HTS cable application studies and technical/economical comparisons with conventional technologies

The increasing constraints in generation siting coupled with a renewed emphasis on environmental sensibility, emerging trends in energy markets, and increasing reliability requirements challenges the power industry to develop new technologies for the transmission and distribution systems. These new technologies must have several key attributes, among them: flexibility, environmental friendliness, high efficiency and reliability. High temperature superconducting (HTS) cable systems can embody all of these key attributes. As the first high temperature superconducting (HTS) projects are gradually being commissioned worldwide, interest is increasing not only on the technology itself but on the most interesting scenarios of application. Therefore some investigations have been undertaken for evaluating the compatibility of HTS cable with the existing grid and estimating which conditions makes it as the best solution for a decision making process at T/D planning stage. The presentation is an overview of the scenarios investigated so far. Some of them are test network developed inside Pirelli, others are real scenarios which have been carried on with utilities within a framework of HTS projects where Pirelli is involved. Particular care has been devoted to analyze the HTS reliability impact on power system reliability. Short-circuit current level has been carefully considered. Technical/economical impact has been estimated in scenarios where congestion might occur and space occupancy and environmental oppositions make difficult suitable grid upgrading conventional projects. Possible peculiar HTS performances are finally mentioned as a possible feature which will increase T/D flexibility performances at planning and operation stages.