A Reliability Evaluation of Offshore HVDC Transmission Network Options
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A Reliability Evaluation of Offshore HVDC Transmission Network Options Callum MacIver Wind Energy Systems Centre for Doctoral Training Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering University of Strathclyde A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2015 This thesis is the result of the author’s original research. It has been composed by the author and has not been previously submitted for examination which has led to the award of a degree. The copyright of this thesis belongs to the author under the terms of the United Kingdom Copyright Acts as qualified by the University of Strathclyde Regulation 3.50. Due acknowledgement must always be made of the use of any material contained in, or derived from, this thesis. Signed: Date: Acknowledgements I would like extend my sincerest thanks to Professor Keith Bell who has helped supervise and guide this work alongside Dr Duško Nedić who provided invaluable support in the initial development of the project. I would also like to thank all the staff at the Wind Energy Centre for Doctoral Training who provided an excellent platform to undertake this PhD and the EPSRC for funding the work. To all my fellow students, you made it an incredibly enjoyable few years and a special mention is reserved for ‘The Dolphins’, who could have thought a single PhD programme could produce so many talented 5-aside footballers. I would like to thank my parents Janet and Hugh for giving me the perfect grounding in life and always supporting me in my academic adventures. To my elder brothers Davy and Allan, thank you for the guidance, good and bad, over the years and for providing much needed distractions from work at regular intervals. Also to my extended family and friends, without you all I wouldn’t have made it to this point. Last, but by no means least, the biggest thank you goes to my wife, Carleen. You have afforded me patience, support and encouragement in equal measure and I couldn’t have done it without you. i Abstract There are ambitious targets in place for the development of large amounts of offshore renewable energy in the coming years. The offshore wind sector is expected to provide the vast majority of the projected growth which means large scale and far from shore projects are likely to become common. The transmission distances involved suggest HVDC technology is likely to be deployed and analysis to date has suggested there will be value in delivering co-ordinated offshore grids as opposed to simpler radial connection to shore. However, there are numerous technology and design options available for the delivery of offshore HVDC networks and, given the offshore climate can makes access for component maintenance or repair challenging, the reliability performance of different options is an important factor which has not been explored in much of the existing literature. This thesis details a novel methodology for investigating the reliability of different offshore grid design options for the connection of offshore wind power to shore or the interconnection of regions. A sequential Monte Carlo simulation methodology is used that allows investigation of realistic offshore phenomena such as the weather dependency of component repair times. A number of case studies are examined and a full cost benefit analysis is performed which compares the capital and operational costs, electrical losses and reliability performance of each grid option. There is shown to be clear value in options that include a degree of inherent redundancy and it is also shown that alternative protection strategies which avoid the use of expensive DC circuit breakers are potentially viable at lower cost and little expense to performance. An investigation of the key drivers behind overall offshore grid reliability is also made and it is found that low probability, high impact faults such as transmission branch failures have the greatest influence. ii Contents Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................... i Abstract ........................................................................................................................ ii Abbreviations ............................................................................................................ xiv 1. Introduction .......................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Development of Offshore Wind Energy Sector ........................................... 2 1.2 The Need for Offshore Grids ....................................................................... 6 1.3 Objectives of Research ................................................................................. 8 1.4 Publications ................................................................................................ 10 1.5 References .................................................................................................. 11 2. Technical Review: State of Knowledge on Offshore Networks ........................ 12 2.1 Technology Status ...................................................................................... 13 2.1.1 HVDC vs. HVAC .................................................................................. 13 2.1.2 HVDC Converter Technology: VSC vs. CSC ....................................... 15 2.1.3 Cable Technology .................................................................................. 25 2.1.4 HVDC Circuit Breakers ......................................................................... 28 2.2 Offshore Grid Topology Options ............................................................... 35 2.2.1 Radial Connection to Shore ................................................................... 35 2.2.2 Wind Farm Clusters ............................................................................... 36 2.2.3 Multi-terminal Grid Options .................................................................. 38 2.2.4 Meshed Grid ........................................................................................... 41 2.2.5 Conclusions ............................................................................................ 45 2.3 Offshore Grid Protection Strategies ........................................................... 46 2.3.1 HVDC Grid with DC Breakers .............................................................. 46 2.3.2 HVDC Grid without DC Breakers ......................................................... 47 2.3.3 HVDC Grid with Reverse Current Blocking Converters ....................... 50 2.3.4 HVDC Grid of Independent DC links .................................................... 51 2.3.5 Additional Requirements for DC Grid Operation .................................. 53 2.3.6 Conclusions ............................................................................................ 55 2.4 Converter Configuration Options ............................................................... 56 iii 2.4.1 Asymmetric Monopole Systems ............................................................ 56 2.4.2 Symmetrical Monopole Systems............................................................ 57 2.4.3 Bipole Systems ....................................................................................... 57 2.4.4 Conclusion ............................................................................................. 59 2.5 Regulatory Issues ....................................................................................... 60 2.5.1 Anticipatory Investment ......................................................................... 60 2.5.2 Design and Ownership of Offshore DC Grids ....................................... 61 2.5.3 Financial Arrangements ......................................................................... 62 2.5.4 Conclusion ............................................................................................. 63 2.6 Consideration of Reliability ....................................................................... 64 2.7 Scope of Work............................................................................................ 67 2.8 References .................................................................................................. 70 3. Methodology ...................................................................................................... 75 3.1 Reliability Modelling Options.................................................................... 76 3.1.1 Reliability Metrics .................................................................................. 76 3.1.2 Analytic Approach ................................................................................. 77 3.1.3 State Sampling ....................................................................................... 78 3.1.4 Sequential Monte Carlo Approach ......................................................... 79 3.2 Overview of Chosen Methodology ............................................................ 80 3.3 Model Inputs .............................................................................................. 82 3.3.1 Network design ...................................................................................... 82 3.3.2 Simulated Weather Time Series ............................................................. 83 3.3.3 Wind Speed – Wind Power Conversion ................................................ 85 3.3.4 Reliability Input Assumptions...............................................................