zlacker

>>RobinL+(OP)
So why are these undersea cables so expensive?

Lets do a little Math... A cable that moves 4GW of electricity 450 km is say +-1 million volts and 2000 amps.

Assuming we want no more than 3% losses in the cable at full load, then each conductor needs to be 40mm diameter aluminium, at a total material cost of $3.6M

To insulate a 1 million volt cable, we need 100mm of PVC - total cost $60M.

And we'll obviously need a few mm of steel + more PVC on the outside for protection from the environment.

And now add in the manufacturing cost, and the cost to get it into place...

>>london+3j
and the control hardware. The things that stepup/down are not cheap.

>>Kaiser+Ao
They're cheap if you buy them from China. China is world leading on this stuff, and has built tens of similar lines in recent years.

However, I'm sure 'national security' will require the equipment be procured from a western world supplier with no expertise.