Techno-Economic Analysis of HVAC, HVDC and OFAC Offshore Wind Power Connections

This work performs an economic analysis of HVAC and HVDC transmission options for Offshore Wind Power Plants (OWPPs). The primary objective is to produce a range for each technology under which it is the most economic option. The economic model developed accounts for system losses and reliability. HVAC technological variations included are the use of a mid point compensation platform and Optimal Frequency AC (OFAC). The investigation found mid point compensation to be highly beneficial, significantly increasing the economic range of HVAC via smaller cable sizes and reduced Expected Energy Not Served (EENS). An opportunity for optimal offshore grid expansion requiring limited up front investment using mid point compensation is presented. The viable range of OFAC was found to be limited. Furthermore, a reduction in export cable size was found to frequently be economic and the use of 2 transformers over 1 for improved reliability; warranted.