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HVDC transmission in India

Article  in  IEEE Potentials · February 2014

DOI: 10.1109/MPOT.2012.2220870

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G. D. Kamalapur Vishwakumar R. Sheelavant

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 HVdc transmission
in India
T
he development of transmission
systems closely follows the grow-
ing demand on electrical energy.
With the increasing size and com-
G.D. Kamalapur, plexity of transmission networks,
the performance of power systems
V.R. Sheelavant,
decreases due to problems related to
Sabeena Hyderabad, load flow, power oscillations, and voltage
quality. Flexible ac transmission systems
Ankita Pujar, (FACTS) and high-voltage direct current
(HVdc) technologies offer some effective
Saptarshi Bakshi, schemes to meet these demands. In
recent years, HVdc technology has been
and Amruta Patil
considered as one feasible planning alter-
native in India to increase power grid
delivery capability and remove identified
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MPOT.2012.2220870
Date of publication: 7 January 2014
22 0278-6648/14/$31.00©2014IEEE
Skyline courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Cididity Hat
network bottlenecks. Quite a few HVdc
transmission projects have been con-
structed or planned.
The interconnection of power systems
offers benefits for power transmission, such
as pooling of various energy resources, the
reduction of reserve capacity in the sys-
tems, and increasing the transmission effi-
ciency. However, if the size of the system is
too large, dynamic problems can occur that
could jeopardize the reliability and avail-
ability of the synchronous operation of the
interconnected grids.
Establishing a desired power condition
at the given points are best achieved using
power controllers such as FACTS devices
and HVdc. HVdc is used to transmit large
amounts of power over long distances.
The factors to be considered are cost,
IEEE POTENTIALS
technical performance, and reliability. A
FACTS is composed of static equipment
used for the ac transmission of electrical
energy. FACTS and HVdc technologies
offer some effective schemes to meet
these demands. FACTS are an effective
means of managing power flows. HVdc
technologies can also be applied to the
power system to improve system reliabil-
ity. HVdc offers independent frequency
and control, lower line cost, power con-
trol, voltage control, and stability con-
trol. FACTS and HVdc are complemen-
tary technologies. An HVdc electric
power transmission system uses dc for
the bulk transmission of electrical power.
Developments in polyphase circuits, the
availability of the transformers, the utili-
zation of induction motors, and other ac
machines have led to extensive transmis-
sion and distribution networks.
Advantages of HVdc over HVac
•• Beyond the breakeven distance,
HVdc has the ability to transmit large
amounts of power with lower capital
costs and lower losses than ac.
•• HVdc can carry more power per
conductor. The power delivered in an
ac system is defined by the root mean
square (RMS) of an ac voltage, but RMS
is only 70.7% of the peak voltage. The
peak voltage of ac determines the ac-
tual insulation thickness and conductor
spacing. HVdc operates at a constant
maximum voltage, with equally sized
conductors and insulation to carry
more power into an area.
•• For ac used cable transmission,
additional current must flow in the
cable to charge the cable capacitance,
which generates additional losses in the
conductors of the cable. There is also
a dielectric loss component contributing
to power loss. For dc, the cable capaci-
tance is charged only when the cable is
first energized or when the voltage is
changed; there is no steady-state addi-
tional current required.
•• HVdc does not suffer from the
skin effect; hence it needs fewer, thin-
ner conductors.
•• Increasing the capacity of an ex-
isting power grid in situations where ad-
ditional wires are difficult or expensive
to install.
•• Connecting a remote generating
plant to the distribution grid and power
transmission and stabilization between
unsynchronised ac distribution systems.
•• Stabilizing a predominantly ac
power-grid, without increasing prospec-
tive short circuit current.
January/February 201423
•• Both ac and dc transmission lines
can generate coronas, the former case
in the form of oscillating particles, in
the latter, a constant wind. Due to the
space charge formed around the con-
ductors, an HVdc system may have
about half the loss per unit length of a
HVac system carrying the same amount
of power.
•• Tie-line power is easily controlled.
Less radio interference, especially in
foul weather, for a certain conductor di-
ameter and rms voltage.
•• Reduction of transients and dis-
turbances increases the system stability.
This prevents cascading failures from
propagating from one part of a wider
power transmission grid to another.
•• Synchronous operation is not re-
quired in HVdc. The magnitude and
direction of power flow through a dc
link can be directly commanded and
changed as needed to support the ac
networks at either end of the dc link.
•• Cables can be worked at a higher
voltage gradient, and the line power fac-
tor is always unity.
•• The frequency and the intermedi-
ate reactive components cause stability
problems in the ac line. On the other
hand, HVdc transmission does not have
the stability problem because of the ab-
sence of the frequency.
•• HVdc needs fewer conductors,
as there is no need to support multiple
phases. This reduces the line cost.
Other advantages include simpler
line construction, ground as a return
path, and each conductor operated as an
independent circuit. Distance is not lim-
ited by stability and low short-circuits
current.
Limitations of HVdc
The key factors of HVdc are in con-
version, switching, control, availability,
and maintenance. The scope of appli-
cation is limited by the following
factors:
•• Converters are expensive and re-
quire much reactive power. They gener-
ate harmonic, hence ac and dc filters are
required.
•• The difficulty of breaking dc
currents results in the high cost of dc
breakers.
•• Multiterminal or network opera-
tion is not easy.
•• An inability to use transformers to
change the voltage levels.
•• HVdc circuit breakers are difficult
to build.
•• Complexity of control.
Monopole, Ground Return
12-Pulse
Groups
Monopole, Metallic Return
12-Pulse
Groups
Fig. 1 Monopole HVDC.
Types of HVdc
Monopole and earth return (Fig. 1)
In monopole, one of the terminals of
the rectifier is connected to earth ground.
The other terminal, at a potential high
above or below ground, is connected to
a transmission line. If no metallic con-
ductor is installed, current flows in the
earth between the earth electrodes at the
two stations.
One terminal of the converters is con-
nected to earth; the return conductor
need not be insulated for the full trans-
mission voltage, which makes it less
costly than the HV conductor. Monopole
earth return suffers with electrochemical
corrosion of long-buried metal objects
like pipelines.
Bipolar (Fig. 2)
In bipolar transmission, a pair of con-
ductors is used, each at a high potential
with respect to ground, in opposite polar-
ity. Since these conductors must be insu-
lated for the full voltage, transmission
line cost is higher than a monopole with
a return conductor. However, there are
many advantages to bipolar transmission,
which can make it an attractive option.
Bipole
12-Pulse
Groups
12-Pulse
Groups
Capacity Up to Appr. 3,000 MW
Fig. 2 Bipolar HVdc.

