I can already see the Right Of Way disputes

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

Environment

PG&E Will Bury 10,000 Miles of Power Lines So They Don't Spark Wildfires


July 21, 2021 • Pacific Gas & Electric expects to spend at least $15 billion on the effort to prevent its fraying grid from igniting trees and other vegetation across drought-stricken California.

PG&E Will Bury 10,000 Miles of Power Lines So They Don't Spark Wildfires

Pacific Gas & Electric expects to spend at least $15 billion on the effort to prevent its fraying grid from igniting trees and other vegetation across drought-stricken California.

www.npr.org

You ain't gonna dig up my fancy lawn!!!!

 

[dank69]

They're called easements and good luck blocking them.

 

[ivwshane]

Not only that but they are already on the land. Who wouldn’t want to see telephone poles go away on their property (assuming it’s their property).

 

[cytg111]

Well its probably harder to siphon power from those new insulated under ground cables.

 

[Greenman]

They already have the right of way. The $284 dollar a foot price tag seems a bit steep, but since PG&E isn't paying for it they probably don't care.

 

[Brainonska511]

They're called easements and good luck blocking them.

People have already weaponized environmental review laws to try and block conversions of car lanes in cities into bike/bus lanes. I wouldn't be surprised if some disgruntled person tried to use a similar approach here. It likely won't be successful, but it could still lead to delays.

 

[Jhhnn]

They already have the right of way. The $284 dollar a foot price tag seems a bit steep, but since PG&E isn't paying for it they probably don't care.

I'm sure it's a small fraction of the price per foot of the border wall...

 

[sandorski]

They already have the right of way. The $284 dollar a foot price tag seems a bit steep, but since PG&E isn't paying for it they probably don't care.

Cable, Equipment, Fuel, Crew, and Time adds up.

 

[MichaelMay]

I'm sure it's a small fraction of the price per foot of the border wall...

The wall cost $8700 per foot on average so yeah.

 

[Franz316]

Can they use the same cable or will it all need replaced with something insulated in a pipe? I would guess they need to leave the existing cables in place while they work. This seems like a massive undertaking but worthwhile.

 

[dank69]

Can they use the same cable or will it all need replaced with something insulated in a pipe? I would guess they need to leave the existing cables in place while they work. This seems like a massive undertaking but worthwhile.

Should have been done a long time ago everywhere.

 

[JTsyo]

Environment

PG&E Will Bury 10,000 Miles of Power Lines So They Don't Spark Wildfires


July 21, 2021 • Pacific Gas & Electric expects to spend at least $15 billion on the effort to prevent its fraying grid from igniting trees and other vegetation across drought-stricken California.

PG&E Will Bury 10,000 Miles of Power Lines So They Don't Spark Wildfires

Pacific Gas & Electric expects to spend at least $15 billion on the effort to prevent its fraying grid from igniting trees and other vegetation across drought-stricken California.

www.npr.org

You ain't gonna dig up my fancy lawn!!!!

It's to prevent wildfires, right? So this won't be people yards, it'll mostly be government owned land.

 

[Amol S.]

New York City had it's wiring below ground since I do not know when. The only requirement to make the end result good, is to ensure that the wires are placed underground in a hollow conduit of concrete. Otherwise there could be a short and mass power outage everytime it rains hard.

 

[Moonbeam]

Can they run air conditioning pipes from Antarctica and water from the melting glaciers?

 

[MrSquished]

Can they run air conditioning pipes from Antarctica and water from the melting glaciers?

Anything is possible, after all the conservatives have managed to connect a pipe from Trump's ass into every Republicans brain cavity.

 

[dank69]

Can they run air conditioning pipes from Antarctica and water from the melting glaciers?

I'm already snapping up all the prime real estate down there. The parts that will remain once the ice is gone.

 

[Jhhnn]

It's utterly impractical to bury high voltage transmission cables in steep rocky terrain. A lot of pylons in remote locations are actually set with helicopters. The roads to bring in necessary equipment are temporary & turn into Jeep trails over the years. A former co-worker had worked in the industry & kept a short section of 6" dia underground cable on his toolbox, like this-

https://spectrum.ieee.org/image/MzAwNzI1OQ.jpeg

 

[BoomerD]

Can they use the same cable or will it all need replaced with something insulated in a pipe? I would guess they need to leave the existing cables in place while they work. This seems like a massive undertaking but worthwhile.

Overhead wires are just bare copper alloy. The underground cables are heavily insulated and shielded/grounded...and have to be in conduit.

I worked for an electrical utility in NorCal for several years...often using a crane to help the underground crews pull wire in new subdivisions.

 

[Zorba]

Overhead wires are just bare copper alloy. The underground cables are heavily insulated and shielded/grounded...and have to be in conduit.

I worked for an electrical utility in NorCal for several years...often using a crane to help the underground crews pull wire in new subdivisions.

Around here the overhead cables are Aluminum. I think that is the standard pretty much everywhere. Much less cost and weight.

There is one high voltage line outside of Tulsa that is copper, built during Vietnam when aluminum was hard to come by. You can pretty easily tell from the ground if you know to look. My grandfather used to be a lead transmission line engineer for PSO.

 

[Moonbeam]

I'm already snapping up all the prime real estate down there. The parts that will remain once the ice is gone.

Now aren't you full of inuituity. No worries, though. It's a good thing to have a sham'an being bipolar.

 

[BoomerD]

Around here the overhead cables are Aluminum. I think that is the standard pretty much everywhere. Much less cost and weight.

There is one high voltage line outside of Tulsa that is copper, built during Vietnam when aluminum was hard to come by. You can pretty easily tell from the ground if you know to look. My grandfather used to be a lead transmission line engineer for PSO.

I see that most are aluminum/steel. Makes sense. I'm still sure the primary (12kv)were a copper alloy back in the 80's and early 90's. The actual"HIGH VOLTAGE) transmission lines were some kind of aluminum back then.