Submission 11
MULTI TERMINAL MULTI VENDOR HVDC GRID DESIGN STUDIES - PART II: DYNAMIC STUDY
WISO25-11
Presented by: Julien Pouget
Driven by the increasing scale of offshore wind farms and the growing capacity of cross-country interconnections, High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) systems based on bipolar Modular Multilevel Converter (MMC) technology are expected to play a key role in future transmission networks. However, concerns about techno-economic feasibility while relying exclusively on point-to-point links have prompted the industry to tackle the challenges of transitioning to Multi-Terminal (MT) configurations.
In this context, the InterOPERA project was launched to enable future HVDC systems from different suppliers to operate together, paving the way for Europe's first real-life MT, Multi-Vendor (MV), multi-purpose HVDC projects. InterOPERA has already made significant contributions, including the development of common functional specifications and minimum interface requirements. In the coming months, a Real-Time (RT) demonstrator will be implemented to validate and refine the proposed methods and processes, ensuring their practical applicability. This work focuses on activities supporting the deployment of the RT demonstrator, particularly on HVDC grid design studies using generic models to provide inputs to the detailed subsystem specifications. Three study packages have been defined:
1. DC load flow (LF)-based contingency analysis ensuring that DC voltage regulation capabilities and continuous operating ranges align with system operation under the selected risk policy.
2. Dynamic studies quantifying temporary excursions of electrical quantities following contingencies, to ensure they remain within equipment limits and do not trigger unwanted protection operations.
3. Transient studies assessing the required withstand capabilities of network assets and grid-connected devices, considering the performance of available protection system.
A series of three papers presents key findings from this work. This second part focuses on dynamic stresses at the connection points of various subsystems following unit outages, simulated through forced converter blocking, and temporary AC faults. Minimum dynamic operating ranges required to prevent inadvertent protection triggers are ultimately defined, ensuring compliance with the N-1 security criterion.
Specifically, temporary overvoltage and undervoltage profiles are constructed from detailed EMT simulations of selected contingencies applied to the initial operating conditions defined in the steady-state study (N situations). The distinction between HVDC grid design and subsystem control design studies is highlighted, while recognising the influence of dynamic performance on observed stresses. Consequently, classical indicators such as settling times and overshoots are reported alongside the maximum temporary excursions of relevant electrical quantities. Finally, the impact of critical modelling assumptions, including design parameters and control settings, is also analysed.