
Nationwide High Voltage DC Grid: Cheapest Way to Radically Cut CO2 Emissions? - nkurz
http://understandsolar.com/hvdc-grid-to-radically-cut-co2-emissions/
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tzs
Maybe I just missed it, but I didn't see any explanation of why it has to be a
DC system.

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johnjac
Yeah, this should have been included in the article. From Wikipedia: A long
distance point to point HVDC transmission scheme generally has lower overall
investment cost and lower losses than an equivalent AC transmission scheme.
HVDC conversion equipment at the terminal stations is costly, but the total DC
transmission line costs over long distances are lower than AC line of the same
distance. HVDC requires less conductor per unit distance than an AC line, as
there is no need to support three phases and there is no skin effect.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-
voltage_direct_current#Ad...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-
voltage_direct_current#Advantages_of_HVDC_over_AC_transmission)

