1

An Evaluation of the HVDC and HVAC

Transmission Economic
T. Sousa, Member, IEEE, M. L. dos Santos, J. A. Jardini, Fellow, IEEE, R. P. Casolari, G.L.C. Nicola

exchanges between the other regions of the National

Abstract— Different configurations and transmission Interconnected System (SIN).
technologies regarding the geographic distances and the Fig. 1 illustrates the SIN were large blocks of energy is
expansion of the electrical system in large countries can be exchanged.
proposed. These technologies must meet the technical criteria
considering the minimal cost. The minimal cost solution aims at
bringing low tariffs to the final consumer. Accordingly, this
paper will present the assessment of the economic limit of HVDC
and both HVAC transmission, when issues like the variation of
the voltage level (kV), the transmitted power (MW) and the line
length (km) are considered.

Index Terms--economic limit, HVAC, HVDC, transmission

systems.

I. INTRODUCTION

I n Brazil, the energy consumption growth associated to the

current demand of the various activities within the
countries, an annual increase of the load of about 3,300
MWmed is expected [1].
In this way, it is previously defined a reference scenario
which indicates and guides the decisions to be allow by the
energy market agents, while ensuring the balanced expansion
of energy supply, with technical, economic and environmental
sustainability. Thus, in order to hire new generation projects
for future consumption, the national regulatory agency
conducts auctions for power purchase with three (A-3) and
Fig. 1. Brazilian transmission system in 2012. (Adapted from
five (A-5) years in advance. www.ons.org.br.)
Regarding the balance between supply and demand, it can
be the highlighted participation of the north region in the Depending on the distance between regions, different
expansion projects for power generation, from 10% in 2010 to configurations and transmission technologies [2] can be
24% of installed capacity in the interconnected system in proposed. These technologies must meet the technical criteria
2019, totaling an amount of 28,798 MW in the expansion plan considering the minimal cost. The minimal cost solution aims
[1]. at bringing low tariffs to the final consumer.
Since the increase in demand in the North is not compatible Therefore, this paper will present the economic limit
with the evolution of the installed capacity and considering the evaluation of HVDC and HVAC transmission systems, when
Brazilian geographical features the energy supply shows itself considering the variation of the voltage level (kV), the
far from load centers, mainly concentrated in the Southeast transmitted power (MW) and the line length (km).
region. Thus, it should also be considered the need to increase
II. ECONOMIC EVALUATION OF THE- HVDC SYSTEM
This work was supported by Eletrobras Furnas, Eletrobras Eletronorte,
CTEEP, Cemig GT and EATE under the R&D program established by
ANEEL (Brazilian Energy Regulatory Agency). The economic evaluation of the HVDC system regarded the
T. Sousa is with University Federal of ABC, Santo Andre. During the
following items:
development of this research work, he was enrolled also to FDTE, (e-mail:
[email protected]). • Line costs;
J.A. Jardini, M.L. Santos and R.P. Casolari, are with FDTE (Foundation • Joules loss costs;
for the Technological Development of the Engineering Sciences), Sao Paulo
([email protected], [email protected], [email protected]). • Maintenance costs;
G.L.C. Nicola is with Eletrobras Eletronorte, Brasilia • Annual line costs;
([email protected]). • Corona losses;

978-1-4673-2673-5/12/$31.00©2012IEEE
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• Converter costs; CJ =
C1
=
C1
=
C (5)
• Converter loss costs. S N * S1 S1

A. Line costs
C. Maintenance costs
In order to calculate the HVDC line costs per km expression
(1) was used [3].The parameters was modified to attend the It was assumed an annual maintenance cost equal to 2% of
Brazilian conditions. the cost for the converter and lines.

