ABB Review Special Report - ABB - ABB Group

Shoreham station, 330-MW HVDC Light TM Cross Sound Cable link, USAHVDC Light land cableOne advantage of HVDC Light is that itallows an improvement in the stabilityand reactive power control at each endof the network. Also, it can operate atvery low short-circuit power levels andeven has blackstartcapability.The HVDCLight cable ismade of polymericmaterialand is thereforevery strong androbust. Thismakes it possibleto use HVDC cables where adverselaying conditions might otherwise causedamage. Extruded cable has also madevery long HVDC cable transmission onland now economically viable. An exampleis the 180-km-long HVDC Lightinterconnection ‘Murraylink’ in Australia.And the next 50 years?HVDC transmission has come a longway since that first Gotland link. Butwhat does the future hold for it?Bulk transmission is likely to rely onthyristor-based technology for manyyears sinceit is reliableThe introduction of capacitorcommutated converters wasthe first fundamental changemade to the basic HVDCtechnology since 1954!and low incost, pluslosses arelow. Increasingthe voltageis oneway to gohere as it would allow much higherpowers and very long distances forthe links.HVDC Light has the potential to bedeveloped further. One direction mightbe toward higher voltages and powers,but low power and relatively high voltagesare also conceivable for systemsfor smaller loads and generators.The development of HVDC Light cablehas made it possible to link up networksacross very deep waters that have previouslymade such schemes unthinkable.The most interesting prospects forHVDC Light, however, lie in its potentialfor building multi-terminal systems. Inthe long term it might offer a genuinealternative to AC transmission, whichtoday completely dominates this sector.Gunnar AsplundLennart CarlssonABB Power TechnologiesLudvika/Swedengunnar.asplund@se.abb.comlennart.k.carlsson@se.abb.comOve TollerzABB Power TechnologiesKarlskrona/Swedenove.tollerz@se.abb.comReferences[1] L. Engström: More power with HVDC to Los Angeles. ABB Review 1/88, 3–10.[2] B. Sheng, H. O. Bjarma: Proof of performance – a synthetic test circuit for verifying HVDC thyristor valve design. ABB Review 3/2003, 25–29.[3] B. Aernlöv: HVDC 2000 – a new generation of high-voltage DC converter stations. ABB Review 3/1996, 10–17.[4] G. Asplund, et al: HVDC Light – DC transmission based on voltage sourced converters. ABB Review 1/1998, 4–9.[5] T. Nestli, et al: Powering Troll with new technology. ABB Review 2/2003, 15–19.Further information on HVDC can be found at www.abb.com/hvdc66Special ReportABB Review