High voltage DC is actually cheaper and easier to do for long distances than AC. HVDC cables can be made cheaper because you don't have to worry about skin effe

High voltage DC is actually cheaper and easier to do for long distances than AC. HVDC cables can be made cheaper because you don't have to worry about skin effect [1], and additionally, you don't have to worry about what phase each electrical system uses, nor the natural phase drift of electrical systems. It's why the west coast of the US uses HVDC for one of the paths of the Pacific Intertie. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skin_effect http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skin_effect