CL HVDC = 150,266 + 226.68V + N * S1 (2.7602 * N + 45.1) (R$/km) (1) D. Annual line costs
The annual line costs per km are given by:
where:
V is the voltage in kV; CanualL = 1.1* (0.02 + k ) *[150,266 + 226.68V + N * S1 (2.7602* N + 45.1)] (R$.year/km)
N is the number of conductors per pole; (6)
S1 is the section on polo subcondutor (MCM);
R$/km is the Brazilian financial reference, 1US$ = R$2,02 where:
(25/05/2012). 1.1 is the interest rate during construction;
0.02 is the percent annual cost of maintenance and operation;
B. Joule loss costs k is the line depreciation factor.
To calculate the Joule loss costs it should previously
determine the value of the losses considering the maximum The amortization factor k is given by:
load. The Joule losses are given by:
j (7)
k=
2 1 − (1 + j ) −n
1 r § P max · (2)
ΔP = ¨ ¸ ( MW / km)
2 N * S1 © V ¹
Considering the useful life (n) of the line equal to 30 years
where: and an interest rate (j) equal to 10% per year, the value of k
Pmax is the maximum power (capacity), MW; becomes equal to 0.106.
r is the aluminum resistivity = 58 ohm/m·MCM;
The line annual cost (CanualL) can be represented by
CanualL = A + B * S1. Considering that the Joule loss costs
Thus, the Joule loss costs are given by:
(CJ) is given by the ratio C/S1, the economic conductor can be
determined through (8):
C J = P (Cp + Ce * 8760 * lf ) (3)

C (8)
where: S1 =
Cp is the demand cost, R$/km; B
Ce is the energy cost, R$/km;
lf is the loss factor: E. Corona losses
3§
2 The corona losses are calculated using the methodology
MWi · (4)
lf = ¦ ¨ ¸ di presented in [3].
1 © MW max ¹
To calculate the annual energy loss it was assumed that
about 20% of the time the line operates in bad weather and
The percent duration di for the power considered was
adopted as: 80% in good weather. Also, the value oh lf = 1.0.

TABLE 1
F. Converter costs
DURATION DI FOR THE POWER CONSIDERED
MW di (%) The converter cost for capacities up to 4500MW [3] was
Pmax 8.3 calculated through (9) by:
0.75Pmax 41.7
0.60Pmax 50 Cconv = 1.74 *1.5 * 0.698 * V 0.317 * P 0.557 *10 6 (R$) (9)

In this way the value of If considering the conditions where:

proposed in Table 1 becomes equal to 0.70. The values V is the nominal pole-to-ground voltage in kV;
adopted for Cp and Ce are 0.0 and 138.00 R$/MWh, P is the power in MW.
respectively.
Therefore, from (2) and (3) the expression for the Joule loss For converters having capacities with a power greater than
costs can be represented by: 4500MW, the cost was obtained through (10):
Cconv = 1.74 *1.5 * 0.154 * V 0.244 * P 0.814 *10 6 (R$) (10)
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The annual cost of the up to 4500MW converter is given by N = number of subcondutores per phase;
(11): S1 = cross section of each subcondutor in MCM.

Canual_con v = (0.02 + k) * [1.74 * 1.5 * 0.698 * V 0.317 * P 0.557 * 10 6 ] (R$.year) (11) The annual cost of the line was obtained similarly to the
HVDC case using the factor 1.1(0.02 + k) in (6). Thus, it can
be represented through A + B * S1.
G. Converter loss costs
The value of the maximum losses in the converters (two TABLE 2
DISTANCES, HEIGHTS AND SAGS OF THE CROSS-ROPE TYPE TOWERS
terminals) will be considered equal to 1.5% of the total
maximum power max. Thus:

1.5 pv ph df hmin separ sag

CPconv = * P max*103 * (Cp + Ce * 8760 * lf ) (12)
100 (m) (m) (m) (m) (m) (m)
500 kV 8.0 6.0 7.0 10.0 0.457 23.0
As it was shown previously, the value of lf was regarded
765 kV 12.0 12.0 9.1 15.5 0.457 23.5
equal to 0.70. The values adopted for Cp and Ce are 0.0 and
1000 kV 15.0 15.0 15.3 23.0 0.457 23.5
138.00 R$/MWh, respectively.
B. Joule loss costs
III. ECONOMIC EVALUATION OF THE HVAC SYSTEM The Joule losses (ΔP) for the HVAC system are given by
(14):
The economic evaluation to the HVAC system regarded the
following items: r § P max ·
2

