High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) Transmission: Advancing Renewable Energy Integration and Long-distance Power Transfer

Abstract

Focus on the development of renewable energy in UK and some few advanced countries is driving a major shift in the characteristics and control requirements of the electricity grid. Currently, attention is shifting away from traditional load generators near consumers and towards more decentralized suppliers, particularly wind farms and hydropower plants located far from areas of consumption. An    additional paradigm    shift    in   Europe is the    pursuit to establish a single European energy market, which will make it simple and effective to trade electricity across international borders. Long-distance transmission is now required because of the distance between energy resources and load centres. For short-distance transmission, High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) technology is more expensive due to power electronic converters. However, for longer distances, HVAC becomes more expensive due to line cost as compared to the cost of DC line. Hence, the transition to a single energy market, which necessitates effectively transporting electricity across numerous borders and over vast distances, will be nearly impossible without a major upgrade to the current AC grid infrastructure to make it more durable and adaptable. Modernizing existing AC grids with HVDC grid technology can provide the adaptability and resilience necessary to absorb increasingly intermittent renewable energy sources by the grid and over long-distance transmission using HVDC converters. The foundation for power flow regulation and system stability is the converter control angles. The study further examines the relationship between converter firing angles and system stability. This paper will demonstrate the modelling of steady-state operation of HVDC transmission system incorporating generating source, converters technology, and transmission system using MATLAB/Simulink for probing under a variety of operating conditions which is the basis for this work.