Efficient power transmission
High-voltage direct-current (HVDC) transmission enables power to be transmitted over long distances with little loss.
Power generated from renewable sources is becoming an increasingly important part of the energy mix. However, facilities like large-scale wind farms, hydroelectric and solar thermal power plants tend to be located a long way from major population and industrial centers. This means that power they produce has to be carried long distances to the point of use. Offshore wind farms, for example, send their power to the mainland via ocean cables, and in situations like this, high-voltage direct-current transmission is the best transmission method.
Although technically more complex than conventional alternating-current transmission, HVDC offers two major advantages. First, only a fraction of the power is lost, even when it’s transmitted thousands of kilometers; and second, HVDC is the only way to interconnect two technically incompatible power grids.
Siemens is a leader in the field of HVDC and has installed numerous systems worldwide based on this proven technology, including a 1,400-kilometer HVDC link between Yunnan Province in southwest China and the southern Chinese province of Guangdong. Transmitting power over distances this large calls for extremely high voltages – in this particular case, 800 kilovolts.
Our most recent innovation in this field is HVDC PLUS, a technology based on voltage-sourced converters. Its key advantages are that it can operate with poorer-quality AC grids, and that the converters are more compact. It’s also a highly reliable and safe technology, making it ideally suited for deployment in large, densely populated areas.
| High transmission capacity |
| Lower losses |
| Lower costs |
| Reduces CO2 emissions |
| Lower primary energy consumption |
| Footprint of HVDC is 50 percent smaller than for AC systems |
2011-Feb-28 | Author
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