THE HVDC ADVANTAGE

Is HVDC Transmission Project Potential Just Lots Of Hype?

4 July 2012 (Renew Grid)

“If all of the planned transmission projects using high-voltage alternating-current (HVAC) and high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) technologies were to be built between now and 2020, cumulative global investment would be a little over $217 billion, according to Pike Research…[but] the research firm says that officially announced budgets and schedules for HVDC systems overstate the likely outcomes by nearly a factor of two…

“…[More likely] the cumulative spending for HVDC systems between now and 2020 will be between $110 billion and $120 billion…Worldwide growth of electricity [demand and] infrastructure is expected…[T]he transmission systems necessary to support this growth will be a mix of HVAC and HVDC [and there is definitely a need for HVDC systems around the world but several challenges are expected to slow the massive project build-outs that have been predicted]…HVAC was typically used for interconnected short length lines and HVDC was used for long-distance point-to-point bulk power transmission. New developments in HVDC conversion technologies are beginning to blur that distinction…”

click to enlarge

“… [Some] argue that very large HVAC systems built within grid networks can satisfy new demand. Others argue that the future belongs to HVDC overlays that interconnect very large grid systems and, ultimately, enormous regions on a global scale…[V]irtually all new construction is occurring in Europe, India, China and North America…In North America, where 29 systems worth about 75 GW are planned, 75% of future investment in HVDC comes from merchant transmission companies due to the balkanized regulatory framework of the region. In Europe, where 23 systems worth approximately 20 GW are planned, large amounts of renewable energy generation are anticipated, along with the interconnection of many national grids.

“Economic growth and the need to complete national electrification in China and India, where 33 systems worth about 266 GW are planned for both countries, result in the largest single market for HVDC systems. Meanwhile, in the rest of the world, a handful of very large projects - 12 systems worth 37 GW - dominate in regions with great need but very limited resources…”

Tweet