1/22/2014

1
Electricity is transmitted at high voltages in order to minimize the
loss of power during transmission. The power loss during
transmission is proportional to the square of the current (P : I
2
), so
there is a strong incentive to reduce the current by as much as
possible.
For a given amount of energy, the current is inversly proportional
to the voltage (I :
1
/
V
), so the higher the voltage, the lower the
current. And the lower the current, the lower the power loss squared.
For example, if the transmission power loss was 9 watts at 100 volts, then at 200 volts
(double), the current would halve and the power loss would quarter. Hence the
transmission power loss would only be 2.25 watts (1/4).
Owned by
Types
State
(in Circuit
Kms)
Central
(Power Grid)
(in Circuit
Kms)
Total
(in Circuit
Kms)
HVDC 1,504 3,532 4,836
800 kV 400 550 950
400kV 13,000 32,500 45,500
220/132kV 2,06,000 9,000 2,15,000
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2
Why to prefer High Voltage DC over AC
The AC resistance of a conductor is higher than its DC
resistance because of skin effect, and eventually loss is higher for
AC transmission.
The switching surges are the serious transient over voltages
for the high voltage transmission line. In case of AC transmission
the peak values are two or three times normal crest voltage but for
DC transmission it is 1.7 times normal voltage.
HVDC transmission has less corona and radio interference
than that of HVAC transmission line .
The long HVAC overhead lines produce and consume the
reactive power, which is a serious problem.
Power system stability
Stability in AC power system depend on the sending, receiving end
voltages, phase angle difference between them and line reactance.
Increase in line length will increase the line reactance and thereby reduce
the stability of the system. This requires shunt reactors and series
capacitors to compensate.
But DC line is not affected because it is governed by the DC resistance
of the line, thermal conditions and current carrying capability only.
Tower Size :
DC insulation is lower than AC
insulation for a given power
transmission. Therefore the
size of the tower s and the
corresponding right-of-way are
also less.
Insulation :
In steady state operation there is no charging current or reactive
kVAtaken by the cable as in AC systems. Hence no dielectric
loss in DC cables. Reduced voltage stress also minimizes the
insulation level. Hence Underground and Under sea
transmission is cheaper.
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Increase Power transfer capability
Voltage profile :
AC line has surge impedance or natural loading. Voltage profile varies
when with the load on the system.
When the load and surge impedance are same, voltage profile will be flat.
When load is less than the surged impedance , voltage in the middle of line rises
When the load is more than the surge impedance voltage in the middle drops.
Although the DC converter stations
require reactive power depending on
the line loadings, the line itself
doesn't require reactive power.
AC Interconnection Problems :
AC interconnected system has the following problems :
presence of larger power oscillations that lead to frequent tripping
Increase in fault level
Transmission of disturbance from one system to the other.
frequency variation among the interconnected system
DC line eliminates these problems.
Generation harmonic during converter operation will flow in
the converter transformers on the AC side, causing audio frequency
telephonic interference. This needs huge filters to suppress.
Since DC system generate reactive power needed by the load, we
need additional devices to supply it on both the AC sides of
HVDC system.
Complexity in control
High cost of conversion equipment
Inability to use the transformers to change voltage levels
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Comparison of AC and DC Transmission could
be grouped into
Economics of transmission
Technical performance
Reliability
In order to compare the cost it is necessary to consider
the cost of all main component of the system.
In case of the AC system capital cost of the step up/
step-down transformer, transmission line, reactive
power compensation, light load compensation and
circuit breaker must be accounted.
In case of the DC system, the capital cost of
converter, transmission line, AC input output
equipment and filters used to remove the harmonics
must be accounted.
The cost of control system needs to be accounted for in
both cases.
AC Transmission Line Cost: -
The cost of the AC transmission line depends upon many factors
including the power capacity to be transmitted, safety and
environmental conditions.
A three phase AC transmission line has three conductors where as in
DC transmission line has only two conductors due to this fact the cost
of the AC transmission line is more in comparison to the DC
transmission line.
DC Transmission line Cost: -
In case of the AC system the cost of the transmission line
predominates and the cost of the station is less.
The cost of the converter station makes the total cost higher than that
of the AC system
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Variation of break-even distance with power
transmitted
Controlled Power on either direction
Asynchronous operation possible between regions having
different electrical parameters
No restriction on line length as no reactance in dc lines
The ability to enhance transient and small signal stability in
associated AC networks.
Fast control to limit fault currents in DC lines.
Reliability of HVDC is measured with two metrics :
where equivalent outage time is the product of the actual outage time and the
fraction of system capacity lost due to outage.
Recordable AC system faults are those faults which cause one or more AC bus phase
voltages to drop below 90% of voltage prior to fault.
The Energy availability and Transient reliability for existing DC systems with thyristor
valves is 95% or more.
% 100 1 x
totaltime
outagetime equivalent
ty availabili Energy
(