Back-to-Back
Capacity Up to Appr. 1,000 MW
Fig. 3 Back-to-back HVdc.
In a homopolar type of link, two con-
ductors having the same polarity can be
operated with ground or metallic return.
A homopolar link has the advantage of
reduced insulation costs, but the disad-
vantages of earth return outweigh the
advantages.
Back to back (Fig. 3)
Back-to-back HVdc technology
enables the interconnection of two asyn-
chronous ac networks. An HVdc system
takes electrical power in an ac system
and converts it into high-voltage dc
using a converter station. It then trans-
mits the dc to a remote system, where it
is converted back again to ac by another
HVdc converter station. A back-to-back
HVdc arrangement is used when two
asynchronous ac systems need to be
interconnected for bulk power transmis-
sion or for ac system stabilization rea-
sons. Back-to-back improves the voltage
regulation, system stability, and contrib-
ute for effective load flow analysis.
HVdc in India
In recent years, HVdc transmission
has been considered a feasible planning
alternative in India to increase power
grid delivery and capability and remove
identified network bottlenecks. India is
one of the few countries that has a large
number of HVdc schemes in operation,
under commissioning, construction, and
planning (Fig. 4). Quite a few HVdc
transmission projects have been con-
structed (Table 1) or planned.
There are a couple of HVdc links
under active consideration for imple-
mentation within three to six- years,
along with interlinking with the
national grids of neighboring countries,
namely Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan,
and Nepal.
Simulation of HVdc back to back
An HVdc transmission system con-
sists of three basic parts: 1) a converter
station to convert ac to dc, 2) a transmis-
sion line, and 3) a second converter sta-
tion to convert back to ac (Fig. 5). HVdc
transmission systems can be configured
in many ways on the basis of cost, flexi-
bility, and operational requirements. The
simplest one is the back-to-back inter-
connection, and it has two converters on
the same site with no transmission line.
This type of connection is used as an
intertie between two different ac trans-
mission systems. The monopolar link
connects two converter stations by a
single conductor line and earth or sea is
used as a return path. The multiterminal
HVdc transmission systems have more
than two converter stations, which could
be connected in series or parallel.
Among the various components and
subsystems existing at an HVdc station,
the HVdc transmission line and the con-
verter transformer are the major compo-
nents that have a significant impact on
the total reliability of the HVdc system.
Converter transformers are located on
either ends of the HVdc transmission
line. The transformers used in HVdc
have different requirements due to
superimposed dc voltage and current.

