UNITING THE NATION’S ELECTRIC POWER GRID
THE TRES AMIGAS
SUPERSTATION
WORLD WIDE EMERGING DEVELOPMENT IN HVDC
2013
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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China Plans for Point to Point HVDC
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Friends of the Super Grid
“a pan-European transmission network facilitating the integration of large-scale
renewable energy and the balancing and transportation of electricity, with the
aim of improving the European market”.
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MedGrid – Opening New lines for Sustainable Electicity
“Sun and wind: SEMCs have limitless wind and solar energy potential. The
MSP, launched in November 2008, aims to install 20 Gigawatts (GW) of new
generation capacity by 2020.”
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South American HVDC projects in operation,
construction or planned
Under Planning:
Colombia – Panama
600 MW – 400 kV
Under Planning:
Central - North
1000 MW – 500 kV
Under Planning:
Chile - Argentina
2000 MW – 500 kV
Under Planning:
Central - South
2000 MW – 500 kV
Under Planning
Manaus - Roraima –
Venezuela
600 MW – 400 kV
Under Planning:
B Monte Tapajos
2x 4000 MW 800 kV
Under Construction:
Rio Madeira
2x 3150 MW 600 kV
In operation:
Itaipu
2x 3150 MW 600 kV
In Oeperation:
Garabi
2x 1000 MW BtB
In Oeperation:
Rivera
70 MW BtB
Under Construction:
Melo
500 MW BtB
Under Planning:
Brazil – Uruguay
500 MW BtB
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Friends of the Super Grid Quote:
•"Supergrid" is the future electricity system that will enable Europe to undertake a
once-off transition to sustainability.
•“The full significance of a switchable HVDC innovation has not yet been appreciated by
policy makers or by the business community. It is clear that a network incorporating a
HVDC grid with the redundancy and reliability of current AC grids is now a reality and
that the limits of what is technologically possible have been greatly expanded.”
•“HVDC technology will open markets, strengthen security of supply and create another
global opportunity for European companies to export sustainable energy technology. The
technology underpinning the Supergrid will give competitive advantage to the companies
involved with its specification and design. This type of integrated AC/DC grid will be a
template for what will be needed in other global markets including the US and China.”
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Alstom Grid HVDC MaxSine Technology
•Voltage Sourced
Converter (VSC)
technology
•Modular multi-level
converter design
VSC HVDC scheme
+V
-V
+V
-V
= chain link module
•Control of real and
reactive power flow into
AC grids
•Harmonic free output
voltage
Ideal for use on weak AC
grids
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Folded Back-to-Back Convertor Layout
DC Bus Connections
Provides for AC and DC HTS
bus
interconnections
AC Bus Connections
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First Phase Scope of Construction
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Design
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Products & Services - How Will Customers Use TA
Services?
Customer Action
Tres Amigas Service
Customer
ThirdParty
Local
Storage Genco
Genco
Load
Energy
Merchnt
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● Trade Execution (cash) &
Clearing (cash)
● Delivery Integration
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Buy and sell forward electricity and
RECs
● Trade Execution (forward) &
Clearing (forward)
● Market Information
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Offer ancillary services produced
from one interconnect into another
● PTP Transmission
● Ancillary Service Coordination
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Provide electricity storage services
● Direct Connection
● Energy Storage Management
Move electricity into market of
choice
● Direct Connection
● PTP Transmission
● Scheduling, System Control &
Dispatch
● Trade Execution (cash) &
Clearing (Cash)
● Delivery Integration

Firm/shape renewable generation
● Firming & Shaping
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Utilize system control services
Scheduling, System Control &
Dispatch
Transport electricity from one
interconnect to another
Move electricity in/out of stationconnected storage
Buy and sell spot/cash electricity
and RECs
● PTP Transmission
● PTP Transmission
Purchase reactive power
● Voltage Control
Purchase other ancillary services
● Ancillary Service Coordination
(with AS providers)
DSM
ERCOT
PNM
SPP
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Products & Services - Operations Services
Tres Amigas Operations can be mapped against a generic electricity market structure, illustrating TA Operations
core functions – system operations, spot market operations and information services. Tres Amigas will most likely
engage an established clearinghouse to support forward trading and clearing.
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Products & Services - Transmission
Transmission service will be sold in blocks ranging from one to 20 years in duration, as well as on a seasonal,
monthly, weekly, daily and hourly basis.
20 years
Anchor Tenant
Agreements
Annual
Open Season
AT Auction
Annual Auction
Monthly
Daily
Hourly
Spot Sales
(via Portal)
Any available long-term firm capacity
Up to 50% of firm
capacity
remaining available firm
capacity after Anchor
Tenant Agreements
remaining available firm
capacity after Anchor
Tennant Agreements and
Anchor Tennant Auction
Additional short-term firm capacity
All non-firm capacity
Secondary trading of previously
purchased capacity
FIRM SALES
NON-FIRM SALES
Three distinct mechanisms will be used to sell transmission service:
• Negotiated, long-term ‘Anchor Tenant Agreements’
• Competitive ‘open seasons’, mostly for annual service, but also including
an initial ‘Anchor Tenant Auction’ for terms up to 20 years.
• Web-based real-time portal, for non-firm and shorter-term firm capacity,
with a duration less than one year (e.g. monthly, weekly, daily, hourly).
• Additionally, the real-time portal will facilitate a secondary market for Tres
Amigas customers to trade transmission capacity purchased previously.
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Funding – Tres Amigas Merchant Transmission
Unlike traditional transmission facilities, merchant transmission project owners assume all market risk.
Tres Amigas has been successful in receiving significant capital through investors and private
placements.
Phase II – III
1.5B
Phase I
500 M
2013
Preconstruction
12M
2012
Startup
8M
Concept
2M
2015
Phase II-III: construction & operations, Texas node, additional HVDC
converters, facilities, and business infrastructure
Phase I: construction & operations, East/West transmission node,
including HVDC converters, buildings and business infrastructure, EMS
Operations
Preconstruction: detailed engineering, vendor selection/contracts,
product development, additional filings and detailed business plans.
2010
Startup: research, regulatory and local filings, ROW, preliminary
engineering, environmental, economics and business plan.
2008
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Tres Amigas SuperStation….
Uniting the Electric Grid
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