- Charlie Bayless joined the TS Conductor board of directors; Amory Lovins, Audrey Zibelman, and JD Hammerly joined its advisory board.
- The company‘s new production site in Huntington Beach, California, will soon produce up to 5,000 miles of conductors for the power grid per year.
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif., Jan. 26, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — TS Conductor Corp. (TS Conductor), a pioneer in high-performance transmission and distribution conductors for electricity grids, today announced the official opening of its first U.S. manufacturing facility in Huntington Beach, California. The new ISO-certified facility can produce up to 5,000 miles of high-performance conductors per year.
In tandem, TS Conductor also announced the addition of four power sector veterans and innovators to its board of directors and advisory board. Charlie Bayless was named to its board of directors; Amory Lovins, Audrey Zibelman, and JD Hammerly joined its advisory board. The additions bring industry-leading expertise to TS Conductor when the company’s high-performance conductors are more needed than ever for grid modernization and expansion.
TS Conductor’s breakthrough wire technology transports up to three times the amount of electricity as compared to traditional power lines while cutting line losses in half. It is easily deployed with traditional work practice for both reconductoring projects as well as new build transmission and distribution infrastructure, offering a crucial solution for ensuring safe, reliable, resilient, affordable, and green electricity delivery.
In August 2022, TS Conductor and Starwood Energy Group — now Lotus Infrastructure Partners — unveiled a $100 million joint venture to finance deployment with grid operators in North America. Previously, in November 2021, TS Conductor unveiled its first round of funding; Breakthrough Energy Ventures, National Grid Partners, and a subsidiary of NextEra Energy joined the investment round, which totaled $25 million and was set aside for building the U.S. manufacturing plant.
For several years, TS Conductor’s products have been manufactured under contract at a facility in China. The California facility, which is fully owned and operated by TS Conductor, represents an important investment in the U.S. domestic clean energy economy and manufacturing sector. The site currently employs 21 workers, and the company plans to hire approximately 40 new employees as the facility reaches full production capacity by the end of 2023.
“We are proud to bring product manufacturing for TS Conductor to the U.S. — a step that is just the beginning of the impact we will have on the American clean energy transition,” said Dr. Jason Huang, CEO of TS Conductor. “The Huntington Beach facility will ensure a robust domestic supply chain of high-performance conductors for North American grid operators — enabling us to serve customers in a much shorter time frame. It will also become a critical component in our research and development process, allowing us to continue innovating for a cleaner future.”
TS Conductor wires have thus far been deployed in North Dakota with Montana-Dakota Utilities Company and Basin Electric Power Cooperative, in Chicago with Exelon, and in Iowa with MidAmerican Energy (a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Energy).
“The fast growth of our company would not be possible without the expert guidance of our board of directors and advisory board. We are thrilled to welcome four more powerhouse leaders in our industry, whose support will help propel TS Conductor — and the power grid — to an even brighter future,” said Huang.
Charlie Bayless: Consultant, Insigniam
The newest member of TS Conductor’s board of directors, Charlie Bayless has decades of executive-level experience in the utility sector and an academic background in energy policy and climate change. He served as president and provost of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology until 2008. Bayless also held positions as chairman, president, and CEO of Tucson Electric Power (UniSource Energy) and Illinois Power (Illinova Corp.).
In addition to his role with TS Conductor, Bayless is a board member of the Climate Institute, the West Virginia American Water Company, a consultant with Insigniam, and a member of the judging panel for the Platts Global Energy Awards. He is a member of the advisory boards of the Angeleno Group, ESource, and Energy Impact Partners, and held past board member roles with Edison Electric Institute (EEI) and Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI).
Amory Lovins: Cofounder and Chairman Emeritus, RMI
World-renowned physicist Amory Lovins co-founded Rocky Mountain Institute (now RMI) in 1982 to transform global energy systems and acted as the organization’s chief scientist from 2007 to 2019. Lovins continues to support RMI as a contractor and trustee. He has served as an energy advisor to major firms and governments in 70+ countries for 50 years. Lovins is the author of 31 books and more than 850 papers, and an integrative designer of super-efficient buildings, factories, and vehicles.
He has received the Blue Planet, Volvo, Zayed, Onassis, Nissan, Shingo, and Mitchell Prizes, the MacArthur and Ashoka Fellowships, the Happold, Benjamin Franklin, and Spencer Hutchens Medals, 12 honorary doctorates, and the Heinz, Lindbergh, Right Livelihood (“alternative Nobel”), National Design, and World Technology Awards. In 2016, the President of Germany awarded him the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit. Time has named Lovins one of the world’s 100 most influential people, and Foreign Policy, one of the 100 top global thinkers.
Audrey Zibelman: Board Member and Founder, Zibelman Energy Advisors
Audrey Zibelman has been an energy industry leader and reformer for over 30 years. Zibelman has global experience working within industry and government in the United States, Australia and Europe developing and investing in transformative solutions for grid decarbonization.
In prior roles, Zibelman was a Vice President at X, Alphabet’s Moonshot Factory, where she led an effort on grid decarbonization. Before joining X, Zibelman was the managing director and CEO of the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), the national power system and gas system operator for Australia. She joined AEMO after serving as the chairwoman of the New York Public Service Commission, where she led regulatory reform of the electric industry to support a decarbonized grid, known as Reforming the Energy Vision, or REV.
Her previous positions were as the executive vice president and COO of PJM, founder and CEO of Viridity Energy, and as an executive at Xcel Energy.
John (JD) Hammerly: Founder, The Glarus Group
JD Hammerly has been an electricity industry innovator and leader for more than four decades. His work is focused on improving the design, economics, operations, and perception of the electricity industry. Hammerly’s expertise spans generation, transmission, distribution, renewables, and end-use energy consumption. His strategic commercial and technical guidance has driven substantial organic and inorganic growth for his clients, whom he advises on issues such as acquisitions, divestitures, and funding.
Hammerly was the VP/GM of the Americas and Pacific Rim for Alstom and has been an influential player in the development of the worldwide deregulated market, distribution automation, and end-use energy solutions. He has worked with both investor-owned and public utilities, large energy consumers, industry suppliers, and government entities by providing solutions to their emerging problems. He was instrumental in founding the GridWise Alliance and Northwest Center for Electric Power Transmission.
To learn more about TS Conductor, visit www.tsconductor.com.
TS Conductor products allow transmission & distribution grid operators to be active participants to the energy transition – by reducing line losses and accelerating the integration of wind, solar, and battery storage — while leveraging existing infrastructure assets. Our products can be used to substitute ACSR conductors using the same tools and installation procedures. TS Conductor is a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE), and a public benefit company focused on sustainable development and GHG reduction. TS is backed by Breakthrough Energy Ventures, National Grid and NextEra. For more information, visit www.tsconductor.com.
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