The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has published a paper showing that high temperature superconductors (HTS) can be operated safely and require a smaller footprint and more cost effective control and protection systems than conventional cables for large scale offshore wind farms.
SuperNode CEO and co-author John Fitzgerald said:
“The IEEE study undertaken by the University of Strathclyde, SuperNode and OREC demonstrates the potential of superconductor cables to effectively operate and deal with electrical faults enabling the use of smaller, more cost-effective connection systems.”
Researchers from the University of Strathclyde and SuperNode undertook a feasibility study of an offshore wind farm integrated with HTS direct current (DC) cables. A model of a 100 kV 2 GW point-to-point HVDC system using HTS technology was successfully developed using PSCAD software, which is the first of its kind in the HTS field. The novel model tested the performance of the HTS cables at various operating modes.
The key takeaway from the model came in the response to fault scenarios. According to the paper:
“Given their inherent fault protection properties in certain fault scenarios, HTS DC cables may facilitate the integration of more cost-effective protection systems when employed in a meshed DC grid”
When met with an electrical fault, HTS cables move from a superconducting state to a normal state and become current limiting. This inherent trait can be leveraged safely in a superconducting cable system to offer fail-safe protection and thus smaller and more cost-efficient grid protection.
Mr. Fitzgerald continued:
“This study demonstrates that for long-distance, bulk power transfer, superconductor cables represent game changing technology that is sorely needed as we look to move away from fossil fuels.”
Further work will be done to expand the novel model and study the HTS cable response in meshed grid scenarios.
Read the full IEEE paper here: ‘DC Fault Study of a Point-to-Point HVDC System Integrating Offshore Wind Farm Using High-Temperature Superconductor DC Cables’