2012SanFranciscoColloquium

http://www.cigre.org

Advances in voltage source converter (VSC) technologies B4-6 500 kV VSC Transmission System for lines and cables

B.JACOBSON,B.WESTMAN,M.P.BAHRMAN*

ABB
Sweden,USA* bjorn.jacobson@se.abb.com Inmanycasesanelevatedtransmissionvoltageisneededtoreachanoptimumbalancebetween powercapacity,investmentcostandlosses.Highvoltagealsoimplieslargepowerblocks.The maximumallowableblocksizeisdeterminedbytotalsystemresponsetolossoflinksorconverters. Inweakernetworksclassiccurrentsourceconverterswillrequirespecialmeasurestooperatewell. Herethebynowtraditionaladvantagesofvoltagesourceconverters(VSC)canbeusedtofacilitate additionoftransmissioncapacityeventoinjectpowerintopointswithverylowavailableshort circuitpower.OtheraspectsoftheVSCtechnologylikerelativelysmallfootprintandthepossibility toconnectisolatedwindfarmscanbeotherfactorsleadingtotheselectionofthisparticular convertertype. BydividingthepoweroftheVSCconvertersintwoseparatepoles,ahighutilizationofconverter ratingandoptimallinescanbeobtainedwithoutsurpassingthereliabilitycriteriaforthenetwork. Twoblocksofoppositepolarityispreferredbecausetheycanbalanceoutanygroundcurrentin normaloperationwithouttheneedforathirdconductororcable.Akeycomponentinthisscheme istheasymmetricalvoltagesourceconverter. ThepaperwillcoverthestatusoftheHVDCconvertertechnology,particularilywithrespecttotwo basicfunctionaltopologiesnamelyasymmetricmonopolesandthebipoleconfiguration.Examplesof twooperationalasymmetriclinksandoneasymmetriclinkunderdesignandconstructionwillbe covereddetailingthespecificrequirementsandoperationaldutiesthatledtotheselectionof asymmetriclinks.Aspectsofcableconnectionaswellasoverheadlineswillbecovered.Finallysome futurepossibleapplicationsofthistechnologywillbediscussed.

Status of the technology

VSCtransmissionhaschangedfromanichetechnologytobeingalargeportionofthetotalHVDC marketinthepastfiveyearperiod.Someoftheaspectsbringingaboutthisshiftareincreased demandforadvancedtransmission,thebuildupofalargeandvariedpoolofuserexperience,the increaseofpowerandvoltageratings,thereductionoflossesandlastbutnotleasttheavailabilityof morethanasinglesupplierwithnowthreevendorshavingdeliveredorbeenawardedlarge internationalVSCtransmissionsystemcontracts. Examplesofadvancedtransmissionareinterconnectionsbetweenweaknetworks,powerfrom shore,multiinfeedandwindpowerinfeed,especiallyfromoffshoregeneration.Thepoolofuser experienceneedsnotbelistedherebutcanbefoundonvendorwebsites,e.g.[1]. Voltageratingshavegraduallyprogressed.ThehighestpolevoltageinoperationforVSCis350kV (CapriviLink,Namibia)andthehighestvoltageinanawardedcontractis500kV(Skagerrak4, DenmarkNorway).Thevoltagelevelisnotinprinciplelimitedbytheconverters,soitwouldbe feasibletobuildVSCconverterstothe800kVlevel,thisbeingthehighestdirectvoltagein operation,albeitonaLCC(LineCommutatedConverterorClassic)HVDCsystem.Theexperience fromtheHVDCClassicinsulationdesigncouldbeadaptedtoVSCconverters. Cablevoltagesavailableiscitedat500550kVfromdifferentvendors.Typicalcablecurrentscould be14002000Adependingonthermalconditionsandchoiceofconductormaterial,wherecopper wouldgivehighercurrentcapacitybutalsohighermaterialcostandtotalweight.Increased transmissioncapacitycouldbecreatedbyparallellingcables,especiallyforshortbypasssectionsof anotherwiseoverheadlinetransmission,forinstancewhenpassingariveroranurbanarea.

3,5% 3,0% 2,5% 2,0% 1,5% 1,0% 0,5% 0,0% 1995

Gen. 1 Gen. 2 HVDC Light

Gen. 3 Gen. 4 HVDC Classic

2000 2005 2010 2015

Figure1 EvolutionoflossesforHVDCLight(VSCTransmission).HVDCClassictypicallossesshowningreen forcomparison.

