Cables inevitably magnetize steel towers, said McCombs. It causes corrosion in underground gas pipelines in the same way that car batteries corrode their cables. Insulating composites cannot become grounded or magnetized. Because there is no danger of arcing, Composite Power can place its electrical cables closer together, preserving the tower's small footprint. This makes it possible to run electrical towers over natural gas lines without worrying about corrosion, or alongside railroad tracks without disrupting electric motors used on locomotives.
Composite towers are also safer.
Without a ground, linemen are in less danger of electrocution while working on hot wires. Composite Power has demonstrated this by installing one of its composite towers on an energized 138 kV power system. Given the expected advantages of the materials, McCombs believes the economics are good enough that he will be able to plug renewable energy into the national grid at a profit. The company's 850-mile Green Line, which links Columbia River hydroelectric generators, Washington wind turbines, and Nevada solar panels, is the test case. While developers of renewable energy have made enormous progress during the past decade, they still face logistics problems.