UNITING THE NATION’S ELECTRIC POWER GRID
THE TRES AMIGAS
SUPERSTATION
IIEA - Dublin
October 8, 2010
20th Century Electric Transmission Grid
Utility Controlled
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21st Century Electric Transmission Grid
Customer Desires &
Configurations
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LARGE INTERCONNECTED AC
TRANSMISSON SYSTEMS
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Common Interconnected AC System Problems
Diminishing Returns with large interconnected AC Systems
Long Distance Transmission
• Line losses
Interconnections
• Steady state
• Uncontrolled Load flow
problems and bottlenecks
– Congestion Issues
– Inter Area loop flow
– Cascading Blackouts
• Transient Stability
• Oscillation Stability
• Subsynchronous Oscillations
• Frequency control
• Latency issues (ie Spinning Reserves)
• Voltage Stability
• Inductive and Capacitive limitation
factors
• Physical interactions between
power systems
• System Voltage Stability/Levels
• Reactive Power Loading
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Common Interconnected AC System Problems
High Cost of Interconnections
– Reliability Costs: NERC, RC, Relaying
– N-1 criteria often creates underutilization of transmission
lines
– Complex coordinating arrangements (RTOs, IA, JOAs, etc.)
– Need for sophisticated and costly system impact studies
– Participation agreement complications with multiple
impacted entities
– Regional/Subregional perturbations/phenomena difficult
and costly to analyze and manage
– Deterministic planning practices do not capture the true
economic value of transmission additions/upgrades
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Next Step – The Evolution to Fast Acting HVDC
• The only way to interconnect large AC power grids with different
phases is via HVDC (High Voltage Direct Current) facilities
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–
–
–
AC/DC/AC Stations
Hybrid Transmission systems (AC/DC…DC/AC)
Multipoint nodes
Long distance DC Transmission lines
• HVDC has the ability to control the direction and magnitude of the
power flow at each node of a multipoint configuration thereby
facilitating the precise needs of the interconnection points without
adverse impacts to the interconnecting grid
• HVDC has the flexibility not only to adapt to grids with different AC
system real time characteristics but to also facilitate optional
ancillary services to each interconnection node
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From USDOE Office of Electric Delivery and Energy Reliability
“PRESENTLY, ONLY 30% OF ALL POWER
GENERATED USES POWER ELECTRONICS
SOMEWHERE BETWEEN THE POINT OF
GENERATION AND END USE. BY 2030, 80%OF
ALL ELECTRIC POWER WILL FLOW
THROUGH POWER ELECTRONICS .”
Power electronics moves beyond devices that simply
provide increased awareness, such as Phasor measurement
systems. These devices will respond to, interface with and
control real time power flows.
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Benefits of Power electronics
• Increased power system reliability and security
• Increased efficiency and loading of existing transmission and
distribution infrastructure
• Huge gains in real time power flow control
• Improved voltage and frequency regulation
• Improved power system transient and dynamic stability
• More flexibility in siting transmission and generation facilities
• The distinction between consumer devices and utility devices
will largely be eliminated electrically
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21st century smart grid technologies compared with those in use today.
Source: IBM Institute for Business Value
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Data to Information
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China: Current HVDC National Grid Plan
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Europe: Extended Grid Plan
• From Iceland
(Northwest) to
Israel (Southeast)
= 3,200 mi
• Concept of grid is
25,000 miles of line
Solar Power
Wind Power
Geothermal
Hydro
Biomass
Connections
already in place
or planned
Vision of ABB
and DLR
The new high-voltage network would range from the Sahara to the polar cap. The concept calls for main lines that are 40,000 kilometers long. And
parts of it already exist.
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U.S.: National Grid Concept
• Concept of DOE
National Renewable
Energy Laboratory
and American
Electric Power
Company
• D.C and 765 KV AC
lines
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Hierarchical View of the Issues facing the European
Transmission System Operators (TSOs)
Single
European
Electricity Market
•Pan-European Transmission Grid
•Load-Generation Balance
•Congestion management
•Ancillary services
•Settlement
•Balancing Mechanisms
•Variable Renewable energy Generation
•Storage
•Demand Side Management
Source: ENTSO-E: The pathway towards common European network operation
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The Location
Tres Amigas Is Ideally Situated in Eastern New Mexico Near the
Borders of CO, OK and TX Serving as a Three-Way Interconnection of
WECC, Eastern and ERCOT
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The Location: Regional Renewable Resource Potential
Significant Regional Wind & Solar Capacity Factors in Excess of 35%
Source: NREL
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The Tres Amigas SuperStation
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Tres Amigas SuperStation….
Uniting the Electric Grid
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