Comparative Study of HVDC and HVAC Systems in Presence of Large Scale Renewable Energy Sources

Compared to high voltage alternative current (HVAC) technology, the high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission allows electrical renewable power (such as solar and wind) transporting over several thousand kilometers with minimum losses. This technology enables large scale solar power penetration in the current power grid. The aim of this paper is to present a comparative study between the HVDC and the HVAC photovoltaic system integration methods. The impact of the renewable energy penetration on the power load flow and short circuit levels (SCLs) using double circuit links for HVAC and bipolar links for HVDC is also investigated. The study is carried out on the Iraqi Super grid using PSS/E software package for different transmission line lengths. Simulation results demonstrate that the HVDC system surpasses the HVAC one in terms of power losses and SCL minimization.