Design of UHVDC Converter Station

Ultra HVDC transmission system (UHVDC) provides significant benefits for bulk power transmission over extreme long distance. There are numerous UHVDC projects are currently in planning world wide, particularly for large hydro power schemes in China. This paper discusses the major design aspects of a UHVDC converter station with focus on the difference to the conventional HVDC schemes. The possible converter configurations are discussed and evaluated. The basic design parameters for a 800 kV/6400 MW UHVDC system are provided. The ac harmonic filters and reactive power compensations requirements are shown. Detailed discussions on the principles of insulation coordination including suggested arrester schemes are given. Further more this paper addresses station design aspects like indoor and outdoor installation, noise damping measures and reliability considerations in general.