Table 1. HVdc transmission lines

existing in India (Reference: Central
Electrical Authority of India).
a) Bipole line !500 kV Circuit
kilometers
Chandrapur-Padghe (1999) 1,504
Rihand-Dadri (1990) 1,634
Talcher-Kolar (2002) 2,738

Delhi Balia-Bhiwadi (2009) 1,800

Biswanath-Agra (2014) 3,600

Sasaram North b) Bipole transmission capacity MW

North
East
Chandrapur-Padghe (1999) 1,500
Rihand-Dadri (1990) 1,500
Rihand
Vindhyachal Talcher-Kolar (2002) 2,500
East
West Balia-Bhiwadi (2009) 2,500
Barsur Talchar
Chandrapur Biswanath-Agra (2014) 4,000
Padghe NHVDC
c) B
 ack-to-back transmission MW
Ramagundam capacity
Lower Sileru Vishakapatnam Vindhachal (1989) 500
Chandrapur (1999) 1,000
South Gazuwake (2009) 1,000
Bangalore
Sasaram (2002) 500
Kolar
Vizag (1990) 500
Long Distance Under Construction
d) M
 onopole line Barsur-Lower 200
Long Distance Implemented Sileru (2000)—162 circuit
kilometer
Back-to-Back Under Construction
e) M
 onopole transmission 200
Back-to-Back Implemented capacity Barsur-Lower Sileru
(2000)
Fig. 4 HVdc transmission in India.

24 IEEE POTENTIALS

 0.5 H dc Transmission Line 0.5 H
11 kV, 50 Hz 11 kV, 50 Hz
1,000 MVA 1,000 MVA

ac 1 ac 2

bottlenecks.
Control for Control for
Converter Converter
technology has been
In recent years, HVdc

planning alternative in
India to increase power

remove identified network

considered as one feasible

grid delivery capability and

Fig. 5 An HVdc back-to-back circuit diagram.

In1 In1 Conn1

Conn1
Conn2 In2 Conn2
In2 Conn3
Conn4 Conn1 Conn1Conn2
Conn2
Conn5 Pi Section Line Conn3
Conn3 Conn4
Conn6 Conn4 Conn5
Conn8 Conn4
Conn5 Conn5 Conn6
Conn9 Conn7
Conn6 Conn7 Conn6
Conn10 Conn7
Conn11 Conn8 Conn8
Inverter Conn9
Converter
Transformer1 Transformer 2

Conn1
Out1
Conn2

Out2 Conn1
Conn3 Out1
Control for Converter Conn2
Out2
Conn3
Discrete,
s = 5e-005 s Control for Inverter
A
B

A
B
C

C
Powergui

January/February 201425
Fig. 6 An HVdc Simulink diagram.
 Table 2. Simulation parameters with results.
Simulation Parameters 800

Voltage (kV)
Rectifier end R = 26.07 X L1 = 48.86 mH L2 = 98.03 mH 600
ac system 1 (SCR = 5)
Inverter end R = 20.56 X L1 = 47.48 mH L2 = 92.82 mH 400
ac system 2 (SCR = 3)
200
DC line parameters Rdc = 0.015 X/km L = 0.792 mH/km C = 14.4 nF/km

% Voltage
0
Simulation Results Calculated kV Simulated kV Variation
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
Time (s)
Converter output 1,107.2 1,023 7.6%
voltage
Fig. 7 The converter output voltage.
No-load voltage 1,157.8 1,077 6.97%

Input voltage to the inverter 912 1,022 10.76%

800

Voltage (kV)
600
Table 3. Voltage regulation of HVdc. Table 5. Fault current and peak
overshoot voltage. 400
HVdc
Load No-Load HVdc
Distance Voltage Voltage Voltage 200
(km) (kV ) (kV ) Regulation Peak
Distance Fault Current Overshoot
(km) (kA) (MV) 0
300 217 960.3 3.4 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
400 255 958.8 2.76 300 81 1.3 Time (s)
500 200 841.7 3.2 400 110 1.3

600 251.1 796.7 2.17 500 130 1.2 Fig. 8 The input to the inverter.

