Kristian Bergman, Power Systems Division North America October 25, 2011

HVDC Cable Systems

Underground and Subsea

ABB Group
Slide 1
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Agenda

HVDC Cable Systems

Producing HVDC Cables
Installing HVDC Cables
Reliability
HVDC History and Reference Projects
Grid Systems offerings
HVDC (LCC)
Bulk power transmission (OHTL)
Long sea transmission (Cable)
Asynchronous connections (Back-to-Back)
HVDC Light (VSC)
Underground and sea-cable transmission
Connecting wind and solar energy to grid
Off-Shore applications
FACTS - Series Compensation/ Shunt Compensation
Increased transmission capacity
Power Quality
High voltage cables
Underground and submarine AC and DC transmission
Semiconductors
Thyristors and IGBTs
Consulting
Transmission system planning
System studies and optimized system sizing and design
After Sales Service and Support
System Upgrades/ Life extension
Parts, Maintenance & Support

HVDC CABLE SYSTEMS

 Characteristics of HVDC Transmission

Controllable - power injected where needed

Facilitates integration of remote diverse
resources with less impact on existing grid
Higher power, fewer lines
Less expensive lines
No stability distance limitation
Reactive power demand limited to terminals
independent of distance
Lower losses
No limit to underground or sea cable length
Asynchronous, firewall against cascading
outages

Solid Dielectric Cables for High Voltage Transmission Systems

Characteristics:
Absence of insulating fluids eliminates the risk of
accidental release of hazardous materials and
substances into the environment;
Lower maintenance costs (solid dielectric cables
are virtually maintenance free);
Cable capacitance per mile and phase is less
than 60% of the capacitance of fluid filled cables;
Ability to splice cables in discontinuous shifts.
(important characteristic when cable circuits are
installed in public roads since it permits
temporary suspension of splicing during morning
and afternoon rush hour traffic).
Cables are suitable for direct burial in open
trenches at a lower overall installation cost than
using concrete encased duct bank systems;
Typical Underground Cable Up to 640 kV (320 kV) DC

Conductor material: Copper or Aluminum

Conductor screen material: Conductive PE

Insulation type/material: Dry cured triple extruded HVDC

polymer

Insulation screen: Conductive PE

Bedding: Conductive swelling tapes

Metallic screen: Copper wires

Bedding: Conductive swelling tapes

Radial moisture barrier: Aluminum-PE laminate

Outer jacket: Polyethylene

HVDC Light  320 kV termination

Corona shield
Connector

Field grading adapters

Oil

Stress relief cone

Flange/box body

Insulator

ABB Group
October 26, 2011 | Slide 8
HVDC Light JDC joint

Insulation

Conductive layer
Deflector

Field grading layer

ABB Group
October 26, 2011 | Slide 9

Typical Submarine Cable Up to 640 kV (320 kV) DC

Conductor material: Copper

Conductor screen material: Conductive PE

Insulation type/material: Dry cured triple extruded HVDC

polymer

Insulation screen: Conductive PE

Longitudinal water seal: Swelling tapes

Metallic sheath material: Lead alloy

Inner sheath material: Conductive PE

Armor material: Galvanized steel wires

Outer serving material: Polypropylene yarn

Submarine Cable 150 kV HVDC Light Approx 400 MW

Submarine Cable 320 kV HVDC Light Approx 800 MW

Submarine Cable Splices

ABB Group
October 26, 2011 | Slide 13

PRODUCING HVDC CABLES

ABB High Voltage Cables - Manufacturing

Karlskrona, Sweden Huntersville, NC (2012)

ABB High Voltage Cable cable production sites

Karlskrona, Sweden
Extruded and paper insulated cables for AC and DC
Underground and submarine cables
Huntersville, North Carolina (In operation second half of 2012)
Extruded cables for AC and DC
Underground cables

ABB High Voltage Cables New Land Cable Factory

Huntersville, NC Cable Factory

Production Start in 2012
Technology transfer from the
Karlskrona plant
Conductor stranding
Extrusion line
Screening line
Sheathing line
Routine testing
Personnel
Know-how
Conductor stranding and lay-up

