9lukemartin

9lukemartin t1_ixetmiz wrote

An underground/water grid has been proposed before* but it always fails to address some glaring issues.

First, the contiguous United States is not a single rock that never moves. There are several plates that are constantly shifting. Overtime this can break underground lines. On a small scale this doesn't really matter, it probably won't become a problem as long as regular maintenance is done, but when you move to a nationwide scale in the nation that can barely keep it's primary mode of transportation's infrastructure safe to use*, it's a problem and a big one.

Maintenance brings up the other point, this would be 1000s of miles of high transmission lines. Going underground largely mitigates the effects on local wildlife (at least in the long run*) but it also makes the whole system incredibly expensive and difficult to maintain.

Maybe VCE has more details on how they plan to deal with these issues, but this article sure doesn't address them at all.

*based on my prior knowledge need to find the reference

1