=
% 100 x
faults AC recordable of Number
designed as performed systems HVDC times Number
y reliabilit Transient
(

=
A power system planner must consider the already briefed factors
like
Cost
Technical performance
Reliability
while considering HVDC as an alternative.
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For long distance bulk power transmission, the voltage level is
chosen to minimize the total costs for a given power level(P). The
total costs included investment (C
1
) and cost of losses (C
2
). The
investment costs per unit length are modeled as :
Where V is the voltage level with respect to ground
n is the number of conductors
q is the total cross-section of each conductor
A
0
, A
1
and A
2
are constants
nq A nV A A C
2 1 0 1
+ + =
The cost of losses per unit length is given by :
Where is the conductor resistivity
T is total operation time in a year
L is the loss load factor
p is the cost per unit energy
C
2
can be simplified as
Where A
3
=TLp
q
TLp
nV
P
n
C
(
(

|
|
.
|

\
|
=

2
2
nq
V
P
A
C
(
(

|
|
.
|

\
|
=

2
3
2
By minimizing the sum of C2 and the third term in C1, we have
Where J is the current density. The total costs can be written as
The above equation ignores the variation of terminal costs with the
voltage.
( )
V
P
A
A
nq .
2
3
|
.
|

\
|
=

( )
3
2
A
A
nqV
P
J = =
( )
V
P
A A nV A A C C C . 2
3 2 1 0 2 1
+ + = + =
The voltage level is chosen to minimize C. The
following figure shows the selection of optimum
system voltage to minimize the sum of converter and
line costs.
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Modern trends in DC transmission:
Recent trends or developments in the technological aspects of
power electronics, power semiconductor devices, digital
electronics, DC protection equipment have been increased in the
applications of DC transmission.
The main objective of these developments is to reduce the cost
of converter stations to improve the reliability and performance.
Power Semiconductor and Valves:
The cost of converter depends upon no. of devices used in it. If no
of devices connected in series or in parallel decreases then total cost
of converters also decreased.
Overload capacity of device at reasonable cost will be high if its
current rating increases, moreover it leads to the reduction of
transformer leakage impedance, there by improving the power
factor.
The cost of valves is reduced by using zincoxide gapless
arresters and protective firing methods.
Most of the power semiconductors devices uses silicon the cost of
silicon may be decreased by using magnetic CZ(czochralsli)
method, rather than the conventional FZ(float zone) method.
Usually, it is uneconomical to use forced commutated converters
operating at high voltages, which leads to the development of
devices which can be turned off by the application of gate signal.
Gate turn off devices (GTO) operating at 2500V and 2000A have
a drawback of large gate current to turned off.
But technology was developed for a metal oxide semiconductor
(MOS) controlled thyristor for which a very small gate current is
sufficient to interrupt a very large line current.
Converter Control:
The development in converter control equipment is
micro-computer based converter control.
With the use of such converter control it is easier to
design systems with automatic transfer between systems
during false operating.
This micro computer based control has the flexibility to
use adaptive control algorithms for fault identification and
protection.
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DC Circuit Breaker:
Recent developments in DC circuit breakers are useful
in tapping of existing DC link parallel operation of
converters is allowed rather than series operation shows
some flexibility in the system growth.
In order to limit the fault current the dc breaker current
should not to exceed the full load ratings.
Conversion of Existing AC Lines:
o In certain cases such as to increase the power
transfer limits it is necessary to convert existing AC
circuits to DC.
oIn India there is an experimental project of
converting single circuit (or) double circuit 220kV
line is currently under commissioning stage.
