A Multi-Port DC Power Flow Controller Integrated With MMC Stations for Offshore Meshed Multi-Terminal HVDC Grids

Abstract

Multi-terminal dc (MTDC) systems have the potential to facilitate the integration of offshore wind farms. A dc power flow controller (DPFC) is necessary for meshed multi-terminal high voltage dc (HVDC) grids to regulate the power flow in dc lines. However, DPFCs based on modular multilevel converters (MMCs) require two dc-ac conversion stages and an extra ac transformer, which increases the cost and loss for offshore platforms. This paper proposes a multi-port DPFC that is integrated internally into the offshore MMC station, eliminating the need for an extra transformer and reducing dc voltage ripple. Additionally, the full bridge submodules (FBSMs) in the DPFC can further reduce the number of FBSMs required in the MMC station for dc fault blocking. The proposed DPFC is composed only of cascaded FBSMs connected to the arms of the offshore MMC station, which can exchange power directly with the MMC valve to achieve power balance. By using the MMC station, the proposed DPFC requires a small kVA rating, approximately 1%-5% of the total system power rating. The performance of the proposed DPFC is validated through simulation of a hybrid system of the IEEE 39 bus and the Cigre HVDC benchmark, and also through down-scale experimental testing.