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Applications of HVDC Technologies: Workshop Summary
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Education, Outreach, and Workforce
An education issue exists for industry, transmission planners, and other stakeholders. There are
different levels of understanding, as well as misconceptions about new and advanced technologies.
General lack of understanding, adequate tools, and education about HVDC creates an atmosphere of
fear, exacerbated by insufficient examples of successful projects. There is a need to increase the
common understanding of HVDC, to deprogram the industry, to move beyond focusing on AC solutions,
and to expand thinking about how DC can be integrated and used. Tutorials or webinars tailored to
different stakeholders, from engineering students to executives, should be developed. Efforts will have
to be customized for individual stakeholder groups: public utility commissions, engineers, academics,
and industry executives.
Sharing of best practices can also help with education and prevent reinventing the wheel on issues
encountered with HVDC implementation in different states and regions. Additionally, knowledge that
something has been done before (in a similar environment) will encourage further consideration of that
technology or process. A website with information about capabilities and possibilities would be helpful.
HVDC has been studied and deployed for some time so there should be sufficient cases from which to
draw. Benefits and risks associated with various parameters, such as performance under lightning strikes
with overhead lines and the use of VSC technology should also be included. To address these issues,
DOE should facilitate information sharing and leverage resources, research, and lessons learned across
the government. The Department of Defense has relevant experience with electric ships, and there are
international lessons‐learned as well. Additionally, DOE provides a degree of neutrality not always
perceived with a supplier’s website.
Furthermore, there are various efforts to assess HVDC, such as the DOE‐conducted transmission
congestion studies, DOE‐funded HVDC studies in Hawaii, a State Department‐funded study in Puerto
Rico, and exploration of corridor utilization by the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) and
the Eastern Interconnection States’ Planning Council (EISPC). These studies and efforts should be
coordinated and leveraged with an eye toward minimizing redundancy. Assessing and tabulating what
has been done and what is on‐going would help prevent duplication and add value. There is also a need
for documentation of realistic and pragmatic case studies. Project information should be presented in a
structured framework that is accessible to diverse users. Project tracking should be done with an
overarching view to highlight issues that may come up in other projects.
Another aspect of education deals with the future workforce; industry needs a young workforce with
the appropriate training and skills. However, no professors currently teach HVDC; it is not included in
academic curricula. Universities are currently hiring for smart grid technologies, so HVDC should be
folded into an expanded scope. Furthermore, students should be engaged before college through earlier
exposure to power systems engineering and HVDC. A government campaign could also increase interest
in engineering; HVDC’s environmental benefits could help with marketing. Based on IEEE publications,
Europe boasts many PhDs and authors in relevant fields, so the potential to grow interest should exist in
the United States.
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The availability of sufficient funding resources needs to be considered, as it helps drive academic
research and student training. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) provided $100
million for education but was not a sustained commitment. A National Science Foundation/industry joint
fellowship program could be implemented to ramp up the next generation of HVDC experts. A joint
DOE/vendor fund for universities and education programs would also provide needed financial
assistance. Another facet is attracting students to these opportunities. Decent salaries incentivize
students to pursue a career but job placement concerns remain. DOE can leverage national laboratories
as regional centers to provide experience for students; internships are another mechanism to pursue.