700 170.3 779.6 3.577 600 145 1.5

works, both at the rectifier and inverter
800 250.5 764.3 2.05 700 148 1.4 end, are modeled as infinite sources
900 250.6 753.0 2.0 800 153 1.3 separated from their respective commu-
1,000 250.8 753.2 2.0 tating buses by system impedances. The
900 170 1.3
1,100 251.2 750.9 1.989
simulation parameters, results, and fault
1,000 205 1.3 analysis are shown in Table 2–5  and
1,200 250 742.4 1.989
1,100 212 1.3 Figs. 6–10.
1,200 223 1.1 Based on a simulation, the breakeven
distance of overhead lines of HVdc is
Table 4. Voltage regulation of HVac. found to be 840 km, compared with
HVac
HVac (Figs. 9–10). Back-to-back technol-
Load No-Load ings is connected to the ac network, ogy allows for the two-way flow of elec-
Distance Voltage Voltage Voltage and the other two are connected to a tricity, while acting as firewall to isolate
(km) (kV ) (kV ) Regulation
converter bridge, i.e., one connected in disturbances. HVdc transmission does
300 350.0 800 1.28 delta and the other in star. As an impor- not have the stability problem due to the
400 355.0 850 1.39 tant component of an HVdc system, the absence of the frequency. The cost per
500 360.0 900 1.5 converter transformer is responsible for unit length of an HVdc line is lower than
600 365.0 950 1.6
the stable and reliable power transmis- that of an HVac line of the same power
sion. The back-to-back system was capability and comparable reliability, but
700 370.0 1,050 1.83
designed as shown in Fig. 6. the cost of the terminal equipment of an
800 375.0 1,100 1.93 The HVdc system modeled, using the HVdc line is much higher than that of an
900 380.0 1,250 2.28 Simulink, is based on a point-to-point dc HVac line.
1,000 385.0 1,300 2.37 transmission system. The dc system is a
1,100 390.0 1,450 2.71
monopolar, 12-pulse converter using Conclusion
two universal bridges connected in This article has demonstrated the
1,200 395.0 1,500 2.79
series, rated 1,000 MW (2 kA, 500 kV) at methodology for modeling an HVdc
the inverter. DC interconnection is used transmission system rectifier using uni-
to transmit power from a 500 kV, 5,000 versally available software Simulink. It
Converter transformers designed for 12 MVA, and 60 Hz network to a 345 kV, focuses on some of the guidelines
pulse rectifiers have three windings. 3,000 MVA, and 50 Hz network. The con- regarding the areas of applicability
They are single phase three winding verters are interconnected through a of HVdc in India. Particular attention
transformers. A bank of three trans- 300-km transmission line and  a 0.5-H has been paid to back-to-back model-
formers will be used for a 12-pulse con- smoothing reactor. The converter trans- ing. With many attractive features,
verter. Out of the three windings of a former is modeled with a three-phase, HVdc technology will be more widely
converter transformer, one of the wind- three-winding transformer. The ac net- considered as a transmission expansion

26 IEEE POTENTIALS

option in deregulated energy
markets. Future work may be
focused on a real-time HVdc
analysis in Indian conditions.
Read more about it
• A. L’Abbate, G. Migliavac-
Voltage (kV)
ca, U. Hager, C. Rehtanz, S. Ru-
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and HVDC in the future pan-
European transmission system
development,” in Proc. 9th IET
Int. Conf. AC DC Power Trans-
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2010, pp. 1–8.
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“Modeling and application of
VSC-HVDC in the European
transmission system,” Int. J. In-
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About the authors
G.D. Kamalapur (gdkpur9@
gmail.com) is a professor in
the Department of Electrical
4 Engineering at Sri Dharmasthala
3.5 Manjuntheshwar College of
Engineering and Technology,
3
Dharwad. He earned his
2.5 B.E. (electrical) degree from
2 Karnataka University, Dharwad,
1.5
and his M.E (control systems)
degree from Walchand college
1 HVAC of Engineering, Sangli.
0.5 HVDC V.R. Sheelavant (sheel125@
0 gmail.com) is an assistant pro-
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
30 40 50 60 70 80 90 ,00 ,10 ,20 fessor in the Department of
1 1 1
Distance (km)
Electrical Engineering at Sri
Dharmasthala Manjuntheshwar
College of Engineering and
Technology, Dharwad. He earned
his B.E. (electrical) degree from
Karnataka University, Dharwad,
and his M.Tech (power systems) degree
With many attractive features, from the College of Engineering, Pune.
HVdc technology will be Sabeena Hyderabad (sabeena.hyd@
gmail.com) earned a B.E. degree from the
more widely considered as
Sri Dharmasthala Manjuntheshwar College
a transmission expansion of Engineering and Technology, Dharwad.
option in deregulated Ankita Pujar (ankita.pujar@gmail.
energy markets. com) earned a B.E. degree from the
Sri Dhar masthala Manjuntheshwar
College of Engineering and Technology,
Dharwad.
Saptarshi Bakshi (rishialone2006@
• A. Singhal, R. Gera, A. K. Tripathy, T. gmail.com) earned a B.E. degree from
Adhikari, M. Hanif, K. S. Prakash, and the Sri Dharmasthala Manjuntheshwar
R. L. Das, “Design aspects of upgrada- College of Engineering and Technology,
tion from 6 pulse to 12 pulse operation Dharwad.
of NHVDC project,” in Proc. Int. Conf. Amruta Patil (29amrutapatil@gmail.
Power Electronics, Drives Energy Sys- com) earned a B.E. degree from the Sri
tems for Industrial Growth, 1996, vol. 2, Dharmasthala Manjuntheshwar College of
pp. 1065–1071. Engineering and Technology, Dharwad.