Calculation of Losses in VSC-HVDC based on MMC Topology

VSC technology is now well established in HVDC and is, in many respects, complementary to the older Line Commutated Converter (LCC) technology. Despite the various advantages of VSC technology, VSC HVDC stations have higher power losses than LCC stations. Although the relative advantages and disadvantages are well known within the industry, there have been very few attempts to quantify these factors on an objective basis. This paper describes methods to determine the operating losses of every component in the valve of VSC-HVDC system. The losses of the valve, including both conduction losses and switching losses, are treated in detail.