Operation with weak AC systems:
The strength of AC systems connected to the
terminals of DC link is measured in terms of short circuit
ratio (SCR)
SCR = short circuit level at the converter bus /
Rated DC power
If SCR<3, then it is weak AC system. For a weak
AC system, conventional constant extinction angle
control may not be satisfactory.
In order to overcome the problems of weak AC systems
constant reactive current control (or) AC voltage control
have been suggested. By using static VAR systems at the
converter bus fast reactive power control can be achieved.
It is necessary to limit the dynamic over voltages during
load rejections through converter control.
The dynamic stability of power systems can be
improved by power modulation techniques in the
presence of weak AC systems.
Co-ordinated real and reactive power control must be
necessary inorder to overcome the problems of voltage
variations which can limit the power modulation.
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Thyristor valve stacks for Pole 2 of the HVDC Inter-Island between
the North and South Islands of New Zealand. The man at the
bottom gives scale to the size of the valves.
Gotland The worlds first
HVDC link connected the island of
Gotland to the Swedish mainland
by a 100km HVDC cable in 1954
Originally rated 20MW at 10kV is then increased to 30MW at
150kV.
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Important HVDC links in India
Name
Converter
station 1
Converter
station 2
Overhead
line (km)
Volt (kV)
Power
(MW)
Year Type
VindhyachalB2B
Vindhyachal
240538N824044E
Vindhyachal
240538N824044E
---- 176 500 1989 Thyr
Silru-Barsoor
Sileru
175201N813921E
Barsoor
19820N812347E
196 200 400 1989 Thyr
Rihand-Delhi
Rihand
240113N824721E
Dadri
283536N773616E
814 500 1500 1992 Thyr
Chandrapur-Padghe
Chandrapur
20036N791706E
Padghe (near Mumbai)
192126N731118E
900 500 1500 1999 Thyr
Chandrapur B2B
Chandrapur
20521N79836E
Chandrapur
20521N 79836E
0 205 2x500 1998 Thyr
Vizag1
Visakhapatnam
Gazuwaka
173833N83757E
Gazuwaka
173833N83757E
---- 205 500 1999 Thyr
Talcher-Kolar
Talcher,Orissa
210601N850349E
Kolar, Karnataka
131039N 7870E
1450 500 2000 2003 Thyr
Sasaram B2B
Sasaram
250742N834229E
Sasaram
250742N834229E
0 205 500 2003 Thyr
Vizag2
Visakhapatnam
173826N83810E
Visakhapatnam
173826N83810E
---- 176 500 2005 Thyr
Ballia-Bhiwadi Ballia
Bhiwadi
28110N764858E
780 500 2500 2009* Thyr
Biswanath- Agra Biswanath Agra 1825 800 6000 2012* Thyr
Mundra - Haryana
Mundra
224946N693322E
Mohindergarh 960 500 2500 2012 Thyr
A back-to-back HVDC converter can be used when two
asynchronous AC systems need to be interconnected for bulk
power transmission or for AC system stabilization reasons.
In an HVDC back-to-back station there are no overhead lines
or cables separating the rectifier and the inverter, hence the DC
current can be kept high and the DC voltage low.
The low DC voltage means that the air clearance requirement is
low, which favours a compact design of the valve hall.
The back-to-back HVDC converter station at Vizag is of the
conventional type with indoor thyristor valves and smoothing
reactors located outdoor. The HVDC Back-to-back utilizes a special
mid-point (6 pulse bridge) grounding design for the thyristor valves
on the southern side with two smoothing reactors installed in series
on the neutral side.
The HVDC back-to-projects at Vizag are part of Powergrids
East-South Interconnections. The first 1 x 500 MW HVDC
project was commissioned in 1999 thus enabling power transfer
from the Eastern region to the Southern region.
The second 1 x 500 MW HVDC project at Vizag forms the
East-South Interconnector.
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The next step in the interconnection was the
construction of the 2000 MW HVDC bipole
between Talcher in the Eastern region and Kolar in
the Southern region. This bipolar HVDC long
distance transmission with a line length of around
1370 kms. was completed and commissioned in
2002 and forms the East-South Interconnector-II.
Part of the power from the 3000 MW coal-based thermal power
Rihand complex in Uttar Pradesh is carried by the Rihand-
Delhi HVDC bipolar transmission link, which has a rated