Vertical extruder
Material handling at our Suppliers premises

Quality standard is stated in specifications between ABB and the

Supplier.
The products are physically separated in batches and unique numbers
are allocated for each batch for traceability.
A certificate of analysis is issued for each batch and sent to ABB well
before arrival of the shipment.
The supplier has a completely closed material handling system,
including the pellet sampling procedure.
Example, Cleanroom filling of Octabins

ABB Inc.
October 26, 2011 | Slide 19

Material handling at the ABB cable factory

The material handling system is completely closed throughout the production
of the cable core.
The octabin is cleaned upon arrival at
ground level and then moved to a clean zone
where a new outer cover of polyethylene is
added
The octabin is cleaned again before being
transported into a clean zone elevator to the
material handling level in the extrusion tower
The octabin is connected to the material handling
system via a closed glove box system
Clean filtered air under over-pressure ensures that no contaminants are
entering the inside of the octabin.

ABB Inc.
October 26, 2011 | Slide 20
Assembling

Lead and PE extrusion

Armouring

Turntable storage of cable before loading

High voltage laboratory

Installation
Underground Cables

Transport Offload Install

Loading directly from the factory

INSTALLING HVDC CABLES

The Route Survey

On-shore and off-shore route survey to be completed before

issuing an RFP
Route surveu to include
Geographical conditions on the installation site including
temperatures, water currents, wave heights, historical weather
data, etc.
Multibeam bathymetric survey (+- 0.5 m)
Side scan sonar (50% overlapping, dual channels 100-500
kHz)
Sub-bottom profiling (top 5 m surface sediments)
Seabed sampling
Shear strength
Thermal resistivity
Mark and record obstacles and other utility crossings

Cable Ampacity Rating

Considerations:
Load profile (load factor)
Maximum conductor temperature
70C for HVDC Light Cable
Conductor size
Thermal resistivity of ambient soil and backfill
Temperature of ambient soil and air
Laying depth
Spacing between cables
Cable Ampacity Rating

Thermal Resistively Ambient Temperature

Cable Ampacity Rating

Burial Depth
Installation of Solid Dielectric Cables
Duct bank system:
Advantages solid mechanical protection against dig-ins and external
damage to the cables. (Important characteristic in roads and in areas with
other utilities close by.)
Disadvantages costly civil construction, more difficult cable pulling, higher
thermo-mechanical stresses on joints, etc.

Installation of Solid Dielectric Cables

Direct burial:
Advantages less costly civil construction, easier cable installation, less thermo-
mechanical stresses on joints, etc.
Disadvantages arguably less mechanical protection against dig-ins and
external damage to the cables.
Cable Laying In Trench (Direct Burial)

Cable Installation in Duct-Banks

Jointing of XLPE Cable

The AMC Connector Cable Laying Vessel

Developed by ABB and Aker Marine

Dedicated Cable Laying Vessel
Deep Sea
Long Cable Length
Heavy Loading (9000 ton)
ROVs and trenching machine
operations
 Solid Dielectric Cables for High Voltage Transmission Systems
Horizontal Directional Drilling HDPE Pull Back

Solid Dielectric Cables for High Voltage Transmission Systems

Installation of submarine cables
Solid Dielectric Cables for High Voltage Transmission Systems
Installation of submarine cables

VIV suppressors to mitigate

Vortex Induced Vibrations on
free hanging cable in waters with
high currents

Solid Dielectric Cables for High Voltage Transmission Systems

Installation of submarine cables

Off-shore education
Off-shore training
Health and safety
Correct equipment
 RELIABILITY

