Speed-to-Power Pays for Itself: The Case for HVDC Upgrades

The U.S. transmission grid was not built for the level of demand it is now being asked to serve to ensure we win the AI race. Loads are arriving in gigawatt sizes, not megawatts like in the past. The industry has spent 140 years building the grid we have today, but all signs and DOE studies argue we need to double it in the next 10 years. The way grid transfer capacity has traditionally been added will not solve the problem. 

The only way to meet this challenge and stay dominant on the global stage is by upgrading existing corridors and using other long rights-of-ways (ROWs) to operate as HVDC. HVDC carries up to three times more power on the same physical lines as AC. DC controllability also increases the through-put of the underlying AC network. There is a practical and realistic way for our nation to move forward.  It will deliver gigawatts, speed to power, that is grounded in engineering principles transmission owners manage every day — it is called HVDC America.

HVDC America, an engineering discipline focused on upgrading existing transmission corridors in a way that HVDC can be planned, permitted, financed, and operated with confidence.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Dec. 10, 2025, China generates more than twice the electricity of the US and in the last 14 years has increased their capacity more than the rest of the world combined. I have visited a 1,100-kilometer HVDC line and its 3,000 MW converter station that was built in 1 year in Guangzhou, China. Europe and China have 18 times as many long HVDC lines as the U.S. We in the US can spend decades trying to acquire rights-of-way for new transmission lines, losing the AI race, and falling behind as a nation, or we can finally get practical about the solution that is right under our nose.

The impacts are easier to see when the discussion stays in gigawatts and in years. When delivery of that capacity is delayed by eight to 10 years while waiting on greenfield rights-of-way, those losses compound into tens of billions of dollars before construction begins. We could build HVDC right next to or on the existing AC transmission towers, or upgrade insulators on an existing line tripling capacity and recoup the cost years before a greenfield AC corridor is through permitting.

Speed to power pays for itself when time and risk of losing the AI race is priced honestly. With more than 200,000 miles of high-voltage transmission at or above 230 kV in the United States, there are thousands of existing segments where AC-to-HVDC conversion could unlock multi-gigawatt capacity within the ROWs already in place.

DOE issued a report on July 7, 2025, that concluded we might have 800-hours outage time per year by 2030 with huge loss-of-life risk. The grid was not built for the demand profile we now face, and growth will not slow down.

The HVDC America Initiative is an approach that moves from concept to execution. The approach starts with corridor-level screening. The work begins with real, owned assets: voltage class, structure type, conductor configuration, basic insulation level, terminal locations, and known protection schemes. We identify corridors where AC-to-HVDC conversion can materially increase transfer capability.

From there, engineering moves deliberately. Conversion strategies prioritize reuse. Towers and foundations are retained wherever possible. Existing conductors are evaluated for DC thermal limits and corona performance. Insulators are upgraded to address creepage. Converter stations with innovative DC breakers are sited adjacent to existing AC substations to streamline DC to AC interconnection and add AC voltage and frequency  control with the converter acting as a static synchronous compensator.

Operational integration is treated as a first-order requirement. HVDC AMERICA emphasizes controllability, protection coordination, and interface management from the outset. Line-commutated or voltage-source converter technology is selected based on transfer needs, fault performance, and operating philosophy. Protection schemes are designed to preserve or enhance existing reliability standards, not compromise them.

Assets can remain in rate base or third parties can own. Planning studies are focused on specific corridors and interfaces rather than open-ended system speculation. We establish a playbook that is applied corridor by corridor. Standardized screening criteria, standardized engineering assumptions, and standardized engagement with operators and regulators reduce uncertainty and compress timelines.

The alternative is familiar—20-year studies, followed by years of siting disputes. Years of uncertainty, followed by incremental capacity that arrives too late to win the Grid to Chips AI race.

HVDC America represents a practical way forward, grounded in gigawatts, speed to power,and the engineering principles transmission owners manage every day. The question now is whether the industry engages this transition deliberately, corridor by corridor, or whether the US continues to absorb the growing cost of delays and lose the AI race. We must win this race.