Berkeley Lab Releases Beta Version of Transmission Upgrade Planning Tool

As the United States expands its clean energy capacity, it also needs more transmission bandwidth. Reconductoring—a power industry term for replacing cables on existing transmission towers—is one way to expand the nation’s transmission capacity.

To help assess reconductoring projects, researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have developed the Reconductoring Economic and Financial Analysis (REFA) tool. Berkeley Lab recently released a beta version of the free and publicly available tool, which provides a simple and practical calculation of the overall economic and financial performance of reconductoring solutions, including advanced conductor technology solutions.

Utility transmission planners can use REFA to better understand the financial, environmental, and economic benefits of reconductoring upgrades, using traditional or advanced conductors. REFA allows planners to evaluate infrastructure investment options, economic performance of different conductor types, and benefits such as greenhouse gas reductions. The tool can also be used to communicate options to non-technical audiences.

To learn more about REFA and access the tool, visit: http://refa.lbl.gov