capacity of 1500 MW at 500 kV DC. Some of the power is
transmitted via the existing parallel 400 kV AC lines.
The Rihand-Delhi HVDC transmission is the first commercial
long-distance HVDC link in India.
The two converter stations in Rihand and Dadri, outside Delhi,
were supplied jointly by ABB and Bharat Heavy Electricals
Limited, a government of India undertaking. The transmission
was, which was commissioned in 1990, is owned by Power Grid
Corporation of India
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Rihand-Dadri , 500kV, 1500MW
Station control room
at Dadri
Rihand-Dadri , 500kV, 1500MW
Dadri converter station
Valve hall interior
Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB) has constructed a 1,500
MW HVDC link between Chandrapur and Padghe near Mumbai
(Bombay). The converter terminals have being constructed by ABB
(Sweden and India) and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) of
India. The HVDC transmission was commissioned in 1999.
The 500 kV Chandrapur - Padghe HVDC Bipole feeds Mumbai with
1,500 MW from the thermal generation plant located in the Chandrapur
area, in central India, 752 km away. The HVDC link stabilizes the
Maharashtra grid, increases the power flow on the existing East-West 400
kV AC-lines and minimizes the total line losses. The power to be evacuated
from the Chandrapur 400 kV Bus is around 2,700 MW. The AC
transmission network, comprising three 400 kV circuits between
Chandrapur and Mumbai, can safely transmit around 1,200 MW of power
without taking into account any contingency outage. It was therefore
necessary to provide an additional transmission capacity of around 1,500
MW.
Chandrapur- Padghe, 2x500MW
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Chandrapur- Padghe, 2x500MW
Padghe Valve room interior
Suspended converter valves of a complete pole at
Talcher
Figure shows the completely assembled
converters, arranged as three quadruple valves, for
one pole of the East-South system. The 12 modules
in total needed to make a quadruple valve are best
arranged as a twin tower as can be seen in Figure.
The converter twin towers are suspended from a
special ceiling construction of the valve hall, and all
connecting components between the modules like
suspension insulators, bus work and pipings are of
flexible design to ensure maximum seismic stress
withstand capability.
To reduce the risk of any fire to a minimum,
exclusively flame-retardant materials for insulation
and barriers within the converter valves are used.
The modular structure of the valves has not only
simplified replacement of any faulty component,
but also transportation and installation as a whole.
Converter transformers of one pole at Talcher, in front of
the valve hall
Between the converter valves and the ac grids, on both sides of the 500 kV dc transmission line, are the Converter
Transformers (see Figure), another key component of an HVDC system.
In the rectifier station Talcher, they transform the eastern ac
grid voltage of 400 kV down to a value, as is optimal for the
converter valves, based on design calculations.
In Kolar, where dc is converted back to ac, the converter
transformers do the reverse, i.e. step up the voltage from the
valve side to the level of the southern ac grid (also 400 kV),
thus completing the interconnection.
Converter transformers experience combined ac &dc stresses
in the winding insulations, high harmonic content in the current
and need special competence and skill in design, construction
and testing, compared to conventional ac power transformers.
The HVDC systembasic design calculated and defined
important parameters of the transformers like short circuit
impedance, on load tap changer range etc., taking
consideration of all special factors such as the permissible s.c.
current of the thyristors, operation requirements at reduced dc
voltage as also at high firing angles.
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DC harmonic filters of pole 1, Talcher
Another key component is the Smoothing Reactor which limits the dc fault
current as also suppresses the dc harmonics to a permissibly lowlevel. In
