5 ms·

Does transatlantic HVDC make sense? Something that connects the US/Canada with mainland Europe through Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and the UK/Norway.

by 0xDEF 4y ago

Does transatlantic HVDC make sense? Something that connects the US/Canada with mainland Europe through Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and the UK/Norway. Transatlantic HDVC might need actively cooled superconducting transmission lines: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SuperGrid_(hydrogen) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SuperGrid_(hydrogen)

adgjlsfhk1 4y ago
The biggest problem with this is that the geography doesn't really make sense. A line from the east coast US to Europe goes right over Quebec which provides a large portion of the east coast's electricity through hydro already. Instead of spending billions on a trans-atlantic cable, you can just build a ton of renewables in the US and use Quebec's hydro as a giant battery.
rgmerk 4y ago
It might be technically possible. The most ambitious project along those lines I’ve heard of is proposed from northern Australia (with lots of room for solar panels) to Singapore (which does not have a lot of room for anything). 5,000 km of HVDC undersea cable! Not guaranteed to get off the ground, but I haven’t heard any serious reservations about the technical feasibility.
- depereo 4y ago
  That project recently collapsed.
  - rgmerk 4y ago
    "Collapsed" is oversimplifying the situation. The project was a joint venture between a multibillionaire mining magnate Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest and the Atlassian cofounder Mike Cannon-Brookes. For whatever reason Forrest decided that other renewable energy ventures were a better bet and stopped funding the project. Despite it entering administration, Cannon-Brookes gave it another $65 million to continue operations. https://www.businessnewsaustralia.com/articles/administrators-kick-off-sale-process-for-sun-cable.html https://www.businessnewsaustralia.com/articles/administrator... As such, I don't think this one is quite dead yet.
    - defrost 4y ago
      The geophysics are as sketchy as AF. There was a certain amount of risk with the failure mode of a single deep cable etc. That was amplified beyond acceptable by the route which crossed multiple fault lines in a heavily volcanic region with many tectonic issues. With a tangential throw to the true father (IMHO) of evolution . . . [1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallace_Line https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallace_Line
entropicgravity 4y ago
The UK is planning a HVDC connection from a wind farm near Iceland so yes, it's very likely technically possible but is it financially viable?

by 0xDEF 4y ago

adgjlsfhk1 4y ago

The biggest problem with this is that the geography doesn't really make sense. A line from the east coast US to Europe goes right over Quebec which provides a large portion of the east coast's electricity through hydro already. Instead of spending billions on a trans-atlantic cable, you can just build a ton of renewables in the US and use Quebec's hydro as a giant battery.

rgmerk 4y ago

It might be technically possible. The most ambitious project along those lines I’ve heard of is proposed from northern Australia (with lots of room for solar panels) to Singapore (which does not have a lot of room for anything). 5,000 km of HVDC undersea cable! Not guaranteed to get off the ground, but I haven’t heard any serious reservations about the technical feasibility.

depereo 4y ago
That project recently collapsed.
- rgmerk 4y ago
  "Collapsed" is oversimplifying the situation. The project was a joint venture between a multibillionaire mining magnate Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest and the Atlassian cofounder Mike Cannon-Brookes. For whatever reason Forrest decided that other renewable energy ventures were a better bet and stopped funding the project. Despite it entering administration, Cannon-Brookes gave it another $65 million to continue operations. https://www.businessnewsaustralia.com/articles/administrators-kick-off-sale-process-for-sun-cable.html https://www.businessnewsaustralia.com/articles/administrator... As such, I don't think this one is quite dead yet.
  - defrost 4y ago
    The geophysics are as sketchy as AF. There was a certain amount of risk with the failure mode of a single deep cable etc. That was amplified beyond acceptable by the route which crossed multiple fault lines in a heavily volcanic region with many tectonic issues. With a tangential throw to the true father (IMHO) of evolution . . . [1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallace_Line https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallace_Line

entropicgravity 4y ago

The UK is planning a HVDC connection from a wind farm near Iceland so yes, it's very likely technically possible but is it financially viable?