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Sustainable Transmission Voltages
In Brief
When assessing the power a cable takes (measured in Watts (w) or in this case megawatts of electricity (MWe) ) there are two variables - Voltage (which equates to the pressure of water in a pipe) and Amperage which equates to the actual volume of water passing through. As a simplification it is beneficial to keep the Voltage up and the amperage down. Watts = Volts x Amps. It is today feasible to have DC transmissions in the range of 3 Megawatts.
At present Voltages are in the region of +/- 400KV. and the ultimate voltage any Supergrid will operate at is likely to be a matter of hard fought debate. The more so given the nature of research and innovation in the various companies competing in this field. Key to this are Voltage Source Converters used in the conversion of AC to DC.