InsuccessivegenerationsofVSCtechnology,theconverterstationlosseshavebeenreducedstepby step.Thenowmoreorlessprevailingmultileveltechnologyhasledtoconversionlossesofabout 1%perstation,whichisahugestepfromtheearlydaysofVSCwhen3%wasatypicalvalue.To comedownto1%orevenless,advancesintopologies(multilevelconverters)andswitching strategieshavetobepairedwithcarefulsemiconductorselectionandevenoptimizationofthe

semiconductorsandtheirdrivingforthespecificapplicationinHVDC.Thesemiconductorofchoice forVSCistheInsulatedGateBipolarTransistorbyvirtueoflowdrivingpower,predictablebehaviour duringtransientevents,largeexperiencebank,comparativelylowlossesandgoodavailabilityin suitableratingsonthemarket. Inthedifferenttypesofpossiblemultileveltechnologies,thereisthechoicetouseseries connectionofsemiconductors.Themainreasonforusingseriesconnectionisreliability.Whenseries connectingseveralsemiconductorsinaconvertercell,singledevicefailuresareacceptableand operationoftheconvertercancontinuewithoutneedtobypassthecellwithafaultyIGBT.Without seriesconnection,theaffectedcellneedstobebypassedwithsometypeofdevice,oftena mechanicalswitch,otherwiseoperationoftheconverterhastobestoppedbecauseofthe unpredictablestatusofaconvertercellwithnomeansofcontrolleft.Inordertotakefulladvantage ofseriesconnectionspeciallydesignedIGBTsthatfailtoastableshortcircuitareused.

Projects with asymmetric converters

TodatethreeasymmetricVSCtransmissionsystemsareinoperation/constructionbutthereasons toselectthisdesignandtheoperationmodesusedvary: Valhall(78MW,150kV)wasdesignedasanasymmetricalmonopoletomakeoptimumuse ofthecoaxialHVDCcabledesign. Caprivi(250MW,300kV)wasdesignedasanasymmetricalmonopolebutispreparedfora futureadditionalconverterandbipolaroperation. Skagerrak4(715MW,450kV)isdesignedasamonopoleandwillbeoperatedinbipolar modewithSkagerrak3(whichusesLCCtechnology).

2.1

Valhall

TheValhallplatformcomplexhasbeeninoperationsince1982butthefacilitiesneededtobe upgradedanditwasdecidedthattheplatformsshouldbesuppliedwithpowerfromtheNorwegian ACgridandtoremovetheexistinggasturbinesinstalledonoftheplatforms. Thelinkis78MWHVDClinkanduseasymmetrical150kVVSCconvertersanda292kmlong150kV HVDCcable.ThepowercomingfromshoreisconvertedintheoffshoreHVDCstationtoACandthen distributedon11kVleveltothehotelandproductionplatforms.Themajorityoftheloadonthe platformcomplexconsistsofcompressorsandpumps.

Figure2TheValhallplatformcomplexislocated Figure3ListaonshoreHVDCconverterstation. roughlyhalfwaybetweenUKandNorway.

TheVSCconverterconceptoffersimportantadvantagesinoffshoreinstallationsasspaceandweight arekeyissuesandcostdriversfortheplatform.ThefiltersusedinVSCdesignareallsmallandcan bemadecompactandlightweightcomparedtoothersolutions. Thetransmissionlinkwentintooperation2011.

2.2

Caprivi Link

TheCapriviLinkInterconnectorisrated300MWat350kVandthetransmissiondistanceis950km. ThelinkisinterconnectingtheACnetworksofNamibiaandZambiaandisimportantintheSouthern AfricanPool.ThisisthefirstprojectthatusesVSCtechnologytogetherwithoverheadlines. ThelinkhasbeendesigntoallowafuturebipolarextensionandtheDCoverheadlinesarebuiltwith twopolesfromthestart.Theschemecaninthefirstphasebeoperatedinthreealternative operationalmodes: 1. Metallicreturnusingthesecondpoleasreturnconductor 2. EarthreturnusingoneDClineconductor 3. EarthreturnusingparallelledDClinepoleconductors. Thelossesareparticularlylowinoperationmode3. Thelongoverheadlineisofcoursesubjecttolightningstrikesbutalsotodisturbancesemanating fromfiresinthebrushvegetationinthearidpartsofthetransmissionpath.Theneedtocomeback quicklytostabletransmissionevenduringadverseelectricalnetworkconditionshasbeensolved, partlybyemployingconventionalhighvoltagedcbreakersandpartlybydevelopingcontrolsand sequencesthatenableanadaptedresponsetoawiderangeofcontingencies. Thetransmissionlinkwentintooperation2011.

Figure4ZambeziconverterstationlocatedintheCapriviregion.Thedesignallowsintegrationofafuture secondHVDCpole.

