There is a renewed interest in construction of high-voltage direct-current transmission lines as they are viewed as an ideal solution to deliver far away wind and solar energy, and to stabilize intermittent renewable power, concepts backed by a recent report prepared for the Energy Information Administration. Although there are few HVDC projects in the United States, Burns & McDonnell is bullish on the technology. “We think the outlook is now more favorable for HVDC as there is no doubt we will see more renewables integrated into our generation portfolio,” says Ken Gerling, the company’s vice president for transmission and distribution.

There was about 106,000 MW of solar and wind in the United States in 2016 and the capacity is expected to grow to about 190,000 MW by 2020, making up about 15% of all installed capacity, according to the EIA report, prepared by ICF International. The share of wind and solar will be even higher in areas such as California, Texas and the Great Plains states, according to the report.

如果可再生能源产生的电力超过所需的电力或产量下降，则会导致运营挑战。

不过，根据ICF的数据，HVDC线可以通过允许它们捆绑到单一资源来帮助平滑单个风和太阳资源的输出的变化。同样，可以控制HVDC线上的流动方向和大小，从而为电网操作员提供了在供需不平衡期间平衡网格的方法。

报告称，HVDC电源线技术的价格比AC技术便宜，因此它非常适合从富裕的可再生资源到主要负载中心的偏远地区提供电力。

ICF说：“在区域，国家和跨国网络网络上的网格互连增加将使从拥有过多可再生资源的地区向电力需求高的地区进行更大的动力传输。”

此外，根据ICF的数据，HVDC的电力沿电力线移动而损失了40％的功率。

Compared with AC lines, which make up the vast majority of transmission lines in the United States, HVDC transmission lines have higher capacity ratings, can handle longer periods of overload operations, can be used underwater and can better manage instabilities that cause blackouts, according to ICF.

According to Gerling, HVDC provides greater power flow control than AC lines through a more compact structure design that includes fewer conductors, smaller towers and poles, fewer right of way requirements and lower cost per mile.

Gerling说，不利的一面是，用于将DC转换为AC电力的转换器站很昂贵 - ICF PEG的成本约为每个车站的3.7亿美元 - 制造了较短的项目，可能是不经济的。新利18备用网址他说：“这会造成其他项目障碍，因为长长的HVDC线路将需要越过多个州，有时甚至是加拿大和墨西哥边界，因此需要对多个管理机构进行监管批准。”

There are only a handful of major HVDC lines in the United States and several underwater cables, according to ICF. There are also more than a dozen HVDC facilities connecting the Eastern and Western interconnections, Texas and Mexico.

The report highlighted several HVDC projects that are under development, including the TransWest Express project, designed to deliver wind from Wyoming to southern Nevada; the Plains & Eastern Clean Line project, which would transport wind from the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles to Arkansas, Tennessee and other states in the region; and the Champlain Hudson Power Express, which would supply the New York City area with hydroelectric power from Canada.

格林说：“水电，风能和太阳能供应的资源丰富地区有时距离人口中心数百英里，”格林说，“我们的客户现在正在重新审视通过HVDC交付传输权力的可行性和运营优势。透明