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HVDC Light - A Preferable Power Transmission System For Renewable Energies
HVDC Light - A Preferable Power Transmission System For Renewable Energies
André Bodin is with ABB AB, HVDC, 77180 Ludvika, Sweden (e-mail: Fig. 1. Principle sketch of an HVDC transmission system.
andre.bodin@se.abb.com) As shown in Fig. 1 the HVDC transmission system works
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Due to the limited amount of space, it is important to keep the Cascaded Two-Level, converter technology.
design as compact as possible. However, at the same time
there cannot be any compromise when it comes to IV. EVOLUTION OF HVDC LIGHT®
performance. Due to the high voltages the distances to walls, The HVDC Light® technology has, during the last years,
floor and ceiling must be carefully calculated in order to seen a rapid development when it comes to the converter valve
prevent flashovers inside the station. As shown in Fig. 4 the design. Earlier the valves were constructed using the two-level
station consists of a three phase ac side with transformers and converter principle, always switching the full dc voltage. In
reactors. It also has a dc side, connecting the station to the order to lower the converter power losses different kinds of
shore via submarine cables. The HVDC Light® valves are optimization work has been performed, e.g. optimizing the
placed in between the ac and dc side and works as rectifiers as PWM, Pulse Width Modulation, pattern. However, to achieve
they convert the ac to dc. a more substantial decrease of the power losses a change in the
valve design was necessary.
A. Two-Level Converter
The two-level converter valve technology, used in
BorWin1, is simply based on series connected IGBTs and
diodes. The semiconductors are connected in between the ac
phase and the dc pole, allowing the IGBTs to connect the ac
side to either positive or negative dc voltage, see Fig. 5.
In one single valve, i.e. between ac and positive dc, all the
series connected IGBTs share the voltage and always need to
switch simultaneously. This implies that a rather high
switching frequency is needed in order to create an acceptable
PWM pattern on the ac side, see Fig. 6.
The next, upcoming, HVDC Light® offshore project is B. Cascaded Two-Level Converter
DolWin1. This ±320 kV transmission is also located in the The development of the HVDC Light® technology has
Nordic Sea and the link is rated for 800 MW active power. recently led to an evolution from the two-level converter to the
DolWin1 is, as BorWin1, a transmission using the VSC CTL converter, see Fig. 7. This technology is, as the name
technology and it will transmit power from the offshore indicates, based on the two-level design, but is rather complex
platform, DolWin Alpha, to the German ac grid. However, in comparison. In order to lower the IGBT switching
there is one major technical difference between the two frequency, and thus lower the valve losses, the converter is
transmissions. BorWin1 is based on the two-level converter built of multiple series connected converter cells. The cells
technology, switching between full positive and negative dc consist of IGBTs and capacitors and work, individually,
voltage, whereas DolWin1 is based on the new CTL, according to the two-level converter principle.
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VI. REFERENCES
[1] B. Jacobson, P. Karlsson, G. Asplund, L. Harnefors and T Jonsson,
"VSC-HVDC Transmission with Cascaded Two-Level Converters"
presented at the Cigré Conference, Paris, France, 2010.
[2] O. Vestergaard, B.Westman, G.McKay, P. Jones, J. Fitzgerald and B.
Williams, “HVDC – Enabling the Transition to an Energy System Based
on Renewables” presented at the ACDC Power Transmission
Conference 2010, London, UK, 2010.
[3] M. Gross, “The Transmission Imperative for Renewables”, article
published in Electric Light & Power Jan 2011.
[4] ABB Technical Papers (www.abb.com/hvdc)
VII. BIOGRAPHIES
André Bodin obtained his Master degree in engineering
physics from Umeå University, Sweden in 2010. He
joined ABB Power Systems, HVDC, Ludvika, Sweden
Fig. 7. Single line diagram of a CTL HVDC Light® converter. in February 2010 as IGBT valve design and test
engineer.
The CTL converter design allows for a PWM pattern with
small voltage steps, each corresponding to one capacitor in the
valve. This results in low switching frequency for each
individual IGBT, i.e. low switching losses. It also implies that
the harmonics on the ac side are on a low-level, minimizing
the need for filters, see Fig. 8.
V. SUMMARY
The flexibility, controllability and low power losses of the
HVDC Light® system makes it suitable for the most
demanding power transmission assignments. This makes it
very suitable for connection of remote renewable energies.
However, HVDC Light® is not only useful for transmission
purposes. The VSC converter can control the ac side voltage,
phase angle and frequency and thus works as an SVC as it
supports the ac network. Further more, HVDC Light® offers
black start capability and can, thus, send electrical power to
the area without local power generation.
Today, there is an ever increasing demand for remote
renewable energies, such as offshore wind power, generating a
growing market for advanced transmission systems that can
transmit the power to the consumers. HVDC Light® offers
superior transmission and power control properties, as well as
outstanding ac grid reactive power supporting, and is thus a
preferable solution. HVDC Light® is the state of the art of
electrical power transmission.