the design phase, calculationsconsidering different dc circuit configurations
were carried out for an adequate dimensioning of the smoothing reactor,
which is installed outside the valve hall and connected to the 500 kV dc
valve hall bushing.
The harmonics mentioned above, which the smoothing reactor is supposed
to limit, are a necessary evil of the current conversion process in the
converter valves. The converters are sources of harmonics, which if allowed
to infiltrate unhindered into the ac or dc systems, would distort the system
voltage. The dc harmonics can be kept within specified levels by an
adequately designed smoothing reactor in combination with DC Harmonic
Filters. For absorption of the ac harmonics, AC Harmonic Filters are
needed. They are tuned to the specific frequencies of the harmonics aimed
for elimination. The ac harmonic filters are installed in the outdoor ac
switchyard and connected to the 400 kV ac bus. The dc filters, located
behind the smoothing reactor, are connected to the outgoing or incoming
500 kV dc line at the rectifier or the inverter station respectively(in Figure).
Not only that the converters generate harmonics. Depending on the art of
converter control as well as the commutation process, an amount of phase
shift between the fundamentals of ac current and voltage occur, causing a
demand in reactive power which has to be met.
AC harmonic filter area at Talcher
Unless a proper balance of the reactive
power demand in the system is
achieved, inadmissible fluctuations in
the ac grid voltage may occur. The
same ac filters that absorb the ac
harmonics, offer here a dual function.
They provide this reactive power, and
in a detailed reactive power
management study, out of a
combination of all reactive power
elements: ac filters, shunt capacitors,
on need also shunt reactors, the
optimal choice is made to establish this
balance.
NEYVELI
RAICHUR
RAMAGUNDAM
VIJAYAWADA
CHANDRAPUR
KORADI
KORBA
KORBA
VINDHYACHAL
SATPURA
RENGALI
FARAKKA
CHANDRAPUR STPS
KAHALGAO N
TALCHER
IBTPS
MUNIRABAD
NAGARJUNA SAG AR
MAITHON
CHENNAI
KAIGA
MADURAI
UDUMALPET
TRICHY
SALEM
B ANGALORE
CUDDAPAH
GO OTY
HYDERABAD
GAZUWAKA
BABLESHWAR
BHILAI
JEYPO RE
ROURKELA
J EERAT
DURGA PUR
MALDA
NORTH TRICHUR
SIRSI
BIHARSHARIF
KHAMMAM
PA DGHE INDRAVATI
JAMSHEDPUR
LEGEND POWERGRID
A LLAHABAD
RAIPUR
BAKRESWAR
EXI STING/ UNDER CONST.
APPROVED/ PROPOSED
SASARAM
KO LAG HAT
A RAMBAG
MERAMUNDALI
HVDC BACK T O BACK
HVDC BI POLE
PARLI
LO NIKAND
BHUSAWAL
PENCH STPS
PATRATU
TENUGHAT
DAVANGERE
SRISAILAM
KURNOOL
DICHPALLY
BPL
K OLAR
HOSUR
OT HER
UTI LITI ES
PURNEA
NELLORE
NARENDRA
KALABARIA
CHA NDAKA
DAITARI
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
400KV L INES
AURANGABAD
SOUTHERN
WESTERN REGION
EASTERN REGION
REGION
NORTHERN REGION
TALCHER TRANSMISSI ON SYSTEM
RAIPUR - ROURKEL A TRANSMISSION L INE
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The remote Vindhyachal region hosts three super-thermal
projects of NTPC within a radius of 40 km: Singrauli, Rihand
(supplying power to the Nortern grid) and Vindhyachal.
Vindhyachal is the largest project of NTPC with a total capacity of
2,260 MW supplying power to the Western grid.
Vindhyachal Back to Back HVDC, 70kV,2x250MW
Inside one of the
valve halls
The 500 MW Vindhyachal back-to-back
HVDC station interconnects the Northern
and Western Regions.
Vindhyachal exterior with the world's first HVDC
transformers with extended delta windings.
Chandrapur Back to Back HVDC, 205kV,1000MW
Connects Chandrapur Thermal Power Stations (Western Region )
to Ramagundum(Southern Region).
Bidirectional power flow is possible
Second commercial Back to Back HVDC station in India.
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Gazuwaka Back to Back HVDC, 1000MW
Connects Jeypore(Eastern Region) to Gazuwaka (Southern
Region)
Bidirectional power flow is possible
SasaramBack to Back HVDC, 205kV 1000MW
Balli- Bhiwadi HVDC, 500kV, 2500MW
Balli- Bhiwadi HVDC, 500kV, 2500MW
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Balli- Bhiwadi HVDC, 500kV, 2500MW
The world's first HVDC system, exceeding 500kV,
was set up during the 1970s in Cahora Bassa,
Mozambique, South Africa. Photo: Siemens