HVDC Submarine Cable: A Perspective towards Accomplishing UN’s SDGs for Indian Marine Ecology

Safe and efficient long-distance transmission of electricity has been developed with the emergence of high-voltage (HV) power cables. The dissemination of electricity over lakhs and thousands of kilometers with traditional AC cables and transmitting systems involves enormous losses, which can be administered up to an extent in high-voltage direct current (HVDC) technology. The exponential increase in population in India and the Indian subcontinent directly influences the power requirement. Hence, there is a need to increase the generation and transmission of more power without much influence on environmental factors. Nowadays, European countries extensively use submarine cables for cross-border trading of energy. Over the past two decades, submarine cables have enabled the incorporation of renewable energy sources and contributed to the development of a more interconnected and sustainable European energy market by promoting decarbonization. Considering the advantages of HV technologies, countries such as North America and South America have come forward to promote and invest in such infrastructure. India is also trying to achieve such goals of decarbonization through many programs, and in order to achieve a sustainable maritime environment, the Indian government has announced Maritime India Vision 2030 (MIV 2030), an initiative of the Ministry of Ports Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW). Various factors contribute to the pollution of our marine ecology such as the emission of harmful gases from ships, the release and deposition of garbage, biofouling, and the emission of carbon dioxide from submarine cables (both optic and power). In this chapter, an attempt has been made to analyze the performance of HVDC cable submarine cable technology, which results in narrowing down the level of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.