On the roadmap to supergrid in Sicily: LiDAR technology and HTLS conductors for uprating the 150 kV lines

Difficulties in building new power lines in Italy because of authorization problems, and the production of electricity from renewable sources growing more and more, induces Terna S.p.A. (Italian TSO) to take advantage of existing overhead transmission lines. In order to increase the transmission capacity, Terna has used a software in GIS (Geographic Information System) environment which allows for the management of the interferences according to all the legislative bonds by referring to the LIDAR (Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging) remote sensing technology. This paper, after a description of the GIS and the LiDAR technology, shows how the calculation of the current capacity of some High Voltage power lines in Sicily is carried out by using the conductor thermal model. Relevant results concerning a general study of the characteristics of electrical conductors with high temperature performance and low sag are presented and these studies are applied to three overhead transmission lines.