if power electronics get a bit better than they are now, we could switch to DC power transmission and DC/DC converters instead of transformers. bunch of infrastructure could be replaced one by one, but benefit is slight except for already used undersea cables
but on generation side, it’s either photovoltaics or spin a magnet
AC also needs to deal with line resistance, and cheap, efficient multi-MW, multi-kV DC/DC converters aren’t there so far, but there are prototypes (and drop-in transformer replacements https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solid-state_transformer) Advantage is that these converters can be more efficient than transformers and you don’t have to deal with reactive current (if DC). Obvious downside is that frequency control isn’t there
if power electronics get a bit better than they are now, we could switch to DC power transmission and DC/DC converters instead of transformers. bunch of infrastructure could be replaced one by one, but benefit is slight except for already used undersea cables
but on generation side, it’s either photovoltaics or spin a magnet
The problem with DC is line resistance. AC has to deal with line impedance, which is much easier on long distance transmission.
AC also needs to deal with line resistance, and cheap, efficient multi-MW, multi-kV DC/DC converters aren’t there so far, but there are prototypes (and drop-in transformer replacements https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solid-state_transformer) Advantage is that these converters can be more efficient than transformers and you don’t have to deal with reactive current (if DC). Obvious downside is that frequency control isn’t there