2.3

Skagerrak 4

InFebruary2011,anorderfora715MW500kVVSCasymmetricsystemwasawardedforan additionalparallelfourthinterconnectionbetweenNorwayandDenmark,theSkagerrakHVDC interconnections.ThethreeexistingHVDClinksinthesystemalluseLCCtechnologyandhavea

capacityof1050MW.ThetwofirstlinksSK1andSK2havebeeninoperationsincemid1970s.The newlinkSK4willoperateinbipolaroperationwithSK3(inoperationsincetheearly1990s). ThenewlinksHVDCvoltageof500kVistodatethehighestpolevoltageforaVSCsystem.Particular challengesinthisproject,apartfromtherecordvoltage,includeparalleloperationtothreeother LCCHVDCsystemsandarequirementthattheVSCsystemshouldbeabletobalancetheresulting currentwhenoneoftheotherpolesgooutofoperationorwhenotherconditionsinoperationso demand.ThishascalledforthefirstVSCsystemdesignthatisrequiredtoreversepolarity.Alsothe projectrequiresthefulluseofthereactivepowercapabilityinherentintheVSCtoenable transmissionevenduringdegradedorabnormalnetworkconditions.

Potential North American Applications for 500 kV VSC HVDC

NorthAmericahasabundant,highqualitywindresourcesacrosstheGreatPlainsonthecentreof thecontinent.Manyofthemajorloadcentres,however,arelocatedover1000kmtotheeastor westofthisregion.Transmissioninthisprimewindregionisrelativelysparsereflectingits comparativelylowpopulationdensity.Thenetworksacrossthisregionareseparatedby asynchronousboundariesbetweentheeasternandwesterninterconnectsandwiththeElectric ReliabilityCouncilofTexas(ERCOT).Substantialtransmissionadditionsarerequiredtointegrate thesewindresources. Withitsincreasedconvertercapacityandimprovedefficiency,theuniquecharacteristicsofVSC basedHVDCtransmissionmakeitanevenmoreattractiveforintegrationanddeliveryofrenewable energyfromnontraditionalgeneration.Circuitcapacityisnowroughlyequivalenttothatofa500 kVaclinebutwithlowerlinecostandlowerlinelosses.Inatraditionalbipolarconfiguration, transmissioncapacityissimilartothatofadoublecircuit500kVaclinebutatabouthalftheline cost.Highertransmissioncapacitiesarepossiblewithparallelconvertersoralternativecircuit configurations,e.g.multiplesymmetricalmonopoles.Unlikewithanacline,however,thereisno variablereactivepowerdemandorstabilitylimitationduetodistanceeffects.Ifthetransmission pathcrossessensitiveorcongestedareas,wherepermitsandrightofwayacquisitionaredifficultto obtainonatimelybasis,undergroundtransmissionwithsoliddielectric,extrudeddccablescanbe usedforalloraportionoftheroutewithoutdistancelimitationandwithdueconsiderationof sharedrightsofway.Figure5showstheconfigurationforabipolarVSCHVDCtransmissionlink withhybridoverheadundergroundtransmission.Thelinkisequippedwithprovisionformetallic returnswitching. ThecontrollabilityofHVDCtransmissionmitigatesinadvertentflowonparallelpathsandbypasses congestiontherebyreservingestablishedtransmissioncapacityforitsintendedpurpose. ControllabilitytendstofirmupHVDCtransmissioncapacitysincecongestiononparallelpathsisless likelytocausecurtailmentduringperiodsofhighwindproduction.Powerflowonthedc transmissionlinkcanautomaticallytrackvariableaggregatedwindplantgenerationkeepingitoff parallelpaths.

Underground

Figure5500kVVSCHVDClinkwithhybridOVHDU/Gtransmissionandmetallicreturnswitching provision.

