The Tres Amiga superconducting interconnection link is a big step towards a supergrid that could smooth the intermittance of renewable energy.  It might even hold the promise of superconduction and storage coast to coast.

 The question that comes to mind is why are they not using the superconducting bridge circuit for storage?  And will the insistence on superconduction slow down the rollout of a national HVDC grid?

The objection to using regular copper underground for HVDC supergrid connection was that individual lines have to be buried a few meters apart to avoid overheating.  The idea of cooling one or two really large hollow conductors in a concrete channel with the cooling fluid circulating inside and outside the conductors and dumping heat to the ground (or to cold air in winter)would take care of that.

Then as superconducting technology is rolled out, the copper could be replaced in an orderly transition with the same concrete channels in place (just like fiberoptics are replacing copper in information technology).  Pretty interesting article, they mentioned overhead power line NIMBYism and using freeway median right-of-way.

Now I guess they better check out the transitional technology I mentioned and also using the superconducting loop to store power.  Once the system is up and running it might even store a certain amount of power anyway, by testing that effect and enhancing it, who knows we may get a national electron superconducting highway that stores power too.

That would be good.  A good use for excess renewable energy would be to store "cold" to keep the superconducting lines cold enough.  A gas that liquifies a few degrees just below the liquid nitrogen superconductor coolant could act as cold storage.  That cold storage could be "recharged" whenever excess wind or solar power was available.  Eliminating the losses due to refrigeration of the superconducting line.

Starting with buried fluid cooled copper and transitioning to superconductor line, sited in the same installations in freeway median, would provide a gradual, affordable transition to fully superconducting national HVDC grid.  Will it also store power? 

There's some suspense for the Tres Amiga project.  The other question I have is how will this be re-regulated?  That issue is going to have to be faced up to, corporate power unlimited, produces unlimited corruption.  That is not the way to start this green energy re-evolution, monopoly corporate market manipulation.