Opportunities for DOE include the following:
Leverage GEARED and other efforts from other agencies
6
Develop and maintain a website for information on HVDC, including capabilities, best practices,
and case studies
Gather information from industry and international sources
Develop tutorials
Develop use cases of comparable efforts
Develop educational tools for academics
Assess both international and domestic projects
Research, Development, and Standardization
Despite being considered a mature technology, HVDC still presents several technical challenges. New
hardware development, controls, and advanced concepts can help address these challenges. Specific
R&D needs and issues identified are summarized in the table below:
Technologies
Issues
Converters
Converter losses are high; wide‐bandgap materials and other new
materials may help to reduce losses
IGBT devices have limited power ratings; higher power ratings desired
Power devices have limited availability; they are only accessible through
large‐device manufacturers and are costly
VSC technology requires more investigation
Multi‐terminal configurations are need for DC networks
DC‐to‐DC conversions are not direct; DC‐to‐DC step‐up transformers could
improve controllability
Controls
New controllers are needed to manage power flows, leveraging the high‐
speeding of the technology to support grid stabilization
o
It must accommodate possible communication failures
6
http://www.irecusa.org/workforce‐education/grid‐engineering‐for‐renewable‐energy‐deployment‐geared,
accessed October 19, 2015
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Coordinating controls with the broader electric power system in current
and future scenarios
o
Off‐shore wind farms with a DC backbone
o
Master/slave considerations and hierarchical control
Concerns with fault management
o
Restart times needed for the entire system
o
Segmentation of the grid with HVDC; explore the concept of
graceful degradation
Breakers
DC breakers are needed to manage faults in a DC networked system;
while developments are promising, they may not be available for at least
10 years
For an LCC point‐to‐point system, the converter itself is the best breaker
currently available to deal with overhead line faults; unfortunately, LCC is
not very suitable for multi‐terminal systems
For VSC technology, a full‐bridge can suffice and be more economic as a
breaker but it will depend on the application
Sensing and
Diagnostics
Taking HVDC off‐line (planned or unplanned) will disrupt a large amount
of power flows, possibly leading to other issues; Early awareness for
preventative maintenance is necessary to mitigate risks.
Cables
Cables are a critical component of HVDC systems; Commensurate
advances are needed including the application of new materials
Some of basic components and technologies in the table are used in other sectors; advances made in
these fields and by different entities (e.g., the Department of Defense) could be leveraged to address
the issues. Another significant challenge is that AC systems and technologies have good interoperability;
various pieces of hardware from different vendors can be integrated. This is not the case with DC
systems where all hardware needs to be from the same manufacturer. Standardization could improve
interoperability and reduce costs in the near‐term and into the future, especially when considering
maintenance and turnover.
Opportunities for DOE include the following:
Fund R&D for wide‐bandgap semiconductors and other materials
Support public–private partnerships to help accelerate R&D and ultimately drive down costs
Support standardization for components
Help develop control concepts for multi‐terminal applications
Support HVDC breaker research and an associated pilot
Demonstrations and Test Beds
Grid operators who are responsible for reliability need to trust in HVDC technology and understand how
to manage it. However, this requires an extended study of new devices, good study methodologies, and
ultimately a track record, as it is difficult to put trust in unproven technology. Simulations are helpful but
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Applications of HVDC Technologies: Workshop Summary
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are not a substitute for live demonstration. HVDC technologies are complex; they are not plug‐and‐play
and can lead to unexpected control interactions. Understanding these potential system impacts will be
needed to support their integration. For example, in the event of a component failure, AC technologies
have an on and off state, whereas DC technologies have many in‐between states. Demonstration and
testing of new technologies in combination with control strategies will also be very important.
Expanded use of HVDC will likely stress operations and the specifics must be understood. The new
technology must be properly controlled and monitored. Data for models and simulations must also be
validated and verified. Field tests of the technologies would help overcome concern about deployments
and improve the accuracy of data. Existence of a test facility for multi‐terminal DC development is
particularly desirable. It would also be good to ensure that VSC technologies will works in applications
with off‐shore generation. The number of project cycles for new technologies and concepts is not yet
sufficient, so government assistance with initial demonstrations is important.
Partnerships are the most efficient means of investigation to address these challenges. For example, to
research controllers, industry needs the testing infrastructure and vendors can supply the components
and systems. Additionally, resources at national laboratories could also be leveraged for demonstration
projects. One example is the Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF) at National Renewable Energy
Laboratory (NREL) which could serve as a test bed to run various scenarios. Preliminary work can be
done at national laboratories, but it is important to remember that actual field tests will have different
results. Power marketing administrations should also be leveraged for large‐scale demonstrations or
deployments. Another capability that is beneficial is a real‐time digital simulator (RTDS), which enables
testing of hardware in the loop and of various controllers. The RTDS can help develop and verify system
and control models.
The true costs of first demonstrations or pilot projects are not known; there are many uncertainties and
instanced where things can go wrong. Unfortunately, this presents a “Catch‐22” scenario as businesses
do not want to invest in the demonstrations that are needed to inform business models that spur
greater investments. The federal government should partner with project developers to help assess the
means of cost reduction, technology development, and showing how the technology works. Tax
incentives or loan guarantees may help make demonstrations more accessible.
