3M™ Aluminum Conductor Composite Reinforced Customer Installations - Permitting New Construction

Under an agreement with the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA), Aha Macav installed a new four-mile 3M ACCR line linking a new substation in Arizona to a switchyard in Needles, CA, a city on the western bank of the Colorado River. Using 3M ACCR enabled the use of shorter towers that matched the height of an adjacent line. This meant the line had to be permitted by only one agency, compared to multiple agencies if taller towers were used.

The new line substantially boosts power capacity and reliability for Needles and the surrounding area, which have been plagued by frequent electricity outages in recent years, often during periods of extreme high temperature. The Fort Mojave Tribe, whose reservation encompasses portions of eastern California, southern Nevada and western Arizona, is one of only a handful of tribes served by its own utility.

Grand Bahama Power, which serves Grand Bahama Island’s 45,000 residences, needed a new 69 kV transmission line for a new residential, hotel and recreational development, as well as near-by communities. 3M supplied 3M ACCR 300 -T16 (150 mm²) for the line, a smaller diameter conductor than otherwise required, allowing shorter composite poles and smaller foundations and improving corrosion and wind resistance in an area subject to hurricanes, while meeting clearances over energized lines and transportation crossings.