The Al-Fadhili back-to-back HVDC station is a back-to-back HVDC connection between Saudi Arabia, whose grid operates at 60 Hz, and its neighbouring Gulf states which have 50 Hz grids.[1] The station is located in Saudi Arabia, approximately 100 km north-west of Dammam, but was built for and owned by Gulf Cooperation Council Interconnection Authority (GCCIA). The converter station was built by Areva T&D, now Alstom Grid, between 2006 and 2009.
| Al-Fadhili back-to-back HVDC converter station | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Country | Saudi Arabia |
| Coordinates | 26°53′52″N 49°20′47″E / 26.89778°N 49.34639°E |
| Ownership information | |
| Owner | Gulf Cooperation Council Interconnection Authority (GCCIA). |
| Construction information | |
| Installer of substations | Areva T&D |
| Commissioned | 2009 |
| Technical information | |
| Type | Back to Back |
| Type of current | HVDC |
| Total length | 0 km (0 mi) |
| Power rating | 3 x 600 MW |
| DC voltage | 222 kV |
| No. of poles | 3 |
GCCIA is constructing a 400 kV, 50 Hz AC transmission line to interconnect Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar through Saudi Arabia. Later phases will also connect Oman and United Arab Emirates. The Al-Fadhili HVDC system allows power to be exchanged between the 50 Hz GCCIA system and Saudi Electricity Company system.
The converter station consists three identical poles, each with a nominal power transmission rating of 600 MW and an overload rating of 660 MW. Each pole has nominal DC voltage and current ratings of 222 kV, 2776 A.[1]
Unlike most HVDC systems, which are designed to be used more or less continuously for transmission of power, the Al-Fadhili system is normally intended to remain in standby mode, only transmitting power between the two systems after a major loss of generation in one system. The converter poles are normally kept blocked but the control systems continuously monitor the frequencies of the two grids and, upon detection of a sudden change of frequency, deblock one or two poles as needed to restore the shortage of power. This allows Spinning reserve to be shared between the two system and as a result the concept is known as Dynamic Reserve Power Sharing (DRPS). With a total power rating of 1800 MW, the Al-Fadhili system was, on completion, the largest HVDC back-to-back system in the world [2] and the first HVDC system in the Middle East.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Barrett, B.T., MacLeod, N.M, Sud, S., Al-Mohiasen, A.I., Al-Nasser, R.S., Planning and design of the Al Fadhili 1800 MW HVDC inter-connector in Saudi Arabia Archived 2015-09-23 at the Wayback Machine, CIGRÉ session, Paris, 2008, paper reference B4-113.
- ^ Sadullah, S., Ebrahim, A., Application of a HVDC Link to Promote Stability by Sharing Dynamic Reserve Power after Generation Deficiencies, IEEE Power Systems Conference and Exposition, 2009.