ΔP = ¨ ¸ ( MW / km) (14)
• Line costs; N * S1 © V ¹
• Joule loss costs;
• Maintenance costs; where the variables have the same meaning of those presented
• Substations costs (terminal and intermediate); in (2).
• Transformer costs; Similarly to the HVDC system, the Joule loss costs are
• Shunt and series compensation as well as load calculated using (3) and (4) as well as the data in Table 1.
costs. Using the Joule loss costs and annual line costs, the HVAC
economic section can be obtained using also (8).
The tower geometries considered to the cross-rope are
according to Fig 2 and Table 2. The value of db (bundle
diameter) is equal to separ/sin(180o/N) where N is the number C. Maintenance costs
of subcondutores per phase and separ is the subcondutor It was assumed an annual maintenance cost equal to 2% of
separation in the bundle. the cost for the HVAC system.

D. Substation costs (terminal and intermediate substations)

It was considered that the sending-end substations
(generation side) are connected to the 500 kV system, and that
the receiving-end substations (load side) are connected to the
345 kV system.
The costs related to connection and infrastructure modules
were obtained from the database of the Brazilian Electricity
Regulatory Agency– (ANEEL) [4]. The costs for the 1000 kV
voltage level were extrapolated from the data belonging to 500
kV and 765 kV.
Fig. 2. Cross-rope tower geometry
The sending, receiving and intermediate substation
configurations are depicted in Figs 3 through 5.
A. Line costs
To calculate the HVAC lines costs, the expression (13) was
used:

CL HVAC = 136,159 + 437.86·V + N·S1· (2.4193·N + 59.714) (R$/km) (13)

where:
V = maximum line voltage in kV (550 kV, 800 kV and 1100
kV);
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F. Cost of the shunt, series and load compensations

Initially, the shunt, series and load compensations were
adjusted so as to meet the following criteria:
•  angle between the line terminals  36 degrees [6];
• Maximum voltage during energization  1.10 pu [7];
• Voltage in all sections between 0.90 pu and 1.10;
• Maximum transient over voltage during total load
rejection  1.40 pu [7].
Fig.3. Substation in 500kV transmission system
Once adjusted the compensations, the costs informed by
some of the main manufacturers were used (Tables 5 and 6).
TABLE 4
COSTS OF THE AUTOTRANSFORMERS PER KVA
FAIXA EM MVA R$/KVA
500/ 345KV 400-1000 32-22
500/ 765KV 400-1000-1500 43-30-25
765/ 345KV 400-1000-1500 58-41-33
1000/ 500KV 800-1500 49-37
1000/ 345KV 800-1500 60-46
Fig. 4. Substation in 765kV transmission system

TABLE 5
SERIES CAPACITOR COSTS, R$/KVAR
Nominal Voltage Cost
500 kV R$ 36 / kVAr
765 kV R$ 37 / kVAr
1000 kV R$ 38 / kVAr

TABLE 6
SHUNT REACTOR COSTS, R$/KVAR
Fig. 5. Substation in 1000kV transmission system Nominal Voltage Cost
500 kV R$ 24 / kVAr
The transformer connections costs of the above substations 765 kV R$ 30 / kVAr
were considered as being part of transformation costs, 1000 kV R$ 32 / kVAr
described next.
The reactive compensation cost assumed at the load was
equal to R$180/kVAr (same value of a 300 MVAr
E. Transformation costs
compensator at 230 kV shown in [4]).
Transformation costs included, among other costs, the
autotransformer and associated transformer connection costs. IV. RESULTS
The latter were calculated according to the data available at
[4]. A. HVDC System
In order to comply with the N-1 criterion, assuming an In order to obtain the results related to the HVDC system,
overload condition of 33% in the autotransformers, there were the following characterisitcs were considered:
estimated the power levels of the single-phase • Distances: 750; 1500 and 3000km;
autotransformers as shown in Table 3.
• Number of bipolos: 1;
The cost of the autotransformers per kVA (Table 4) were
• Numbers of conductors: 4 and 6;
obtained [5]. The values corresponding to 1000 kV data were
extrapolated from the data available for 500 kV and 765 kV. • Total capacity: 1000; 2000; 3000; 4000; 5000 and
6000MW;
TABLE 3 • Voltage levels: ±500; ±600; ±700 and ±800kV.
AUTOTRANSFORMER AMOUNT AND POWER
Fig. 6 shows the results of the economic evaluation
considering the 3000km HVDC transmission system.
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Fig. 6. Economic solution considering 3000km HVDC system Fig. 9. Minimum cost area of HVDC system when considering the voltage
level, transmitted power and length of line
Fig. 7 shows the results of the economic evaluation B. HVAC System
considering the 1500km HVDC.
To obtain the results related to the HVAC system, the
following characteristics were considered:
• Distances: 500; 1000; 1500; 2000 e 2500 km;
• Number of circuits: 1;
• Numbers of conductors: 3; 4; 6 e 8;
• Total capacity: 1000; 1500; 2000; 2500; 3000; 3500
and 4000MW;
• Voltage levels: 500; 765 and 1000kV.

