It would need to be 25 metres by 100 metres, with sides five metres high, and a draft of 2.5 metres. It could be made out of 10 separate units, each measuring 10 metres by 25 metres by five metres -- bolted and welded together to form a single rigid craft. It could be made at Riverton, where shipbuilders assure me they have the capability to build such a craft. The barge would be moved by tug boats which already exist on the lake.

To lay the cable from the barge would be a simpler and far cheaper process than it was to lay cable in the North Sea, which at times required the coordinated efforts of seven ships. The depth of the North Sea ranges from a few metres to over 410 metres -- its bottom varies from silt to rocks and boulders, crossed here and there by numerous pipelines and telecom cables. A further serious problem is that the sea is subject to frequent storms.

In summary, in addition to the total costs of $1.9 billion for the two converter stations, the installation of the underwater cable, and the overland transmission line, there would be these additional expenses: (1) transport costs by ship for the cable from Sweden to Thunder Bay, (2) transport costs to move the cable for two pairs of underwater lines 720 kilometres by rail, (3) the costs of building a large barge and its motorized turntable (sections of the barge could be disassembled and used for other purposes or sold), (4) the cost of 800 metres of a special conveyer system and (5) the rental of the remote-controlled trencher to dig the trench.