Economic analysis of a 22.9 kV HTS power cable and conventional AC power cable for an offshore wind farm connections

As the offshore wind farms increase, interest in the efficient power system configuration of submarine cables is increasing. Currently, transmission system of the offshore wind farm uses almost AC system. High temperature superconducting (HTS) power cable of the high capacity has long been considered as an enabling technology for power transmission. The HTS cable is a feasible way to increase the transmission capacity of electric power and to provide a substantial reduction in transmission losses and a resultant effect of low CO2 emission. The HTS cable reduces its size and laying sectional area in comparison with a conventional XLPE or OF cable. This is an advantage to reduce its construction cost. In this paper, we discuss the economic feasibility of the 22.9 kV HTS power cable and the conventional AC power cables for an offshore wind farm connections. The 22.9 kV HTS power cable cost for the offshore wind farm connections was calculated based on the capital expenditure and operating expense. The economic feasibility of the HTS power cable and the AC power cables were compared for the offshore wind farm connections. In the case of the offshore wind farm with a capacity of 100 MW and a distance of 3 km to the coast, cost of the 22.9 kV HTS power cable for the offshore wind farm connections was higher than 22.9 kV AC power cable and lower than 70 kV AC power transmission cable.