Frequency-Dependent Electrical Characteristics of Submarine Cables in Low Frequency High Voltage ac (LF-HVac) Transmission for Offshore Wind

Low frequency high voltage ac (LF-HVac) transmission has been proposed as a bulk power transfer alternative to either the conventional 50/60 Hz HVac or the high voltage dc (HVdc) schemes. In LF-HVac transmission, the suggestion is to use fractional values of the conventional 50/60 Hz as the ac operating frequency. Doing so would considerably increase the power transfer capacity of a given transmission cable, extend the range, reduce losses, and improve voltage and dynamic stability of the system. Grid integration of remote offshore wind farms has been identified as the most promising potential application of LF-HVac. Thus, this paper presents a study on the electrical characteristics and performance of submarine cables with respect to the operating frequency. The findings indicate that LF-HVac operation of a cable system would achieve superior power handling capacity and efficiency when compared to HVac operation of the same cable system.