Challenge:
Sustainable Transmission
Insulators are a fundamental element of our installations and it is key to keep them clean.
How to reduce or eliminate the use of water? How to prevent them from getting dirty? How to keep them cleaner for longer?
Context
The insulators are a fundamental element of our installations. It is used to join the cable (conductor) with the transmission tower. It’s made of a non-conductive material, which allows the electricity – that passes through – to continue its way without having contact with the tower (steel). If the latter occurs, it creates a short circuit.
The insulators must be clean, since dirt decreases their insulating capacity and increases their conductive capacity, ceasing to fulfill their objective. As they are exposed to the environment, they tend to be contaminated with salt, dust, sand, chemical residues (from industrial plants), and bird droppings, among others.
Currently, we have two methods that we use to keep the insulators clean. The first one – the one we use the most – consists of periodic washing with pressurized desalinated water. The second one consists of a one-time application of a non-stick silicone coating to prevent dirt from accumulating, which replaces regular cleaning but is expensive.
The challenge
The challenge is to keep the insulators clean as long as possible and to optimize the current methodologies of maintenance to reduce their periodicity. Cleanliness must be obtained while avoiding water use, considering it is a scarce resource. Furthermore, we look for solutions to keep birds away and safe from the structures and the insulators with the same end goal. That should also prevent them from being exposed to dangers such as electric shocks.
What are we looking for?
This challenge seeks solutions, technologies, chemicals, models, techniques, platforms, tools, capacities, etc., aimed at reducing the use of water resources, transforming the way the cleaning process is carried out, and safeguarding the birds by keeping them away from the facilities. The end goal is to keep the insulators clean as long as possible, so the energy transmission is constant.
Guiding questions
Below you can find some questions that will allow you to broaden your vision regarding the problems and the opportunities associated with the challenge. Your solution does not need to solve all the variables to apply:
- How could we reduce or eliminate water use in cleaning the insulators?
- How could we prevent the insulators from getting dirty?
- How could we reduce the cost of cleaning the insulators?
- How could we protect birds so they do not settle on towers that could harm them?
- How could we keep the insulators clean for a longer time?
- How could we prevent bird waste from being deposited on the insulators?
- How could we avoid short circuits due to dirty insulators?
- How could we isolate the conductor of the tower without maintenance?
We take your existing solution or co-create one, test it in our facilities and, if successful, scale it commercially.
