't think it is buried at all?

I assumed it was just laying on the ocean floor? Not sure though?

Don

[NYC]

6. The article says:

...environmental groups and elected leaders in Connecticut assailed the project, which they claimed would imperil the rich shellfish colonies that live at the base of the sound.

[deneb]

5. The cable is in use now

Although it wasn't in use during the blackout, the cross-sound cable is apparently in use now and it's claimed to have helped as power was brought back up on LI.

From Newsday

"They attributed part of the success of getting Long Island out of the dark to a federal order Friday allowing the first use of the controversial Cross-Sound cable, which runs from New Haven, Conn., to Shoreham. Connecticut officials have fought against its use, arguing it would boost energy prices and negatively impact the environment.

Without the order, however, thousands of customers across Long Island who had power restored on Friday would have seen blackouts, Kessel said, heralding the cable as a "national symbol of how we need to enhance our infrastructure."

The order is in effect until Sept. 1, although LIPA officials said yesterday they hope it is extended."

[evworldeditor]

7. Time Cover Story Urges Switch to Distributed Generation

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101030825-476272,00.html

There's nothing like a multistate summertime blackout to get environmentalists and industry groups throwing spitballs at one another. Extreme greens wag told-you-so fingers and dream anew about a grid-free country, with homeowners generating their own power courtesy of clean, renewable energy sources. Industry types speak instead about building new nuclear or conventional power plants or muscling up existing ones-and delivering all the juice through a modernized distribution system.

In this instance, both sides are right-to a degree. While centralized power will probably always be with us, the best way to upgrade the energy grid may well involve doing away with some of it, democratizing energy production by handing the job off to communities, blocks and even private homes.

Long before last week's blackout, environmentalists and industry researchers had begun evaluating the idea of "power parks"-communities or mere groups of homes that would generate their own energy courtesy of solar panels, wind turbines, fuel cells or natural-gas generators. The little clusters could be almost entirely self-sufficient, relying on the grid only in the event that they needed to top themselves off with a sip or two of outside power. Just as important, they would have the freedom to disconnect from the larger network entirely if a regional crash was threatening to knock them off-line along with the bigger consumers. Similar independent systems could be used to provide power to individual users with especially big energy appetites, such as factories or hospitals.

-----------------------------
"The Future In Motion"
http://www.evworld.com

[evworldeditor]

9. Argument for Grid-connected Hybrids

As strange as it might sound, a strong case can be made for restructing the grid to permit a new class of hybrid-electric, fuel cell and battery electric cars to both receive power from and return power to the grid.

A Vehicle2Grid or V2G hybrid would have the ability to not only have its batteries recharged from the grid, but to also act as load levelers and "spinning reserve" for the grid, the most expensive form of electrical power. A few rather simply modifications to the onboard power electronics of hybrids like the Toyota Prius or Honda Civic would enable them to not only provide backup power to your home, but with sufficient battery capacity, could serve as power storage "banks" for the local grid. Best of all, vehicle owners might actually be paid by the utility to provide this capability, some estimates range as high as $3,000 annually.

Unfortunately, none of today's hybrids or those currently on the drawing boards offer this capability, but maybe the blackout last week might serve as a wakeup call to both utilities, regulators and the auto industry to start giving this notion some serious consideration.

--------------------------
"The Future In Motion"
http://www.evworld.com

[Gloria]

10. Someone better tell CNN...I saw a blonde reporter

from CNN on Long Island reporting that the cable was set to be able to use in the emergency if needed because Pataki had worked it out....in fact, she injected a little political praise for Pataki at the very end....which pissed me off!

Now, this may have been the next day, to prevent a lot of rolling or further blackouts..

But the name Pataki was in the report, how he had made some phone calls and gotten the cable online....