AORC Technical meeting 2014

B4-1008
http : //www.cigre.org

A Techno-economic Analysis of HVDC Transmission Link between

Southern China and Thailand

A. Chaichana* P. Pin-Anong
Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
Thailand
artitaya.c@egat.co.th

SUMMARY

The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) and Southern China have made a
25-year power purchase agreement for a bipolar, ±600-kV, 1772-km HVDC transmission line linked
between Thailand and Southern China via Laos. Contract capacities are 3,000 MW under bipolar
operation and 1,900 MW under monopole operation measured at the Thai/Laos border. The EGAT has
considered three configurations: a) neutral conductor as a shield wire, b) neutral conductor as the third
pole, and c) metallic return switch without neutral conductor. The grounding electrode option was
dropped from consideration. On technical analysis, the power duration data were projected over a
period of 25 years and divided into three cases in response to variability of projected duration. In
addition, Gaussian and Weibull distributions were employed to illustrate variability of contracted
power. Line losses were then calculated on an annual basis. The proper conductor size is determined
by considering various current-carrying capabilities, voltage drop, and line losses. In an extreme
scenario, a monopole operation is assumed after one pole of the bipolar system was blocked. Thus, the
current-carrying capability of the metallic neutral conductor directly affects the investment cost. On
economic analysis, sale revenue, investment costs and annual costs were projected to calculate simple
payback period, net present value, and internal rate of return, which are economic indicators. The
optimum configuration is justified by using both technical and economic criteria.

KEYWORDS

HVDC transmission line; interconnection; metallic return; power purchase agreement

artitaya.c@egat.co.th
1. Introduction

The first HVDC interconnection project in Thailand was operated in 2002 under cooperation
between The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) and Tenaga Nasional Berhad
(TNB), Malaysia. A transmission line system is a bipolar, ±300-kV, 110-km linked between Gurun,
Malaysia and Khlong Ngae, Thailand. The project was divided into two stages. Stage I is a 300-MW
transmission system operated in monopole mode for the first 10 years. Stage II is a 600-MW
transmission system under bipolar operation for next 25 years. The detailed study of this project was
provided by Teshmont Consultants Inc., Canada [1] [2]. There are four circuit configurations under
consideration: a) continuous rated ground electrodes (in service for both stages), b) short-time rated
ground electrodes (in service for stage II), c) neutral conductor on DC transmission line as a shield
wire, and d) fast metallic return switch without neutral conductor. It was found that the lowest cost
option is to choose neutral conductor on DC transmission line given that the link is relatively short.
Besides, this option could ease control and communication scheme. Although all poles and neutral
conductor were installed, but by far, both poles were operated in monopole mode to reduce energy
losses. As a result, the actual performance of operation under bipolar mode using neutral conductor as
a shield wire could not be assessed.
In 2013, EGAT and Southern China has initiated a ±600 kV bipolar, 3000-MW, 1772-km
HVDC transmission project linked between Southern China and Thailand through Laos. The design
process should be completed in 2014, the construction process is scheduled in 2016, and the operation
should be started by 2020. Based on a double-blind process, Southern China has adopted a minimum
annual cost approach that energy losses are taken as one of the transmission cost components. In
contrary, the EGAT has considered energy losses as opportunity cost in energy sales. Note that
Southern China is responsible for the design of transmission system in Laos but the investment cost
will be shared equally between EGAT and Southern China.
The transmission line lengths in China, Laos, and Thailand are 735, 200, and 837 km
respectively. Pole I has a rating of 2500 A at +600 kV, Pole II has a rating of 2500 A at –600 kV. Under
normal operation, four-bundled conductors are connected in parallel for each pole. The EGAT has
selected four-bundled 2167 MCM ACSR/GA (codename: KIWI) conductors. The earth-return is twin-
bundled 2167 MCM ACSR/GA (codename: KIWI) conductors. The right-of-way of this HVDC link is
30 m from the center of the line.
The maximum levels of ground-level electric field and ion current density are bounded at 25
kV/m and 100 nA/m2 under the line, respectively. The radio interference and audible noise, caused by
corona level, are limited at 46 dB and 42 dB(A) at the edge of the right-of-way, respectively [3].
In HVDC transmission design, grounding electrode usually serves as the return path of current
under monopole operation. The design of grounding electrode depends primarily on soil resistivity and
moisture content [4]. Grounding electrode is normally located near wetland to lower soil resistivity. By
using grounding electrode, large urban area would be needed to construct grounding electrode near a
converter station, which may cause both land appraisal problem and public concern over the safety of
human beings in the vicinity of the grounding electrode [5][6]. In the preliminary design stage of this
project, metallic return is being considered in order to avoid using grounding electrode [2]. A metallic
return is a neutral conductor connected to the neutral points of converter stations. Under bipolar
operation, relatively low current flows through the neutral conductor. As a result, total conductor
cross-sectional area of the metallic return is smaller than that of the line.
This work is proposed to investigate techno-economic impact of bipolar operation and
determine the optimum configuration for this HVDC project. The design methodology is described in
Section 2. The calculation results under both normal operation and extreme conditions are provided
and discussed in Section 3. Finally, this work is concluded in Section 4.