DOE‐funded demonstrations should be top‐down projects at the national level; some demonstration
projects are better led by federal entities than by public utilities. Federal support underscores a project’s
national significance and can be used strategically to break down barriers. Pilots are usually too small;
utilities need scaled‐up demonstrations to make an economic impact. Projects that support public policy
objectives, such as power purchase agreements and contracts, should have state and regional support
and participation. Island territories can be good candidates for HVDC demonstrations.
Demonstrations that examine unique value propositions are also important. One example is the
conversion of AC lines to DC. If the capacity on existing AC lines are limited because of system
constraints, then conversion to DC lines could be considered. Such a project would be able to
demonstrate and quantify various benefits such as the time and resources saved (e.g., increasing
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Applications of HVDC Technologies: Workshop Summary
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transmission capacity in limited ROWs where the actual conductors are reused). Because of customer
resistance to transmission expansion, issues with NIMBY, converting AC to DC can provide significant
value. Another potential project is installing synchrophasor technology with an HVDC system. Such a
demonstration would show how HVDC can improve AC system controls. Additional benefits include the
verification of AC grid models and controls and supporting the development of new models.
Opportunities for DOE include the following:
Fund demonstration projects
Partner with industry to scale up demonstration projects
Provide HVDC vendors with a test facility for testing various components
Build or leverage test beds such as at the NREL‐ESIF
Show conversion of AC to DC and benefits of undergrounding
Become more strategic with options for demonstrations
Policies, Regulations, and Cost Allocation
Policies and regulations have a big impact on markets and cost allocation, as well as having the potential
to level the playing field for new technology. Regulatory authority for transmission and wholesale
electricity exists for AC systems; the used and useful requirement for regulators can be limiting HVDC
deployment. Additionally, how the benefits of HVDC fit into existing markets and regulations is not
clearly understood; policy innovation will be needed to support new technologies. Policies that
encourage manufacturing in the United States are also important as there is a risk that HVDC will not be
developed or piloted here, possibly resulting in the loss of domestic technology leadership.
There is also a need to revisit compliance standards as policies developed in the past tend to be
accompanied by a good deal of inertia. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) can take a
proactive role in reexamining laws and regulations to drive institutional changes. Historically, FERC has
taken a blanket approach to policy making; however, specific situations and associated contingencies
should be considered such as whether HVDC is handled on an energy basis or a capacity basis.
Additionally, reliability requirements may change for a future system. For example, it is important to
consider what an “N‐1 contingency” would mean for HVDC and what the right metric would be.
From the deployment experience in Europe, which also faces a challenging institutional and regulatory
environment, regional coordination and collaboration for planning and implementation has shown
benefits. Domestically, FERC Order 1000 is meant to support regional planning and is a step in the right
direction. Regional planning can help support HVDC implementation, but some aspects (e.g., the
technology’s uniqueness and benefits) may not be considered. One potential scenario is a national long‐
distance HVDC backbone; where the grid is handled liked the federal highway systems with a sense of
national responsibility. This scenario is unlikely absent a national energy policy which faces many
externalities. Most likely, regional or interconnection planning will occur but the issue with siting and
permitting, which are lengthy processes, will remain; interconnection queues can also be dysfunctional.
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Applications of HVDC Technologies: Workshop Summary
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Community resistance to new projects (NIMBY) and similar issues may require government intervention,
such as backstop authority of government. HVDC for accessing offshore wind will present unique siting
and permitting challenges as well, and should be addressed concurrently.
Cost allocation is another important barrier, as the prevailing mindset is to implement solutions with the
lowest cost rather than what is regionally optimal. According to FERC Order 1000, beneficiaries must pay
development costs for projects but determination of benefits is difficult. With HVDC point‐to‐point
transfers, determining the primary beneficiaries can be simple, but flyover concerns (i.e., lines crossing
states that do not benefit) makes things more complex. In places where HVDC does not originate or
terminate, the administration and calculation of these “side payments” must be incorporated in cost
allocations. It is difficult to build a project where costs are imposed on others. Documents produced by
WECC for engaging with stakeholders, which includes HVDC as part of the discussion, may be a resource.