The total costs of the various alternatives (regarding the

voltage, length, and power) are shown graphically in Fig. 10.
In this figure, it is being suggested the more appropriate
Fig. 7: Economic solution considering 1500km HVDC system
nominal voltage, considering the power and length values,
Fig. 8 shows the results of the economic evaluation according to the studies conducted.
considering the 750km HVDC.

Fig. 8. Economic solution considering 750km HVDC system

Fig. 9 shows the composition of the solutions presented in Fig. 10. Total costs considering maximum transmitted power and different
distances
the previous figures.
This composition allowed the identification of areas of As the total line length increases, the transition between
minimum cost of the HVDC transmission system when two suggested voltage values occurs for lower power levels.
examining the voltage level, transmitted power and length of This is due to the transformer costs, which remain constant
line. despite the variation in line length.
The transition points between 765kV and 1000kV to 1500
and 2000km, highlighted, do not follow strictly this trend due
to the shunt compensation costs, which increase with the
distance and also with the square of the voltage, increasing the
transmission costs the 1000kV.
For 2500km line length, the transition point occurs at a
lower power value, highlighted, due to lower series
compensation costs at 1000kV.
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Considering the evaluation of the HVDC and HVAC [3] Joint Working Group B2/B4/C1.17 (2009). Impacts of HVDC Lines on
the Economics of HVDC Projects. Brochura 388 CIGRÉ, August.
economic limits, when considering changes in the voltage [4] AGÊNCIA NACIONAL DE ENERGIA ELÉTRICA. Despacho n.
level (kV), the transmitted power (MW) and the line length 1.531, de 1º de junho de 2010. Disponível em <http://www.aneel.
(km), it was possible to plot Fig. 11 which shows the gov.br/cedoc/dsp20101531.pdf>. Acesso em: 14 de janeiro 2011.
[5] ELETROBRAS. Ref Custos jun.2004 rev-DEZEMBRO.xls. Referências
intersection points obtained for between both transmission
de Custos LTs e SEs de AT e EAT.
alternative. [6] Ett, G.; Saiki, G. Y.; Jardini, J. A.; Masuda, M.; Santos, M. L.; Arnez, R.
V.; Casolari, R. P.; Frontin, S. O.; Sousa, T. Alternativas Não
Convencionais para Transmissão de Energia Elétrica - Estudos Técnicos
e Econômicos. 1 ed. Brasília: Goya Editora Ltda., 2012, v. 2 (a ser
publicado)
[7] OPERADOR NACIONAL DO SISTEMA ELÉTRICO. Submódulo
23.3; Diretrizes e critérios para estudos elétricos. Disponível em
<http://www.ons.org.br/procedimentos/index.aspx>. Rev 1.1. Acesso
em: 04 de novembro de 2011.

VIII. BIOGRAPHIES
Thales Sousa was born in 1978. He received his B.Sc. degree from the State
University of São Paulo (UNESP) in 2000, the M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from
the University of São Paulo (USP) in 2003 and 2006, respectively.
Currently, he is a lecturer in the Energy Engineering Department at
University Federal of ABC (UFABC). His fields of interest are power system
operation and planning.