Solid Dielectric Cables Milestone Events

In 1973 ABB began deliveries of solid dielectric (XLPE) cable systems

for voltage ratings up to 145 kV.
In 1984 ABB furnished and commissioned a complete XLPE transmission
cable system rated 220 kV for a municipal power company in Stockholm.
In the mid 1980s ABB introduced transmission cable terminations with
pre-molded stress-cones.
In 1990 ABB introduced pre-molded joints for XLPE transmission cables.
In 1997 ABB introduced solid dielectric cable systems for direct current
transmission (HVDC Light).
In 1998 ABB furnished and commissioned a complete XLPE cable
system rated 420 kV for BEWAG in Berlin.
In 2002 ABB commissioned the longest underground transmission circuit
in the world (Murray link in Australia two parallel 110-mile long solid
dielectric HVDC Light cables rated 200 MW and 150 kV);
In 2002 ABB commissioned a 24-mile long solid dielectric submarine
cable circuit (HVDC Light) across the Long Island Sound rated 330 MW,
150 kV;
Reliability of Solid Dielectric Cable Systems
During the last 30+ years, the quality for XLPE materials and
manufacturing processes has continually improved.
The development of XLPE cables for EHV applications would not
have been possible without these continued improvements.
While the electrical stress level on the XLPE Insulation has
continuously increased over time, the failure rate and unavailability
of XLPE cable systems has dramatically decreased .
Application of Super Clean XLPE Insulation System using Vertical
Continuous Vulcanization (VCV) Line:
Advanced control system
Check for quality
Check for cleanliness
Check for centricity

Reliability of Solid Dielectric Cable Systems

HVDC Light
No internal cable fault in 1566 km HVDC Light cables put into operation
HVAC for comparison
HVDC - HISTORY AND REFERENCE
PROJECTS

ABB HVDC Classic Projects around the World

Classic HVDC Submarine Cable

Mass Impregnated Non Draining (MIND) paper insulation

Significant technology milestone events

1953 Gotland I: 100 kV, 20 MW, 62 miles
1968 KontiSkan I: 285 kV, 300 MW, 40 miles
1989 FennoSkan: 400 kV, 500 MW, 124 miles
1994 Baltic Cable: 450 kV, 600 MW, 155 miles
1996 Single-Circuit ratings up to 500 kV, 800 MW
1999 SwePol Cable: 450 kV, 600 MW, 143 miles
2007 NorNed Cable: 450 kV, 700 MW, 360 miles
2009 BritNed Cable: 450 kV, 1000 MW, 300 miles

Mass impregnated cable is not practical for long distance

underground installations.

Solid Dielectric Cables for High Voltage Transmission Systems

ABBs HVDC cable technology advancements now make long
EHV underground transmission circuits feasible
1999 2002 2007
Gotland Murray link 2500 mm2 Cu or Al
160 kV (80 kV) 300 kV (150 kV), 220 MW 640 kV (320 kV), up to 1100 MW
50 MW 112 miles
43 miles 2010
2006 DolWin
2000 EstLink 640 kV (320 kV), 800 MW
Direct Link 300 kV (150 kV), 350 MW 56 miles (+46 miles subsea)
160 kV (80 kV) 20 miles (+46 miles subsea)
360 MW
340 miles 2008
BorWin (Nord E.On 1)
300 kV (150 kV), 400 MW
47 miles (+80 miles subsea)

2009
Eirgrid
400 kV (200 kV), 500 MW
44 miles (+116 miles subsea)
 Solid Dielectric HVDC Light Submarine Cable
Significant technology milestone events
2002 Cross Sound: 300kV(150kV), 330MW, 25 miles
2005 Troll A: 120kV (60kV), 240MW, 242 miles
2006 EstLink: 300kV (150kV), 350MW, 46 miles
2007 Circuit ratings up to 640kV (320kV), 1100MW
2008 BorWin: 300kV (150kV), 400MW, 80 miles
2009 Eirgrid: 400kV (200kV), 500MW, 116 miles
2010 DolWin: 640kV (320kV), 800MW, 46 miles

100 kV MI cable system

Gotland - Swedish mainland

100 kV DC cable
system for State
Project
Power Board,
Sweden

Cable Mass-impregnated
type 1 x 90 mm2 Cu

Length 100 km

Year 1953

ABB Group
October 26, 2011 | Slide 52
450 kV MI Cable System, NorNed

450 kV DC 700 MW Cable

System Norway The
Project
Netherlands for
Statnett / TenneT

ABB MI 2 x 790 mm2

270 km
Cables Cu DWA

MI 700 mm2 Cu
2 x 150 km
DWA

ABB HVDC Cables

Scope Installation services
of supply Convertor Stations

Constru-
2005 - 2008
ction

ABB Group
October 26, 2011 | Slide 53

450 kV MI cable system, BritNed

450 kV DC, 1000 MW

cable system for the
Project BritNed connection
between Great Britain
and the Netherlands for
BritNed Ltd