Public policy considerations, such as economic development and environmental concerns, can add to
the complexity. Additionally, global benefits are not taken into account; a sharing mechanism could be
established to cover externalities and broader beneficiaries.
Financing is a big concern for many new technologies; increased project risks lead to higher cost of
capital and thus higher electricity prices. Most developers make decisions based on the internal rate of
return (IRR); a high IRR for a HVDC project translates into implementation. Additionally, societal benefits
of improved transmission—such as reliability, climate effects, and cleaner energy—are not presently
factored into financing considerations. These intangibles should be monetized; financing mechanisms
that are tied to societal benefits could encourage deployment. Additionally, changes to the Federal
Power Act could also spur deployment. For example, FERC regulations could ensure a return on
investment for HVDC; allow 50 percent of costs to be spread to cover regional benefits; or accelerate
the write off of installed technologies to hasten adoption and implementation of new technologies.
Another issue is that it is often easier to finance smaller capital expenditures, resulting in a preference
for the deployment of overhead AC lines to solve problems. The credit of the state should be behind
projects that support meeting the national interest. A government fund could help pay for incremental
costs between two technology choices if the more expensive choice (e.g., undergrounding vs. overhead)
would be the better option to meet public policy objectives. Loan guarantees and production tax credits
for transmission and distribution infrastructure can also be used to lower risks and facilitate financing.
Opportunities for DOE include the following:
Convene a group to establish valuation criteria and cost allocation
Help establish guidelines and educate regulators
Work with FERC and provide technical expertise
Evaluate reliability standards with HVDC
Explore new markets and financing schemes
Provide support through loan guarantees
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Applications of HVDC Technologies: Workshop Summary
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Next Steps
Overall, there was recognition that HVDC technologies have valuable applications but face a range of
challenges. A group can be formed to continue engagement with the community, identify specific
technical needs, and determine means to address those needs. DOE could provide resources to initiate
these types of groups (e.g., the North American Synchrophasor Initiative); however, they should
ultimately become vehicles of and for the vendor/user community and are self‐funded.
The GTT will take the information obtained from this workshop into consideration in the development of
future DOE plans and activities. Individuals who were not able to participate at the workshop can submit
comments and additional thoughts to the GTT via GridTechTeam@hq.doe.gov.
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Applications of HVDC Technologies: Workshop Summary
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Meeting Participants
First Name
Last Name
Affiliation
Email
Ram
Adapa
EPRI
radapa@epri.com
Sam
Baldwin
DOE/EERE
Sam.Baldwin@ee.doe.gov
Venkat
Banunarayanan DOE/EERE
Venkat.Banunarayanan@hq.doe.gov
Gil
Bindewald
DOE/OE
Gilbert.Bindewald@hq.doe.gov
Anjan
Bose
DOE/Undersecretary
Anjan.bose@hq.doe.gov
Erin
Boyd
DOE/PI
Erin.boyd@hq.doe.gov
Ralph
Braccio
Booz Allen Hamilton
braccio_ralph@bah.com
Darren
Buck
WAPA
DBuck@WAPA.GOV
Mary
Cain
FERC
mary.cain@ferc.gov
Caitlin
Callaghan
DOE/OE
Caitlin.callaghan@hq.doe.gov
Jay
Caspary
SPP
jcaspary@spp.org
Kerry
Cheung
DOE/OE
Kerry.cheung@hq.doe.gov
Rahul
Chokhawala
GE
Chokhawa@ge.com
Charlton
Clark
DOE/EERE
Charlton.Clark@ee.doe.gov
Stephen
Conant
Anbaric Transmission
sconant@anbaricpower.com
Jose
Conto
ERCOT
jconto@ercot.com
Matt
Cunningham
GE
Matt.Cunningham@ge.com
Mohamed
El‐Gasseir
Atlantic Wind Connection mme@atlanticwindconnection.com
Joe
Eto
LBNL
jheto@lbl.gov
Wayne
Galli
Clean Line Energy
wgalli@cleanlineenergy.com
Vahan
Gevorgian
NREL
vahan_gevorgian@nrel.gov
Peter
Grossman
Siemens
peter.kohnstam@siemens.com
Tim
Heidel
DOE/ARPA‐E
Timothy.Heidel@Hq.Doe.Gov
Jeffrey T.
