HVDC multi-terminal interconnections A viable and optimal solution for India

摘要

The Western region comprising the states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa is geographically the largest in India with installed capacity currently around 28000 MW. Peak demand currently around 24000 MW is projected to touch 45000 MW by end of the decade. A large chunk of the increase will have to come from thermal generation located in Eastern Madhya Pradesh and the power will be wheeled to Western Madhya Pradesh, parts of Maharashtra and Gujarat. As the transmission distances involved will be in the range 800 - 1200 kms special attention is called for in transmission system planning.In an earlier report [1], the benefits of an HVDC point-to-point transmission link from Korba to Indore in Madhya Pradesh, becoming an ideal alternative considering the distances involved was discussed. The study also pointed to further benefits in case of upgrading the point-to-point HVDC transmission to one of higher capacity and to a multi-terminal configuration in a phased manner as power needs to be further extended in to Gujarat, west of Madhya Pradesh. This paper examines the potential benefits and cost-effectiveness of the multi-terminal configuration.