Richland, WA - A simple challenge by a utility lineman to his brother-in-law resulted in the creation of a manufacturing company with the potential for creating hundreds of new private sector jobs in the Pacific Northwest - perhaps in the Tri-Cities.

McCombs accepted that challenge and embarked upon a decade-plus research and development effort to find a material that could be configured economically into various power delivery components, yet was safer and stronger than current materials. This quest led McCombs to a close association with W. Brandt Goldsworthy, who is known as the father of composites in the plastics industry.

Their work resulted in a CPC patent on a lightweight composite pole with greater strength than steel and longer life than wood. And the product provides much greater safety for linemen in the field.

Additional system benefits
"Composites are being used today in power delivery systems, but the cost is high," McCombs said. "I realized we needed to get costs down. Our technology solution does just that. I also realized that there was significant potential for additional income to utility companies and greater reliability and environmental benefits to consumers from our composite based delivery system."

The energy delivery system envisioned for utilities by CPC consists of many different elements that can be incorporated as needed to meet customer requirements. The key component is a lightweight reinforced composite pole. In addition, telecommunications, energy storage and smart sensing and monitoring capabilities are design features available to utilities. Utilities and their customers will benefit with cost savings, increased safety and environmental gains.

The president's energy plan released in 2001 painted a bleak picture of this country's transmission infrastructure. "More electricity is being shipped longer distances over a transmission system that was initially designed only to provide limited power and reserve sharing among neighboring utilities.

"Over the next 10 years demand for electricity is expected to increase about 25 percent. ... However, under current plans electric transmission capacity will increase by only 4 percent. This shortage could lead to serious transmission congestion and reliability problems."

Recent government reports point out the potential for serious congestion and reliability problems based on today's need for electricity.

Supporting national energy policy
The CPC system offers many advantages over traditional power delivery systems to correct congestion and reliability problems. Line losses are significantly less and maintenance costs are low, which also directly benefits energy consumers.
"Another significant source of loss in power transmission is caused by alternating currents carried with current conductor technology," said CPC Chief Engineer Tom Erickson. "We've developed a better cable that overcomes many of the drawbacks of older technologies."

The transmission cable is just one of many components in CPC's composite-based power transmission system. The remaining components of the CPC system with their nonconductive, nontoxic features offer attractive environmental and safety considerations important to utilities.

The total system provides significantly more power at a lower cost, compared with conventional means used today, and is relatively lightweight, easily transported and installed.

The system also provides opportunities to use existing utility rights-of-way (including gas and oil pipelines), which will help alleviate the transmission gridlock problem and enable power to move easily from regions with abundant power to regions with power shortages without the construction of additional generation facilities. "This system can help support national energy independence and homeland security goals," McCombs added.

Manufacturing
CPC has spent more than a decade researching, developing and patenting a state-of-the-art power delivery system. It has developed and tested a manufacturing process that will reduce costs and showcase the strengths of its system.

The company will manufacture its composite hardware using a process called pultrusion - a highly automated process for the manufacture of parts made with composite materials. In this process, fiber filaments are coated with resins and continuously pulled through a heated die. The manufacturing activities associated with the energy delivery system will result in numerous skilled, family-wage jobs.

CPC plans to establish two manufacturing operations, one for composite structures and the other for an energy storage system. The company estimates the resultant employment level would exceed 500 in full production. These will include engineers, skilled white- and blue-collar workers and laborers.

CPC currently is evaluating a number of sites for its manufacturing operations, with two of the most promising sites located in the Pacific Northwest.

"While we are looking at a number of different locations, we would prefer to locate our entire operation here in the Tri-Cities," McCombs said. "Special encouragement five years ago by one of TRIDEC's 3161-funded partners, together with the excellent local infrastructure for launching innovative energy-related projects, makes us want to locate that manufacturing plant right here in the Tri-Cities.

"We hope we can establish a strong foothold and bring good jobs and more manufacturing to this area."