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Advantages of HVDC over HVAC transmission

Edvard

AC
as

Ad vantag e s o f HVDC o ve r HVAC trans mis s io n (o n p ho to : The valve hall o f the HVDC s ys te m is whe re the p o we r is mad e
re ad y fo r trans mis s io n; b y Sie me ns )

pref erred option

Despite alternating current being the dominant mode f or electric power transmission, in a number of
applications, the advantages of HVDC makes it the pref erred option over AC transmission.
Examples include:
1. Undersea cables where high capacitance causes additional AC losses (e.g., the 250-km Baltic Cable
between Sweden and Germany).
2. Endpoint-to-endpoint long-haul bulk powertransmission without intermediate taps, f or example, in
remote areas.
3. Increasing the capacity of an existing power grid in situations where additional wires are dif f icult or
expensive to install.
4. Allowing power transmission between unsynchronized AC distribution systems.
5. Reducing the prof ile of wiring and pylons f or a given power transmission capacity, as HVDC can carry
more power per conductor of a given size.
6. Connecting a remote generating plant to the distribution grid; for example, the Nelson River Bipole line
in Canada (IEEE 2005).

7. Stabilizing a predominantly AC power grid without increasing the maximum prospective short-circuit
current.
8. Reducing corona losses (due to highervoltage peaks) compared to HVAC transmission lines of
similar power.
9. Reducing line cost, since HVDC transmission requires f ewer conductors; f or example, two f or a
typical bipolar HVDC line compared to three f or three-phase HVAC.
HVDC transmission is particularly advantageous in undersea power transmission. Long undersea AC
cables have a high capacitance.

Example (VIDEO)
500 MW HVDC Light t ransmission int erconnect ion
ABB has commissioned a 500-megawatt HVDC Light (VSC) transmission interconnection that links the Irish
and U.K. grids, enabling cross-border power f lows and enhancing grid reliability and security of electricity
supplies.
T he East West Interconnector includes a 262 km high voltage cable link of which 186 km runs subsea.
Cant see this video? Click here to watch it on Youtube.
Consequently, the current required to charge and discharge the capacitance of the cable causes additional
power losses when the cable is carrying AC, while this has minimal effect for DC transmission. In
addition, AC poweris lost to dielectric losses.
In general applications, HVDC can carry more power per conductor than AC, because f or a given power
rating, the constant voltage in a DC line is lower than the peak voltage in an AC line.
T his voltage determines the insulation thickness and conductor spacing. T his reduces the cost of HVDC
transmission lines as compared to AC transmission and allows transmission line corridors to carry a
higher power density.
A HVDC transmission line would not produce the same sort of extremely low f requency (ELF)
electromagnetic f ield as would an equivalent AC line. While there has been some concern in the past
regarding possible harmf ul ef f ects of such f ields, including the suspicion of increasing leukemia rates, the
current scientif ic consensus does not consider ELF sources and their associated f ields to be harmf ul.
Deployment of HVDC equipment would not completely eliminate electric fields, as there would still be DC
electric f ield gradients between the conductors and ground. Such f ields are not associated with health
ef f ects.
Because HVDC allows power transmission between unsynchronized AC systems, it can help increase
system stability. It does so by preventing cascading f ailures f rom propagating f rom one part of a wider
power transmission grid to another, while still allowing power to be imported or exported in the event of
smaller f ailures.
T his f eature has encouraged wider use of HVDC technology f or its stability benef its alone. Power f low on
an HVDC transmission line is set using the control systems of converter stations. Power f low does not
depend on the operating mode of connected power systems.
T hus, unlike HVAC ties, HVDC intersystem ties can be of arbitrarily low transf er capacity, eliminating the
weak tie problem, and lines can be designed on the basis of optimal power f lows.

Similarly, the dif f iculties of synchronizing dif f erent operational control systems at dif f erent power systems
are eliminated. Fast-acting emergency control systems on HVDC transmission lines can f urther increase the
stability and reliability of the power system as a whole. Further, power f low regulation can be used f or
damping oscillations in powersystems or in parallel HVAC lines.
The advantages described above encourage the use of DC links for separating large power systems
into several nonsynchronous parts.
For example, the rapidly
growing Indian power
system is being
constructed as several
regional power
systems
interconnected with
HVDC transmission
lines and back-to-back
converters with
centralized control of
these HVDC
elements (Koshcheev
2001).
Likewise, in China,
800-kV HVDC will be
the main mode used to
transmit large capacity
over very long
distances f rom large
Dire c t-Curre nt (HVDC) Trans mis s io n Line s
hydropower and
thermal power bases.
Other applications involve long-distance transmission projects with f ew tie-ins of power supplies along the
line (Yinbiao 2005).
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Reference: Argonne National Laboratory The design, construction and operation of long-distance high
voltage electricity transmission technologies