# Hydropower -  AC or DC

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hydropower-ac-or-dc/362549>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 28, 2006, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hydropower-ac-or-dc/362549 "2006-06-28T21:46:15Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![OKFMDOA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a6a055/32.png) [@OKFMDOA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OKFMDOA)\
**Post date:** [July 2, 2006, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hydropower-ac-or-dc/362549/21 "2006-07-02T09:05:15Z")

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[QUOTE=Crafter\_Man]  
I think we’ll see more and more HVDC systems.  
[/QUOTE]  
Another **huge** advantage of using HVDC for power transmission is that there are no stability issues. For instance, since the province of Quebec uses HVDC connections to the outside world, it was not affected by the massive blackout of 2003. But don’t take my word for it…

“Because HVDC allows power transmission between unsynchronised AC distribution systems, it can help increase system stability, by preventing cascading failures from propagating from one part of a wider power transmission grid to another, whilst still allowing power to be imported or exported in the event of smaller failures. This has caused many power system operators to contemplate wider use of HVDC technology for its stability benefits alone.”  
-source: [High-voltage direct current - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-voltage_direct_current)  
That doesn’t mean we would want to generate DC though.

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**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\
**Post date:** [July 2, 2006, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hydropower-ac-or-dc/362549/22 "2006-07-02T10:00:22Z")

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The issue of _Scientific American_ currently on the news stands has an article about an [improved powergrid design which uses HVDC](http://sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa006&articleID=00003872-159C-1498-959C83414B7F0000).

> [@](#):
>
> A five-gigawatt Super-Cable is certainly technically feasible. Its scale would rival the 3.1-gigawatt Pacific Intertie, an existing 500-kilovolt DC overhead line that moves power between northern Oregon and southern California. Just four Super-Cables would provide sufficient capacity to transmit all the power generated by the giant Three Gorges Dam hydroelectric facility in China.

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