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2. Design Methodology

The initial agreement between EGAT and Southern China has declared 5 levels of power
transfer (3,000; 2,000; 1,650; 1,000; and 300 MW) over 25-year period, depending on time of day and
season. For instance, the power transfer in the evening is 3,000 MW, while the power transfer in the
early morning is 300 MW. However, it is proposed in this work to divide the power duration data into
three cases. The base case is taken from the initial agreement, resulting of 13,300 GWh/y. The other
two cases still follows 5 levels of power transfer but change the duration of each transfer level. The
high case assumes that electricity demand would be higher than the existing agreement so that the
energy transfer is 14,333 GWh/y. On the other hand, the low case assumes that electricity demand
would be lower than the existing agreement so that the energy transfer is 12,860 GWh/y. Line losses
are then computed accordingly on an annual basis.
Then, Gaussian and Weibull distributions are then applied to statistically quantify power
transmission variability. In this work, it is assumed that the span of each power transfer level is ±10%
of its expected value. Consequently, changes of line losses can be observed.
Next, various DC circuit configurations are proposed. In this work, the grounding electrode
option was neglected because of siting difficulty and public concern. There are three options
remaining for consideration. The circuit configurations can be compared in Figure 1.

a) Neutral conductor as a shield wire

In DC transmission system, neutral conductor could avoid the need of grounding electrode,
while retaining full flexibility of operation. To carry the rated current in monopole operation, the
neutral conductors are twin-bundled 2167 MCM ACSR/GA. The tower needs to support higher load
on cross arm when the shield wire is replaced by neutral conductor. Additional insulators are also
needed to cope with voltage drop in long-distance neutral conductor. It should be aware that, under
monopole operation, the probability of bipolar outage increases due to lack of lightning protection.

b) Neutral conductor as the third pole

This configuration is similar to earlier configuration but may have different tower
configuration. The shield wire is still kept to ensure lightning protection. The neutral conductors are
twin-bundled 2167 MCM ACSR/GA.

c) Metallic return switch without neutral conductor

This configuration includes a metallic return switch to bypass faulted converter pole and
establish monopole metallic return operation. So, it could avoid the need for either grounding
electrode or neutral conductor. When there is an outage on one pole, the monopole DC current will
flow to the station ground until the metallic return operation can be established. However, the
operation with rated current flowing into the station ground mat can be tolerated for only a short-time
period.
In an extreme scenario, it is assumed that one pole of the bipolar system is blocked; the other
pole must be able to serve a certain level of load for a while. The remaining pole operates as a mono
pole with return current through the metallic neutral conductor. The following three conditions were
investigated: 1) Bipolar outage risk, 2) voltage drop in neutral conductor or metallic return conductor
under monopole operation, and 3) transformer saturation due to flow of DC current from the station
ground mat through the grounded neutral of transformer. According to CIGRE SC 14 Reliability
Statistics [2] [7] [8], it is assumed that the unavailable period is 50 hours per year.
Finally, economic analysis of this HVDC project is performed. The sale revenue can be
computed from the levelized price and energy transfer over the link. The investment costs were
computed the capital costs of line equipment and converter station in Thailand (837 km) and Laos
(100 km). The land cost may be neglected for the sake of simplicity. The annual O&M costs may be
considered as a constant ratio of the total investment costs. In this work, the economic indicators of
consideration are the simple payback period (SPP), the net present value (NPV), and the internal rate
of return (IRR).

3
 China Laos Thailand
735-km 200-km 837-km

Station
Ground
Grid

(a) Neutral conductor on DC transmission line as a shield wire

China Laos Thailand

735-km 200-km 837-km

Station
Ground
Grid

(b) Neutral conductor on DC transmission line as the third pole

China Laos Thailand

735-km 200-km 837-km

Metallic
Return Switch

Station Station
Ground Grid Ground Grid

(c) Metallic return switch without neutral conductor

Figure 1 Comparison of HVDC configurations

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3. Result and Discussion

Table 1 shows the projection of power duration and line losses of the three cases. Note that the
line losses are computed from the 837-km line in Thailand only. It was found that the annual line
losses of the high, bases, and low cases are 2.24%, 2.08%, and 2.06% of the annual energy transfer,
respectively. When applying the Gaussian and Weibull distributions to the transfer power level, it was
found that expected values of line losses slightly change to 276.86 and 278.40 GWh/y, respectively.
Table 2 shows systems conditions when one pole is blocked so that the other pole must be
operating as mono pole. Bipolar outage risk is high when either there is no shielding wire or the
metallic return switch fails. Thus, the second configuration has low risk. Energy losses are computed
from line losses in the neutral conductor or metallic return conductor when it is necessary to operate in
monopole operation. Based on unavailability rate, it is estimated that there is 50 h/y of monopole
operation. The energy losses can then be estimated by using Eq. (1). As shown in Table 2, voltage drop
and energy losses of the third configuration are lower than those of the other two configurations. But,
the third configuration is vulnerable to transformer saturation.

