HVDC Light Experiences Applicable for Power Transmission from Offshore Wind Power Parks

Abstract

With big wind power parks becoming a considerable share of the total power generation in a network, wind power farms will have to be as robust as conventional power plants and stay online at various contingencies in the AC network. Compensation will then be needed to preserve the power quality and/or even the stability in the network. HVDC Light is a transmission system that does not require any additional compensation, as this is inherent in the control of the converters. It will therefore be an excellent tool for bringing wind power into a network. To date, six HVDC Light transmission systems have been put into operation, of which two, Gotland Light and Tjaereborg are bringing wind power to networks. The experiences gained from the above installations of HVDC Light have shown that it is capable of handling wind power and of reacting rapidly enough to counteract voltage variations in an excellent way. Another tendency today is to place large wind power farms offshore. An offshore wind farm isolated from the network by an HVDC Light transmission system would constitute a generation block, the operating frequency of which could be freely chosen. With the installation of HVDC Light converters on a North Sea platform, Troll A, experience has been gained of how to adapt converters for the rough environment of an offshore location.