Best Transmission Structure Can Sometimes be None at All
Photos: INMR ©
No matter what their style or shape, a transmission structure is often seen as an unwanted distraction, especially when there is a place of unspoiled natural beauty. One such location is a mountaintop located outside of Cape Town, South Africa offering sweeping panoramas of the coastline.
Yet two important transmission lines must climb and traverse this same point on route to a nearby hydropower generating station.
The unique solution employed by local engineers has been termed‘ the hidden tower’, inasmuch as phase conductors are suspended from two rocky protrusions on the mountain using a clever arrangement of spacers to substitute for a structure. Adjoining towers on either side are then discretely‘ tucked away’ just below the mountain’ s crest on one side and among a grove of tall trees on the other.
Part 2 of this article will appear in Q3, 2013
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