Professional Documents
Culture Documents
ABSTRACT:
Starting with a brief history of the evolution of HVDC light technology , the paper gives the
definition of “HVDC LIGHT”, and compares it with Conventional HVDC. This paper focuses on the
HVDC light converter technology and about the light cable. The advantages of HVDC light cables over AC
under ground cables and over DC under ground cables are discussed. The active and reactive power control
by HVDC light are seen and Emergency Power and Black Start Capability of HVDC Light, the new
technology prospects and the applications, by considering the possible economical and environmental
considerations are discussed.
INTRODUCTION:
As the size of a concentrated load in cities increases due to the on-going urbanization,
metropolitan power networks have to be continuously upgraded to meet the demand. Environmental issues
are also becoming more and more of a concern all over the world. Strong forces are pushing for replacing
old local generation with power transmission from cleaner sources. Land space being scarce and expensive,
substantial difficulties arise whenever new right-of-way is to be secured for the feeding of additional power
with traditional transmission lines. With increasing power levels, the risk of exceeding the short-circuit
capability of existing switchgear equipment and other network components becomes another real threat to
further expansion. Increasing demands on the power quality in urban areas is also a factor to consider for
the power system engineer. The HVDC Light system is a solution to these problems.
This technology is designed to transmit large quantities of power using underground cables
and at the same time adds stability and power quality to the connected networks. The cables are easily
installed underground using existing right of ways, existing cable ducts, roads, subways, railways or
channels. The HVDC Light converter stations are compact and by virtue of their control, they do not
contribute to the short-circuit levels. As its name implies, HVDC Light is a high voltage, direct current
transmission technology and is well suited to meet the demands of competitive power market for
transmission up to 1100 MW.
HVDC Light cables have extruded polymer insulation. Their strength and flexibility make
the HVDC Light cables well suited for severe installation conditions both underground as a land cable and
as a submarinecable.The converter station design is based on voltage source converters (VSCs) employing
state of the art turn-on/turn-off IGBT power semiconductors that operate with high frequency pulse width
modulation. HVDC Light has the capability to rapidly control both active and reactive power independently
of each other, to keep the voltage and frequency stable. This gives total flexibility regarding the location of
the converters in the AC system since the requirements of short-circuit capacity of connected AC network
is low (SCR down to zero).
The cable system is complete with cables, accessories and installation services. The cables
are operated in bipolar mode, one cable with positive polarity and one cable with negative polarity. The
cables have polymeric insulating material, which is very strong and robust.
This strength and flexibility make the HVDC Light cables perfect for severe installation conditions.
• The submarine cables can be laid in deeper waters and on rough bottoms.
• The land cables can be installed less costly with ploughing technique.
• HVDC cables can now also go overhead with aerial cables
MAIN DIFFERENCES BETWEEN HVDC LIGHT AND CONVENTIONAL
HVDC LIGHT CONVERTER TECHNOLOGY:
Conventional HVDC converter technology is based on the use of line-commutated or phase-
commutated converters (PCC). With the appearance of high switching frequency components, such as
IGBT’s (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor) it becomes advantageous to build VSC (Voltage Source
Converters) using PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) Technology.
HVDC Light uses Pulse Width Modulation to generate the fundamental voltage. It controls
the magnitude and phase of the voltage freely and almost instantaneously and allows independent and very
fast control of active and reactive power flows. PWM voltage source converter does not contribute to the
short-circuit power, as the AC current can be controlled by the converter valve
The key part of the HVDC Light converter consists of an IGBT valve bridge. No special
converter transformers are necessary between the valve bridge and the AC-grid. A converter reactor can
separate the fundamental frequency from the raw PWM waveform. If the desired DC voltage does not
match the AC system voltage, a normal AC transformer may be used in addition to the reactor. A small
shunt AC-filter is placed on the AC-side of the reactor. On the DC-side there is a DC capacitor that serves
as a DC filter.
In parallel with the development of the IGBT based VSC technology, the development of
extruded DC cables exhibiting an outstanding voltage withstand capability, low weight per unit length as
well as very high service reliability tipped the balance in favour of HVDC technology in transmission and
distribution. The HVDC Light cable is a new design triple extruded, polymeric insulated DC-cable, which
has been successfully type-tested to 150kV DC. It is a new lightweight cable similar in appearance and
characteristics to a standard AC, XLPE cable except that the problem associated with space charges which
breakdown the insulation when using AC, XLPE cables on DC has been over come with this new design.
The cables are operated in bipolar mode, one cable with positive polarity and one cable with negative
polarity. The cables have polymeric insulating material, which is very strong and robust. DC cables do not
exhibit the reactive power problem encountered in AC cables and can therefore be used for transmission
over long distances. This strength and flexibility make the HVDC Light cables perfect for severe
installation conditions:
• The land cables can be installed less costly with plowing technique.
• The submarine cables can be laid in deeper waters and on rough seabeds.
• HVDC cables can also be installed as overhead cables.
• DC cables can carry up to 50% more power than the equivalent AC cable.
• Being considerably more compact and lightweight than classic HVDC, HVDC Light enables
transmission of electrical power to, from, and between offshore installations where distances
prohibit AC transmission
HVDC light is expected to become the preferred alternative in many electricity supply
applications such as:
Electricity from a remote power system, supplied via an HVDC-Light link, can
successfully replace diesel-generating sets that are commonplace in such cases. Transporting electricity
with the new HVDC Light scheme effectively cuts down the relatively expensive operating costs
associated with the transportation of diesel fuel to the islands as well as with the relatively low energy
conversion efficiency of smaller diesel-generator units. Other possible applications are the supply of
electricity to offshore oil and gas platforms, where space and equipment weight are at a premium, or
the use of excess gas from oil platforms to generate and transmit electric power to mainland locations.
At present, designs in the range 1-60 MW with cables operating at 100 kV are being considered. In
future both power and voltages are expected to increase, yielding much higher transmission capacities.
Small cities, mining districts, villages and other places that are located far from any
electrical network, can now be economically fed from larger networks via an HVDC-light link. In this way,
the advantages afforded by large electricity networks are brought to basically any place on land or even
offshore. In the past, for loads in the range below 100 MW, local generation was necessary if the distance
between the existing electric grid and the load was beyond what is possible to achieve economically using
traditional AC technology. The new DC technology makes it possible to cost effectively bridge across large
distances with a minimum of losses.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS:
• Magnetic fields are eliminated since HVDC Light cables are laid in pairs with DC currents in
opposite directions.
• It offers no overhead lines, neutral electromagnetic fields, oil-free cables and compact converter
stations.
• The cable insulation is power electronic based are not dangerous.
CONCLUSIONS:
The technical development that has recently taken place in the field of electrical transmission,
coupled to a changing business environment of the electricity supply industry and the deregulation of
energy sector at large, lead to a growing attractiveness of electrical transmission.
The hallmarks of the new technology are: short lead times, cost effectiveness, compactness,
environmental friendliness, and ease of application. It is anticipated that this technology will quickly
become the preferred alternative for transportation of energy, in many application cases where electricity
transmission was not considered previously.
REFERENCES:
• B. Normark, D. Ravemark, “Underground transmission with HVDC Light”.
Document By
SANTOSH BHARADWAJ REDDY
Email: help@matlabcodes.com
Engineeringpapers.blogspot.com
More Papers and Presentations available on above site