OD j
EL = ∑ j x50 xPL j (1)
8,760
where EL Energy losses (MWh/y)
PL Power losses (MW)
OD Operating duration (h/y)
j Index of power transfer level

Upon agreement, the purchasing price from Southern China is 80 USD/MWh over the contract
period. The levelized selling price is 100 USD/MWh. The converter station cost was referred to on
CIGRE Technical Brochure 388 [3]. Transmission line supply and construction cost is assumed to be
385,472 USD/km. The land cost is assumed to be 5.38 USD/m2. The annual O&M costs are assumed
to be 2.5% of the total investment costs. The discount rate is set at 10% per annum. The economic life
is equal to the contract period, i.e. 25 years.
By taking the investment costs of the third case as a reference, it was found that the first and
the second cases yield higher costs for 13% and 17%, respectively. Therefore, it can be said that the
neutral conductor as the third pole seems be technically strongest but its investment costs are highest.
On contrary, the metallic return switch without neutral conductor might be technically weakest but its
investment costs are lowest. It is decided to opt for the neutral conductor as the third pole.
Table 3 shows revenue, costs, and economic indicators of the selected configuration. The
revenue was computed from annual sale of energy (excluding line losses) at levelized selling price.
The investment costs were taken from the line and converter station equipment as well as land cost.
The energy cost was computed from annual purchase of energy (including losses) at interconnection
point under a constant contract price. It can be seen that the selected configuration yields acceptable
worth so that it is economically attractive.
If the other two configurations were also considered, their revenues are identical to that in
Table 3 but their costs are lower than those in Table 3. Thus, the SPP would be lower while the NPV
and the IRR would be higher than those in Table 3.

Table 1 Power duration data and line losses

Power (MW) Duration (h/y) Line losses (GWh/y)

High case Base case Low case High case Base case Low case
3,000 3,970 2,958 2,912 300.72 224.06 220.58
2,000 - 952 498 - 32.05 16.77
1,650 730 790 954 16.73 18.10 21.86
1,000 - - 336 - - 2.83
300 4,060 4,060 4,060 3.08 3.08 3.08
Sum 8,760 8,760 8,760 320.52 277.29 265.11

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 Table 2 System conditions when one pole of the bipolar system is blocked

Configuration Neutral conductor as Neutral conductor as Metallic return switch

a shield wire the third pole without neutral conductor
Bipolar outage risk High Low High
Voltage drop (kV/km) 0.051 0.051 0.023
Energy losses (GWh/y) 1.58 1.58 0.79
Transformer saturation No No Yes

Table 3 Economic indicators of HVDC circuit configuration with neutral conductor as the third pole

Revenue (million USD/y) 1,300.67 Investment costs (million USD) 1,123.97

Converter station 460.00
Line – Thailand 322.64
Line – Laos 38.55
Land 302.78
O&M costs (million USD/y) 20.53
Energy cost (million USD/y) 1,080.62
SPP 5.63 years NPV 624.60 million USD IRR 17%

4. Conclusion

The design of bipolar HVDC transmission line system was proposed. The optimum
configuration was evaluated by using both technical and economic analyses. The grounding
electrode option was usually avoided when the line passes to urban area. The metallic return switch
without neutral conductor is less secure but the investment costs are economical. In the presence of
neutral conductor, the investment costs are definitely higher but providing more secure operation.

References

[1] Report on “EGAT-TNB 300/600 MW HVDC Interconnection Project, Transmission Line Studies”
(Report No.088-30119-1). April 13, 1995. Teshmont Consultants Inc., Canada.

[2] Report on “EGAT-TNB 300/600 MW HVDC Interconnection Project, DC Circuit Configuration

and Layouts” (Report No.088-20115-1). November 10, 1994. Teshmont Consultants Inc., Canada.

[3] CIGRE Joint Working Group B2/B4/C1.17, Impacts of HVDC Lines on the Economics of HVDC
Projects, (CIGRE: Paris), Technical Brochure 388, August 2009.

[4] S. Rao, EHV-AC, HVDC Transmission & Distribution Engineering, 3rd Edition, Khanna
Publishers, 2013.

[5] Report on “EGAT-TNB 300/600 MW HVDC Interconnection Project, Electrode Site Selection”.
July 8, 1994. Teshmont Consultants Inc., Canada.

[6] HVDC Ground Electrode Design, EL-2020, Research Project 1467-1, International Engineering
Company Inc. for Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), 1981

[7] D.J. Christofersen, H. Elahi, M.G. Bennett, A Survey of the Reliability of HVDC Systems
Throughout the World During 1991-1992, CIGRE 14-101, 1994.

[8] Report on “EGAT-TNB 300/600 MW HVDC Interconnection Project, Reliability Analysis of

HVDC System”. January 24, 1995. Teshmont Consultants Inc., Canada.