Fig. 11. HVDC and HVAC intersection points Milana Lima dos Santos was born in Duque de Caxias, Brazil, in 1975. She
received her B.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering from Federal University of
Paraíba (Brazil) in 1998 and the M.Sc. degree from the University of São
V. CONCLUSION Paulo (Brazil) in 2010. During the development of this research work, she was
pursuing her Ph.D degree from the same institution, which was obtained in
This work presented an evaluation of the HVDC and March 2012.
HVAC transmission economic limits when considering Currently, she works as a researcher for FDTE (Foundation for the
changes in the voltage level (kV), the transmitted power Technological Development of the Engineering Sciences). She has previously
(MW) and the line length (km). worked at companies like Alumar Consortium (1998-2002), ABB Ltda (2002-
2007) and Eletronorte (2007-2009), in Brazil.
In the HVDC case it was observed that as the transmitted
power increases, the line costs per km becomes more José Antonio Jardini (M’66–SM’78–F’90) was born in São Paulo, Brazil, on
economical provided that higher voltage levels are used. This March 27, 1941. He received his B.Sc., M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from the
Polytechnic School at the University of Sao Paulo (USP) in 1963, 1970 and
feature is because the converter costs are compensated by the 1973, respectively. From 1964 to 1991 he worked at Themag Eng. Ltd in the
line costs. area of Power Systems & Automation and Transmission Lines projects.
It was also observed that as the total line length increases in Currently, he is a full Professor in the Electric Power and Automation
Engineering Department at USP.
the HVAC case, the transition between the voltage values He is a member of CIGRE and was the Brazilian representative in the
occurs for lower power values, due mainly to the SC38 of CIGRE, Fellow Member of IEEE and Distinguished Lecturer of
transformation costs. Another variable impacting this PES/IEEE and IAS/IEEE. Among his areas of interest are Power Systems and
Automation.
technology is the series and shunt compensation, which vary
according to the distance and voltage level. Ronaldo Pedro Casolari obtained his B.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering
From the results presented and considering the variation in from Escola de Engenharia Mauá, (Brazil) in 1972; the M.Sc. degree from the
University of São Paulo, in 1996.
voltage level (kV), the transmitted power (MW) and the line He has worked as a power systems engineer at various consulting
length (km), the transition between the HVDC and the HVAC companies where he developed projects related to system planning, insulation
system occur at around 1100 and 1500km. coordination and power systems transients for companies such as Itaipu,
Eletronorte, Furnas, Chesf, Cesp and others, all settled in Brazil.
Currently he works as a consultant at FDTE (Foundation for the
VI. ACKNOWLEDGMENT Technological Development of the Engineering Sciences) in transmission and
The authors are also grateful to P. O. Freitas (Eletrobras distribution projects.
Eletronorte), M. F. Pereira (CTEEP), L. Carijó (Eletrobras Geraldo Luiz Costa Nicola was born in 1951 in São Paulo, Brazil. He
Furnas), S V. Fernandes (Cemig), and E. Carvalho (EATE) for received his B.Sc. degree from the University of Brasília (Brazil), in 1977.
providing technical assistance in this research and ANEEL for Presently, he works at Eletrobras Eletronorte (Brazil) where he is
committed with the design and implementation of the HVDC interconnection
creating the R&D program. between the Brazilian Northern and Southern areas. He has also participated
in the design and expansion of various power transmission systems including
VII. REFERENCES the ac North-South interconnection also in Brazil.

[1] Empresa de Pesquisa Energética (2010). Plano Decenal de Expansão de

Energia 2010-2019. Brasília.
[2] Araujo, E. M. A.; Esmeraldo, P. C.; Carvalho Jr., D. S.; Vidigal, S.;
Carijó, L. M.; Araujo, D. R. R. P. (2009). A Experiência do Projeto
Madeira e Possíveis Aplicações nos Estudos de Integração de Grandes
Usinas da Amazônia. XX SNPTEE - Seminário Nacional de Produção e
Transmissão de Energia Elétrica. Recife.