“HVDC light” – doesn’t taste great, but maybe less filling

I was writing about DC vs. AC power this weekend, getting myself into a bit of a kerfuffle (see self-flagellation in previous post), as part of an examination of the technology that has led more of the proposed Northern Pass project to be buried. The high-voltage DC lines would carry 1,000 megawatts of power down from Quebec’s massive hydro dams; co-owner Eversource Energy says it can afford to bury an extra 52 miles of the project because a technology called HVDC Light reduces the amount of cabling necessary and makes the whole project less expensive.

I didn’t make any light beer jokes in the article because Newspapers Are Very Serious but this is a blog so I can snort and say comeon – HVDC Light? What kind of a name is that for a power-cable technology? You’d think all the engineers were shouting “wassup!” and cracking themselves up.

You can read the joke-free article right here.