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Forum Index : Electronics : How utility companies convert DC to AC

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Haxby

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Joined: 07/07/2008
Location: Australia
Posts: 423
Posted: 08:39am 16 Feb 2021
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Hi all,

Does anyone have any insight into how the utility companies convert long range DC power to AC?

Say for instance the link between TAS and VIC?

I read a long time ago that they used light triggered transistors that are known as valves, but I wonder what the topology of the converter is and whether it has similarities to the warpverter, or something else entirely.
 
Warpspeed
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Joined: 09/08/2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 4406
Posted: 09:08am 16 Feb 2021
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Something similar to the warpverter topology would be about the only practical way to do it at such very high voltages and powers.

And a pair of three phase warpverters ac to dc at one end, and dc to ac at the other end would be completely bi directional.
As the under sea link has to be dc, the grid frequencies at each end need not be locked to each other, or even the same frequency.
Cheers,  Tony.
 
morgs67
Regular Member

Joined: 10/07/2019
Location: Australia
Posts: 75
Posted: 11:06am 16 Feb 2021
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Some interesting reading:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basslink

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-voltage_direct_current#Conversion_process

Another Tony
 
Pete Locke
Senior Member

Joined: 26/06/2013
Location: New Zealand
Posts: 181
Posted: 07:20am 17 Feb 2021
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Here in New Zealand they use mercury arc rectifiers to convert to DC, push the DC across Cook Strait, then rotary converters to put it back to AC. Fascinating process to see in action.
Cheers
Pete'.
 
Warpspeed
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Joined: 09/08/2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 4406
Posted: 09:01am 17 Feb 2021
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  Quote  Harmonics and filtering

All power electronic converters generate some degree of harmonic distortion on the AC and DC systems to which they are connected, and HVDC converters are no exception.

With the recently developed Modular Multilevel Converter (MMC), levels of harmonic distortion may be practically negligible.


These MMC multilevel converters are basically like the Warpverter.  
The concept is certainly not new, but the solid state technology to implement it at very high voltages and very high power levels is fairly recent.
Cheers,  Tony.
 
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