Development of a loss minimization based operation strategy for embedded BTB VSC HVDC

Recently, there have been many cases in which direct current (DC) facilities have been placed in alternating current (AC) systems for various reasons. In particular, in Korea, studies are being conducted to install a back-to-back (BTB) voltage-sourced converter (VSC) high-voltage direct current (HVDC) to solve the fault current problem of the meshed system, and discussions on how to operate it have been made accordingly. It is possible to provide grid services such as minimizing grid loss by changing the HVDC operating point, but it also may violate reliability standards without proper HVDC operation according to the system condition. Especially, unlike the AC system, DC may adversely affect the AC system because the operating point does not change even after a disturbance has occurred, so strategies to change the operating point after the contingency are required. In this paper, a method for finding the operating point of embedded HVDC that minimizes losses within the range of compliance with the reliability criterion is proposed. We use the Power Transfer Distribution Factor (PTDF) to reduce the number of buses to be monitored during HVDC control, reduce unnecessary checks, and determine the setpoints for the active/reactive power of the HVDC through system total loss minimization (STLM) control to search for the minimum loss point using Powell's direct set. We also propose an algorithm to search for the operating point that minimizes the loss automatically and solves the overload occurring in an emergency through security-constrained loss minimization (SCLM) control. To verify the feasibility of the algorithm, we conducted a case study using an actual Korean power system and verified the effect of systematic loss reduction and overload relief in a contingency. The simulations are conducted by a commercial power system analysis tool, Power System Simulator for Engineering (PSS/E).