I see the goal of an HVDC national supergrid would be similar to the goal behind national railroads, interstate highways, and the TVA-type WW II power projects. National economic growth and financial security. The foundation upon which modern nation/states stand. The crumbling of that foundation, signals the fall.
The loss of economic growth due to imported/price manipulated energy has shaken our foundation badly. It has us in 2 (3? soon) wars in a region that is known as the "graveyard of empires". These wars have already cost multiples of what a national HVDC grid would.
The goal of climate cure will also be helped out, but putting a price on pollution, contamination, and waste treatment, along with a national grid, will make solar, wind, storage, cogeneration/efficiency, biogas, plugin hybrid vehicles, and electric rail much cheaper. Solar investors can build a power plant in the hottest solar area, then sell it all over the country. Local power companies can store it, then sell it to customers when they need it.
The goal of climate change remediation ought to go down a different legislative route, gradually making dirtier energy pay it's own way in terms of damage done.
Sure legislate a path, to acheive the goal of a firm, indpendent, and stable energy economy to base our prosperity on. Pave the way for dirty coal and nuclear plants to sell their power too. But make them pay. Then let the national energy market, running over the national grid, compare and shop based on price.
Investment will rush into wind and solar. When the national power supply is 20% wind/solar in a few years, storage will start to pay good dividends, maybe even farm based biogas will compete.
I don't think pricing carbon alone will build a national supergrid, like the interstate highway system it needs government investment and direction. But pricing in the true cost of the damage done by fuel based energy, including loss of growth due to periodic price spike impelled recessions, will restore free market efficiency, the real free market way.
But there's this political problem in the way now, CO2 or waste reduction just won't get any kind of support from congress, forget subsidies for that. Terrified politicians are running away from any identification with the anti-"global warming" crowd as fast as they can.
On the other hand, a national HVDC project can be justified from the point of view of job creation and economic competition. How do we compete with very low wage, no pollution control nations? Dependence on imported energy that is manipulated by multi-national corporations and nations that have an axe to grind with US, will never work.
Education, R&D, and technology, those are our traditional advantages. But without the capital we once had, we need something that the TVA and other hydo-electric projects brought to WW II war production. Low cost electricty, it made the aluminum and steel in quantities that won the fight..
The path to unsubsidized, inflation fighting, foreign fuel free, renewable energy is a nationwide electricty super highway system. Then let the free market work, a project that restores free market competition will be palatable to government-phobic politicos. Solar, wind, biogas, efficiency/cogeneration, and energy storage will be competitive.
The problem now is borrowing the money to get that national electrical super grid built.
Financial market regulation might stabilize this economic recovery and get international investment dollars. China just signed a contract for 2 gw of solar panels from First Solar. They've got cash and know where to put it. Their BYD plugin hybrid has Warren Buffet's $$, 10% of the company so far and he wants to buy more.
Will they invest in our future too? Let's hope so. But why would anyone invest in an economy based on wall street kleptocracy, with a federal reserve controlled by that kleptocracy via a revolving door of trading "bank"/fed officials? To paraphrase Bush the first "Doesn't seem prudent". Re-regulation has to precede further public borrowing for a national HVDC smart grid.
Re-regulation looks deader than dead right now. But it's a hard issue to smear with beckscrement. part of the nut wing's big propaganda campaign is villifying wall street/fed corruption. This is going to be interesting.
Meanwhile a campaign for zero-carbon footprint living is probably the best alternative for the 10% who actually care about climate change. We will labor mainly in anonymity, unless mass production takes over and propells our favorite green ideas into the mainstream.
Large national change can only be based on economics now, climate change arguments have been permanently smeared.
