TIL that these big and very expensive cables we need to bring wind power onshore have a life expectancy of just 25 years. So, whenever you read that there needs to be an investment of, say, a hundred billion for this infrastructure, just add "every generation" in your mind.
@collectifission They give the cables very conservative life expectancy. The 200km Fenno-Skan underwater 500MW cable from Finland to Sweden was laid down in 1989 and is still in use. 2017 it was inspected and they decided it's still good to go at least until 2040.
Yeah, I was thinking along similar lines. Thanks for providing a data point...