Hein
Xcel Energy
Jeffrey.T.Hein@xcelenergy.com
Nari
Hingorani
Consultant
nghingorani@sbcglobal.net
Cynthia
Hsu
DOE/OE
Cynthia.Hsu@Hq.Doe.Gov
Holmes
Hummel
DOE/Undersecretary
Holmes.Hummel@hq.doe.gov
Sasan
Jalali
FERC
sasan.jalali@ferc.gov
Ehsan
Khan
DOE/FE
Ehsan.Khan@Hq.Doe.Gov
Tom
King
ORNL
kingtjjr@ornl.gov
Neil
Kirby
Alstom
neil.kirby@alstom.com
Peter
Kohnstam
Siemens
peter.kohnstam@siemens.com
Rich
Kowalski
ISONE
rkowalski@iso‐ne.com
Barry
Lawson
NRECA
barry.lawson@nreca.coop
Per‐Anders
Lof
National Grid
Per‐Anders.Lof@nationalgrid.com
Lucas
Lucero
BLM
llucero@blm.gov
Jack
McCall
American Superconductor jmccall@amsc.com
Paul
McCurley
NRECA
paul.mccurley@nreca.coop
Ben
Mehraban
AEP Transmission
bmehraban@aep.com
David
Meyer
DOE/OE
David.Meyer@hq.doe.gov
Rich
Meyer
NRECA
Richard.meyer@nreca.coop
Doug
Middleton
DOE/FE
Douglas.middleton@hq.doe.gov
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Applications of HVDC Technologies: Workshop Summary
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First Name
Last Name
Affiliation
Email
Dave
Mohre
NRECA
dave.mohre@nreca.coop
Phil
Overholt
DOE/OE
Philip.overholt@hq.doe.gov
Bill
Parks
DOE/OE
William.Parks@hq.doe.gov
Mahendra
Patel
PJM
patelm3@pjm.com
Rich
Scheer
Consultant
scheerllc@verizon.net
Pam
Silberstein
NRECA
pamela.silberstein@nreca.coop
Alex
Slocum
MIT/OSTP
slocum@mit.edu
Holly
Smith
NARUC
hsmith@naruc.org
Le
Tang
ABB
le.tang@us.abb.com
Robert J.
Thomas
Cornell
rjt1@cornell.edu
Brittany
Westlake
DOE/OE
brittany.westlake@hq.doe.gov
Cynthia
Wilson
DOE/PI
Cynthia.Wilson@hq.doe.gov
Jon
Worthington
DOE/OE
Jon.Worthington@Hq.Doe.Gov
Montee
Wynn
NRECA
montee.wynn@nreca.coop
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Applications of HVDC Technologies: Workshop Summary
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Acronyms
A
Ampere
AC
Alternating Current
CIGRE
Council on Large Electric Systems
DC
Direct Current
DOE
U.S. Department of Energy
EIPC
Eastern Interconnection Planning Collaborative
EISPC
Eastern Interconnection States’ Planning Council
EPRI
Electric Power Research Institute
ESIF
Energy Systems Integration Facility
FERC
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
GTT
Grid Tech Team
HVAC
High‐Voltage Alternating Current
HVDC
High‐Voltage Direct Current
IEEE
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
IGBT
Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor
IRR
Internal Rate of Return
kV
Kilovolts
LCC
Line‐Commuted Converter
ms
Milliseconds
MW
Megawatts
NASPI
North American Synchrophasor Initiative
NERC
North American Electric Reliability Corporation
NIMBY
Not in My Backyard
NREL
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
PSLF
Positive Sequence Load Flow
PSSE
Power System Simulator for Engineering
ROW
Right‐of‐Way
RTDS
Real‐Time Digital Simulator
STATCOM
Static Synchronous Compensator
TVA
Tennessee Valley Authority
U.S.
United States
VAR
Volt–Ampere Reactive
VSC
Voltage‐Source Converter
WECC
Western Electricity Coordinating Council
Documents you may be interested
Documents you may be interested