Colloquium - HVDC and Power Electronics:
Enhancing the Transmission Networks
Brisbane Australia
19-21 October 2011
Organised by:
CIGRE Study Committee B4, HVDC and Power Electronics
CIGRE Australian National Committee
CIGRE Study Committee B4, HVDC and Power Electronics Colloquium
19–21 October 2011, Brisbane, Australia
HVDC and Power Electronics - Enhancing the Transmission Networks
Call for papers
Background
CIGRE Study Committee B4, HVDC and Power Electronics is meeting in Australia in October 2011. In
conjunction with this meeting, the CIGRE Study Committee B4 and the National Committee is
organising a Colloquium in Brisbane, Australia.
Australia, New Zealand and the South East Asian region have been pioneering the application of
HVDC and power electronics (Flexible AC Transmission System - FACTS) devices to enhance the
capacity of the power transmission networks since 1965. Presently, the region is home to a number of
HVDC transmission links and FACTS devices. The region is also experiencing growth in the use of
HVDC and FACTS for the harvesting of natural resources such as wind, solar and geothermal power,
and for the transmission of electricity to diverse and geographically dispersed load centres.
Two Tutorials will precede the colloquium:
•
An introduction to HVDC technologies (Line Commutated Converter HVDC (LCC HVDC) and
Voltage Sourced Converter HVDC (VSC HVDC).
•
HVDC embedded in AC Grids (HVDC interconnections, embedded HVDC within AC transmission
systems, HVDC for grid extensions and HVDC Grids as AC network overlays).
Scope of the Colloquium
The Colloquium will cover a range of topics encompassing the challenges the transmission networks
are presently facing or are likely to face in the future, and the role HVDC and power electronics will
play in meeting those challenges. Within this context, the topics will include the following:
Technological developments
Development of new HVDC and power electronic technology solutions that will:
•
improve the reliability of the transmission system
•
provide increased energy efficiency
•
increase transmission flexibility
•
enable increased utilization of existing right of ways leaves with minimal environmental
impact, and
•
ensure environmental sustainability (including cables, conversion of AC lines to DC, etc).
Operational experience
Experiences with the operation of LCC HVDC and VSC HVDC systems, and of FACTS systems:
•
reliability and efficiency
•
performance with weak systems
•
interaction with other power system components
•
operational, dynamic and transient system support and impact, for example reactive and
stability support, power flow control, management of power quality issues, and
•
asset management: refurbishment, replacement and decommissioning.
Challenges and solutions for meeting the future energy needs
Meeting the diverse needs of future societies by:
•
balancing cost, reliability of supply and minimizing environmental impact, including
environmental impact assessment and mitigation
•
integrating technologically different and geographically diverse energy sources
•
issues associated with energy storage and potential solutions
•
introducing diverse power electronics based technologies, and the need for standardization
and use of application guides
•
operating HVDC grids as an AC network overlay, embedded HVDC connections in AC
networks, and HVDC for the extension of AC networks, and
•
maximising the utilization and flexibility of transmission networks through use of power
electronic solutions (e.g. FACTS).
Vision and strategies for development of future networks
Meeting future uncertainty while:
•
providing flexibility for investing in new assets (in terms of maximizing the benefits and
reducing the risks)
•
satisfying the need for integration of massive quantities of renewable and distributed energy
sources
•
evaluating power electronics and conventional solutions for meeting the increasing end-use
of electricity while minimising the environmental impacts of new infrastructures, and
•
managing the change in skills required and building a competent workforce.
Authors are encouraged to address the above topics in a regional as well as international
perspective.
Participants
The Colloquium participants will include top experts in the fields of the development, design,
application and operation of HVDC and FACTS.
The colloquium will be informative and beneficial for generating companies, transmission system
planners, designers, operators, asset owners and managers, equipment developers and
manufacturers, research institutions and universities, and policy makers and regulators.
Important Dates
The organizing committee invites authors to prepare and submit their synopses, papers and
presentations as per the following schedule:
Submission of synopses
Authors informed of synopsis acceptance
Submission of papers
Submission of presentations
15 January 2011
15 February 2011
15 June 2011
15 August 2011
Submissions
The synopses, papers and presentations must be sent electronically to: scb4meeting@cigre.org.au
Contact
For any further information about the colloquium, please contact:
Professor Gerard Ledwich
Chair in Power Engineering
Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia
Ph: (+61 7) 3138 2864
Fax: (+61 7) 3138 1516
Email: g.ledwich@qut.edu.au
Mail: GPO Box 2434, Brisbane, Qld 4001, Australia