Cable
MI 1 x 1430 mm2 Cu
type
494 km submarine
Length
cable 16 km land cable

Scope Cable system, including

of accessories and
supply installation

Year 2009 - 2010

ABB Group
October 26, 2011 | Slide 54
+/-150 kV HVDC Light cable system, Cross Sound

New Haven

Long Island Sound

New York
Shoreham

+/-150 kV HVDC Light cable system

Project
TransEnergieUS
HVDC Light 1 x 1300 mm2 Cu
Cable type
lead sheath
Length 2 x 42 km = 84 km
Scope of Project management, cable system,
supply converters, installation, trial operation
Year 2002

ABB Group
October 26, 2011 | Slide 55

80 kV HVDC Light cable system, Troll A North Sea

80 kV HVDC Light
submarine cable
system for feeding gas
Project
compressors at
Statoils Troll A gas
production platform
HVDC Light 1 x 300
Cable mm2 Cu, double
type armoured submarine
cable
Length 4 x 68 km
Cable system design,
project
Scope
management, cable
of
and accessories,
supply
land- and offshore
installation and testing
Year 2002 - 2004

ABB Group
October 26, 2011 | Slide 56
150 kV HVDC Light cable system, Estlink

150 kV HVDC Light

submarine cable,
Project
350 MW AS Nordic
Energy Link
HVDC Light 1 x 1000
mm2 Cu armoured
Cable
submarine cable
type
HVDC Light 1 x 2000
mm2 Al land cable
2 x 75 km submarine
Length
cable 2 x 29 km land
Cable system design,
ABB
project management,
Scope
cable and accessories,
of
land- and offshore
supply
installation, testing
Year 2006

ABB Group
October 26, 2011 | Slide 57

+/-150 kV HVDC Light cable system, NORD E.ON 1

The worlds largest

offshore wind farm

Project +/-150 kV HVDC Light cable system E.on Netz, Germany

HVDC Light 1 x 1200 mm2 Cu and 1 x 1600 mm2 Cu (sea)

Cable type HVDC Light 1 x 2300 mm2 Al (land)
XLPE 3 x 800 mm2 Cu (170 kV sea)
117 km x 2 submarine DC cable route
Length 75 km x 2 underground DC cable route
1 km submarine AC cable route
Project management, cable system,
Scope of supply
converters, civil works, installation, trial operation
Year 2009

ABB Group
October 26, 2011 | Slide 58
200 kV HVDC Light cable system, EWIP

200 kV DC cable system

Project
for Eirgrid, Ireland

HVDC Light 1x2210 mm2 Al

Cable
HVDC Light 1x1650 mm2 Cu
type
XLPE 1 x 1600 mm2 Al

186 km submarine DC cable

76 km underground DC cable
Length
3 km underground
400 kV AC cable

Cable system design, cable

Scope with integrated fiber optic
of cable and DTS system, cable
supply accessories, installation and
testing.

Year 2012

ABB Group
October 26, 2011 | Slide 59

+/-320 kV HVDC Light cable system, DolWin1

ABBs largest power

transmission order
ever

Project +/-320 kV HVDC Light cable system, transpower, Germany

HVDC Light 1 x 1000 mm2 Cu and 1 x 1600 mm2 Cu (sea)

Cable type HVDC Light 1 x 2000 mm2 Al, 1 x 1600 mm2 Cu (land)
XLPE 3 x 800 mm2 Cu (sea) with integrated fiber optics
74 km x 2 submarine DC cable route
Length 90 km x 2 underground DC cable route
7,5 km submarine AC cable route
Project management, cable system,
Scope of supply
converters, civil works, installation, trial operation
Year 2012-2013

ABB Group
October 26, 2011 | Slide 60
+/-300 kV HVDC Light cable system, Nordbalt

+/-320 kV HVDC Light cable system, DolWin2 (900

MW)