FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Mandi Gustafson
703-358-2976
mgustafs@aluminum.org
Aluminum Industry Set to Benefit from $6.5 Billion in Stimulus Package
for More Aluminum Transmission Lines
February Marks 123RD Anniversary of Hall-Heroult Process that
Makes the Aluminum Transmission Grid Possible
ARLINGTON, Va., February 26, 2009 (News Release)
— As the nation’s stimulus plan is put into action, the
Aluminum Association is proud to announce $6.5 Billion will be spent for
more aluminum transmission lines. This will enable new renewable sources
of clean, green energy, such as solar and wind to be connected to the
transmission grid. In fact, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA)
released a Joint Coordinated System Plan (JCSP) study this month which
says investing in the power grid to allow wind to supply 20% of the
electricity needs of the Eastern U.S. would save consumers $12 billion a
year. Eventually the grid can also help make electric vehicles a reality
and reduce U.S. dependence on imported oil. Indeed, aluminum’s
attributes continue to help consumers enjoy a higher sustainable
standard of living across the nation and around the world.
Aluminum is often overlooked in electrical applications. In fact,
without aluminum the entire U.S. transmission grid would not exist as it
does today. Aluminum transmission and distribution lines reliably
deliver electricity to every building, home, industry, airport,
hospital, and more, 24 hours-a-day, 365 days-a-year. This has enabled
electrification, which is considered the greatest engineering
achievement of the 20th Century by the National Academy of Engineering.
The U.S. transmission grid is a web of several hundred thousand miles of
aluminum conductors, and most of the utility distribution grid is also
aluminum. In electrical applications, aluminum can do everything that
copper can, but more efficiently and economically. Aluminum provides up
to twice the conductivity per pound of copper (dependent on the specific
alloy and application) at less than half the cost per pound (based upon
current prices) for a 400% economic-efficiency advantage over
copper.
February marks the 123rd anniversary of the electrolytic process,
which made the entire transmission grid possible. This process,
developed by 22-year-old Charles Martin Hall in 1886, took aluminum to
its commercial status—in everything from aircrafts, to buildings,
to food storage.
# # #
The Aluminum Association, based in Arlington, Virginia, works
globally to aggressively promote aluminum as the most sustainable and
recyclable automotive, packaging and construction material in
today’s market. The Association represents U.S. and foreign-based
primary producers of aluminum, aluminum recyclers and producers of
fabricated products, as well as industry suppliers. Member companies
operate more than 200 plants in the United States, with many conducting
business worldwide.
| Aluminum, transmission, lines, high-voltage, electric, electrical, stimulus, energy, power, electrification, National Academy of Engineering |
Related Files
Photo of Aluminum Transmission Lines
