HVdc Grids for Large-Scale Offshore Wind Integration: Coordinating Offshore HVdc Grid Design with Onshore ac Grid Operation

Upon taking office, President Biden set ambitious climate goals of reducing U.S. emissions at least 50% below 2005 levels by 2030 and reaching net zero emissions by 2050. To reach these goals, we need to make our country’s power sector 100% clean by 2035. We face a bleak reality, though, in that transmission development for offshore wind (OSW) is complicated and largely uncharted territory for the United States. As much as our unified vision, political will, and federal financing will help us reach these lofty deployment goals, several technical and operational challenges will need to be overcome. Transmission is the key element that enables this energy transition, and it needs to undergo a fundamental change to do so.