Power Systems 1

(EEE/ETI 4102)

Lecture 6
May-Aug 2024

Susan Kisengeu
[email protected]

Dedan Kimathi University of Technology

Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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 HVDC TRANSMISSION
- Why HVDC and not HVAC?

- Advantages and Limitations

- Areas of Application

- Types of HVDC links

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 HVAC Transmission (Limitations)

Factors that limit the amount of power transmitted over a 3-phase line include
1. Reactive power loss
Reactive power loss depends on the line loading. During light loading condition, Q
absorbed is less than charging Q whereas during heavy loading, the reverse is true.
Thus, there is need for reactive power support to maintain voltages at line ends
within stipulated limits.

2. Stability
The power transmitted over a line of reactance X  per phase

 VSVR  where  is the load or power

P sin   per phase
 X  angle.

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 HVAC Transmission (Limitations) – cont.

Maximum steady state power occurs when  = 90. However, for effective stable
operation of the system; considering transient conditions  ≤ 30. Therefore, stability
considerations limit the distance of a.c. transmission.

3. Current Carrying Capacity

Current carrying capacity of overhead lines is above the corresponding SIL whereas
for underground cables, it is much below this value. Critical length (length of cable
when charging current = thermal current limits) limits distance of power transmission
by cables (about 50km).

4. Operation and control

It is not possible to interconnect ac system operating at different frequencies.
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 High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) Transmission

 HVDC technology is mainly used to transmit bulk power over long distances.
 Generation is at a.c. voltages as transformers facilitate to step up generation
voltage to the required level.
 The transmission is D.C. – At the receiving-end, an inverter is used to convert
the d.c. voltage to a.c. which is stepped down to distribution voltage levels at
various consumer ends.

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600 kV HVDC line
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HVDC line for 2,000 MW in western USA
 Advantages of HVDC

1. Requires less number of conductors hence reduced conductor cost.

2. A HVDC line needs less space compared to an a.c. line of the same voltage rating and
size.
e.g. for a 500 kV HVDC – distance between conductors = 25 ft
for a 500 kV HVAC – distance between outside conductors = 60 ft

3. There is no need to maintain synchronism between two a.c. systems interconnected

through a d.c. link.

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 Advantages of HVDC (cont.)

4. Power control of the d.c. link is faster and more accurate due to absence of
rotating synchronous machines.

5. HVDC does not transmit short circuit power in case of faults and disturbances

6. Two a.c. power systems operating at different frequencies can be linked

through a HVDC link

7. There is no technical limit to the distance of power transmission by overhead

lines or by cable using HVDC; f = 0 (no skin related effect problems) and X =
0 (no reactive power generation or absorption)

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 Limitations of HVDC Transmission
1. Converters at both ends of the line are very expensive. Therefore, the transmission voltage and
power to be transmitted must be high for the system to be economically viable.
2. The converters generate both a.c. and d.c. harmonics. Filters have to be introduced at both
ends of the HVDC link. These also contribute to increased cost.
3. The DC line blocks reactive power transfer. Reactive power then has to be supplied at the
receiving-end to meet the demand by both the load and the inverters.
4. It is very difficult to have a DC interconnected system with tee–junctions due to difficulties
experienced in switching DC systems. Also there are no DC transformers – choppers are
quite expensive.
5. Circuit breaking is difficult in DC circuits. The cost of dc circuit breakers is still rather high.

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Comparison of HVDC and HVAC economics

 Applications of HVDC Transmission

1. Long distance (longer than 600 km) bulk power transmission by overhead lines
e.g.
 Inga–Shaba (1,700 km)
 Xiangjiaba–Shanghai (2,071 km).

2. Underground and submarine cables longer than about 30 km owing to high

capacitance of AC cables requiring compensation e.g.
 France and Great Britain (2000 MW, 73 km)
 NorNed - connecting Norway and Netherlands (700 MW, 560 km)
 Baltic cable connecting Germany and Sweden, (600 MW, 250 km)
 Basslink connecting mainland Australia and Tasmania (500 MW, 290 km).
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 Applications of HVDC Transmission (cont.)
4. Interconnection of a.c. system operating at different frequencies e.g. 50-Hz
and 60-Hz grids in Japan.

5. Back-to-back HVDC coupling stations – asynchronous interconnection e.g.

The DC ties connecting Western Interconnection with the Eastern
Interconnection within the US

6. Multi-terminal DC (MTDC) asynchronous interconnection between 3 or more

AC networks

7. Control and stabilisation of power flows in AC interconnections of large

interconnected systems.

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Some HVDC systems in the world

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Some HVDC systems in the world

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 Types of HVDC links
1. Monopolar HVDC link
 Single Conductor ground return

 The cheapest arrangement is single conductor with a ground return

AC system AC system

Disadvantages
 Corrosion of buried pipes and cable sheaths due to electrolysis
 Submarine cables cause errors in ships’ compass reading especially
when the cable runs North to South due to the magnetic field.
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 Types of HVDC links (cont.)
2. Bipolar HVDC link
 Bipolar links are most commonly used – no ground return

 The monopolar link is often the first stage of the development of a bipolar
line – defer investment on converters until load grows which requires
bipolar operation
 The two poles can operate independently in case of a fault

AC system AC system

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Bipolar HVDC link
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Schematic of a bipolar HVDC system

 Types of HVDC links (cont.)
3. Homopolar HVDC link
 Has two or more conductors all of the same polarity with ground return

AC system AC system

Homopolar HVDC link

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 Main Parts of a HVDC Scheme
1. Converters
 Rectifier (AC/DC) at the sending-end and inverter (DC/AC) at the receiving-
end.

 Consist of valve bridges and transformers with tap changers.

 The ungrounded transformer transforms AC voltage to suitable value for

feeding the converter

 High voltage valves are connected in 6-pulse or 12-pulse arrangement.

 The higher the number of pulses, the lower the harmonics

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Three-phase full-wave bridge circuit (Graetz bridge) 21
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12-pulse bridge converter

There are three ways of achieving conversion:
 Natural Commutated Converters.
 Capacitor Commutated Converters (CCC).
 Forced Commutated Converters - VSC (Voltage
Source Converters). The operation of the converter is achieved by
Pulse Width Modulation (PWM).

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2. Smoothening reactors – (0.4 to 1 H)
 Decrease harmonic voltages and currents in DC line
 Prevent commutation failure in inverters
 Prevent current from being discontinuous at light load
 limit rate of rise of the fault current in case of short circuit on the DC lines

3. Harmonic filters
 Reduce/ eliminate harmonics. Converters generate harmonics by the
nature of their operation, which are injected on both the DC and AC
sections of the system.
 Both tuned filters (single frequency) and damped filters (offer low
impedance over a broad band of frequencies) are used.
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4. Reactive power supplies
 DC converters absorb reactive power; under steady state conditions,
50% of active power transferred and more under transient conditions
 Reactive power supplied by static VAr compensators, shunt capacitors,
synchronous condensers.
 Filter capacitors also supply reactive power

5. Electrodes

6. DC lines

7. AC circuit breakers

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 Control of HVDC Transmission

 Current in the d.c. link depends on the resistance and voltage

difference between the two ends of the line.

 Voltage at converter station depends on

 Number of converter groups in series
 a.c. system voltage
 Converter tap-changer position
 Firing angle
 Circuit impedance

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 Read the following sub-topics

 Converter faults
 DC circuit breakers

 Developments in DC technology

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