Technical and Economic Methodology For Selecting Hvac Submarine Cables For Offshore Wind Farm Interconnection

This work presents a techno-economic methodology for aiding the selection of submarine AC power cables, used to connect offshore wind farms to the bulk power system. The proposed algorithm is based on the assessment of a number of possible scenarios, determined from the probability distribution of the wind, as well as the power characteristics of the wind turbines to be used. The voltage control and reactive power compensation are attained by shunt reactor banks and a tap-controlled transformer. Economic aspects are included in terms of cost models for cables, transformers, compensation systems, and platforms. The results of the proposed optimization procedure yield not only the expected monthly costs but also the reactive power compensation capacity to be installed in each substation in conjunction with the tap-control strategy.