[lkbm]

I was intrigued by one of the other ways—"high-performance wires"—which they don't explain at all. I found one article[0] (podcast, I guess, but with a transcript) that goes into it: old wires are aluminum supported by steel. By using aluminum supported with carbon fiber, you get less weight and less thermal expansion, allowing for more aluminum and without it sagging as much.

High conductivity, less transmission loss. Potentially fewer towers (because you can space them out a little further), offsetting the cost of the wires. Neat!

[0] https://www.volts.wtf/p/one-easy-way-to-boost-the-grid-upgra...