Hudson Gilmer, co-founder and CEO of LineVision, sheds light on innovative strategies to enhance U.S. transmission grid capacity without building new lines. He discusses how non-contact sensors and software can revolutionize grid management. The conversation dives into the urgent need for advanced monitoring technologies amid increasing electricity demands. Additionally, Hudson shares insights on dynamic line ratings and the role of real-time data in optimizing power flow. Finally, he touches on cybersecurity needs within power transmission infrastructure.
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insights INSIGHT
Grid Monitoring
The electric grid's critical infrastructure, like transmission lines, lacks real-time monitoring.
This is like setting highway speed limits based on worst-case scenarios, hindering efficiency.
insights INSIGHT
Dynamic Line Ratings
Transmission lines have thermal limits to prevent damage, and current limits are conservative.
LineVision's sensors measure actual conditions, allowing for safer increased power flow.
question_answer ANECDOTE
LineVision's Origin
Hudson Gilmer's background in telecom, optimizing data networks, influenced his work in energy.
His experience with Genscape, using sensors to monitor power lines for traders, inspired LineVision.
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LineVision is a Series C-stage startup helping utilities monitor and increase the capacity of the vast network of transmission lines that serve as the vascular system of the U.S. electric grid. The U.S. transmission grid spans 600,000 to 700,000 circuit miles of high-voltage lines, connecting energy generation with consumption and delivering power across the country. This infrastructure typically lasts for decades, yet much of it was built before the advent of sophisticated software-based monitoring or persistent connectivity.
LineVision provides a non-contact sensor and software system that detects issues with transmission lines and enables grid operators to safely increase their capacity—critical in an increasingly electrified world where grid constraints limit power delivery and building new transmission lines is a slow, multi-year process.
We explore all this and more in our conversation with Hudson.
In this episode, we cover:
[2:06] An overview of transmission as one of the backbones of infrastructure in the US
[7:00] LineVision’s focus on high-voltage, long distance lines
[8:53] Hudon’s background and LineVision’s origin story
[12:41] LineVision’s customers and who they work with
[14:33] An overview of LineVision’s product
[19:31] How seasonality plays into transmission capacity
[22:53] The lifespan of typical transmission lines
[25:10] The future of transmission line monitoring
[28:11] LineVision’s funding to date
[31:05] How LineVision’s business could be applied in the future
[33:30] How monitoring facilitated grid security
[35:42] LineVision’s new customers
Episode recorded on Jan 30, 2025 (Published on Feb 13, 2025)
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