Could Pylons be beatiful?

[wookey]

DECC held a competition for new pylon designs. It's fair to say that the shortlisted designs look a lot better than standard pylons:

Pics:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/8762695/In-pictures-Pylon-Design-Competition.html?image=6

More details:
http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/news/pylon_story/pylon_story.aspx

Some of these look nearly as nice as turbines. Probably not as cheap as existing (1927, apparently) lattice-tower design, but no doubt still _much_ cheaper than burying cables.

Bit short on technical details. Architects for you, I guess.

[GavinA]

personally I prefer pylons that won't fall over. I'm not convinced that smarties tube will pass that particular test.

[Philip R]

Years ago, all the Tower designs were tested at the CEGBs Tower test facility in Cheddar, Somerset. Now long gone.

National Grid will almost certainly use a tested design, that is cost effective over its intended design life. ( Many of the present 400KV system was erected before I was a twinkle and during my early years), and still going strong (Most have been restrung with all aluminium conductors, new porcelain insulator strings & modified dampers). Therefore I doubt if many of the outlandish designs will cut the mustard. The only likely candidate will be the sort of conventional design constructed out of tube.

PhilipR 

[Eleanor]

Don't know if the winning design would have cut the mustard at Cheddar http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15293918