Currently several large offshore wind farms are interconnected to the high voltage networks through submarine cables. Several options to connect these windfarms exist including HVDC or HVAC cable ties. In several cases the off-shore windfarms are 100 km or further from the coast and the grid impacts to these large off-shore windfarms should be studied and mitigation measures provided to minimize system impacts. This paper discusses the options to interconnect these large offshore windfarms and show the impacts in terms of voltage quality, power quality, reactive power and contingencies. Mitigation measures using power electronic options are included. For HVAC cable interconnections special attention is given to the harmonic resonances and possible mitigation measures including STATCOMs.
Johan Enslin, University of North Carolina, Charlotte