Great River Energy hung bowling-ball sensors on its lines and gained up to 42.8% capacity

In March 2024 Fast Company, republishing Inside Climate News, reported that Great River Energy, which supplies rural electric cooperatives in Minnesota, announced the installation of 52 sensors on lines across the state. The sensors are made by Norway's Heimdall Power and are about the size of a bowling ball.

Each sensor measures the real-time temperature of a transmission line, letting the operator safely increase the power flowing through it. The technology had grown in popularity in Europe in recent years while staying on the fringes of the US market. Great River Energy decided to implement it systemwide after a pilot.

New transmission projects often take a decade or more and can cost billions.

Line capacity is a key bottleneck for building out renewable energy.

Wind and solar plants in remote areas could shut off less often if lines carried more.

Before building new capacity, measure the real limit of the asset you have.

The pilot, with four Heimdall sensors, found they helped raise the amount of power deliverable on a line by up to 42.8%, the article says. Great River Energy became poised to lead in using these tools in the US with the 52-sensor rollout; no later results were reported in the article.