ConventionalHVDCtransmissionrequiresreactivepowercompensation.Largeconcentrationsof shuntcompensationlowervoltagestability,increaseloadrejectionovervoltagesandlowerthe systemresonancefrequencyforloworderharmonics.ConsequentlyconventionalHVDCmusthave relativelystrongpointsfornetworkinterconnection.WindorPVsolargenerationdonot appreciablystrengthentheacnetwork.TheseissuesaremitigatedwithVSCHVDCsincethereisno needforreactivepowercompensation.Thereforemuchweakernetworkconditionscanexistatthe pointsofinterconnectionwithoutbeingsupplementedwithconventionalgenerationorother synchronousmachines.EvenradialoutlettransmissionfromwindplantsispossiblewithVSCHVDC asevidencedbyvariousoffshorewindprojects.Furthermore,thedynamicvoltagesupport capabilityoftheconvertersanduseofchopperscanimproverecoveryofthewindfarmfromac systemdisturbancestobetterfulfillgridcoderequirements.WithconventionalHVDC,temporarydc linefaultsareclearedquicklybyconverterphasecontrolwithnoneedforcircuitbreakeraction. RapidclearingofdclinefaultswithVSCrequiresdccircuitbreakers. Figure6illustratessomeofthelargeHVDCprojectsforaccessingremotewindresourcesontheUS GreatPlainswhicharecurrentlyunderactivedevelopment.MorelineswouldberequiredifEHVac transmissionwereused.Theacsystemcharacteristicsatthesendingendformanyoftheseprojects requireadditionalinvestmenttostrengthenthesysteminterconnection.Thisisespeciallytruesince localconventionalgenerationmaynotbedispatchedwhenthewindisblowingstrongly.UseofVSC HVDCwouldsubstantiallyreducetheamountofadditionalinvestment.Furthermore,thevariable O&Mexpensesforfollowingthewindgenerationwouldbelesssincetherewouldbenoneedfor commensuratereactivepowercompensation.

Zephyr TransWest Express Centennial West

Rock Island

Grain Belt Plains & Eastern Southern Cross

Figure6Proposed500kVHVDClinksforwindplants.Annualaveragewindspeedat80mperAWS Truewind,NREL.

4 Alternatives for Congested RightsofWay

Itisoftenchallengingtoterminatehighcapacitytransmissionlinesatkeysubstationswithinamajor loadcentreduetolanduseconstraints,congestedrightsofwayandreliabilityconcerns.With HVDCtransmission,possibilitiesexisttoworkaroundsomeoftheseconstraints.Oneoptionisto transitiontoundergroundcabletransmissionalongasharedutilitycorridor,besideroadwaysor alongtransmissionlines.Asecondoptionistotransferloadsfromlowervoltagecircuitstohigher voltagecircuitsandusethefreeduprightofwayforanHVDCline.Athirdoptionistoconvert existingEHVtransmissionlinestodctoincreasetheirpowertransfercapacity. Conversionofanaclinetoadclinetoincreasetransfercapacityhasbeenanalyzedextensivelyover theyearsbuthasneverbeenimplemented.[2] SomelineshavebeendesignedwithprovisionforeventualconversiontoHVDC.Analysismusttake intoaccountcoronaandfieldeffects,insulationproperties,clearancesandconductorcurrentrating inordertodeterminethepossibleincreaseincapacity.IntheUnitedStates,theNationalElectric SafetyCodeprovidesclearancetogroundcriteriaconsistingofadefinedreferenceheightplusan electricalcomponentofclearance.Thereferenceheightdependsonthelanduseoftheunderlying terraintraversed.Theelectricalcomponentofclearancedependsonthemaximumacordc operatingvoltageandanovervoltagefactor.ForalongbipolarHVDClinetheovervoltagefactoris about1.75timestheoperatingvoltage.ThisfactorislowerthanthatforanEHVacline.Composite longrodinsulatorshavesuperiorpollutionperformanceandcanhavelongercreepagedistancefora givenconnectinglength.Insulatorreplacementcanallowraisingthetransmissionvoltageand therebythepowercapacity.Replacingtheoutercrossarmswithhorizontalveecomposite insulatorsraisestheconductoranchorpointandeliminatesconductorswingatthetowertoobtaina higheroperatingvoltageforagivenconductorsag.Bymakingtheseinsulationchangestoconverta

singlecircuit345kVaclinewithtwoconductorbundlestoabipolarHVDClineforexample,one couldreasonablyexpecttoincreasethetransfercapabilitybyabout80%abovetheaclinethermal rating.

Conclusions

VSCisaninnovativebutmaturetechnologythatenablesnewusesintransmission. Ratingsarealreadytodaysufficientbothintermsofcurrentandvoltagetomatchthenearfuture needsoflargescaletransmission,inNorthAmericaaswellasintherestoftheworld.Forexample, a500kV,700MWmonopolarcablesystemhasalreadybeenorderedinNorthEurope. Theasymmetricconverterinabipolararrangementcangiveanattractivecombinationofhigh power,reasonableblocksizeandtotalsystemreliability. Bothoverheadlinesandcablesareavailablegivingtheplannerlargerfreedomtoselectanoptimum transmissionpath. PossibleusesinNorthAmericacouldbenewwindpowerinfeedandreliefofcongestioninthe transmissionsystem
[1]www.abb.com/hvdcInternetwebsite [2] K.Halson,F.Loudon,I.Gutman,J.Lundquist;Feasibilityofupgrading300kVAClinestoDCforincreased powertransfercapability,B2110CIGRE2008