Modeling of Modular Multilevel Converters for the France-Spain link

The VSC based HVDC link between France and Spain (INELFE project: France-Spain ELectrical INterconnection) will be the most powerful VSC link by 2014. Commissioning of the link is planned in the late 2014. The French TSO RTE is currently conducting studies on this future installation. The large number of switching elements in Modular Multilevel Converters (MMC) introduces several complexities for modeling the converter in electromagnetic transient type (EMT-type) simulation programs. Depending on the type of phenomena being analyzed on the HVDC link, various types of EMT and phasor models are available. A brief description of the nature of these models is presented along with their application fields. The generic models developed and used in EMT tools by RTE are presented and discussed. Both offline and real-time implementations are addressed. Next, some electromagnetic transient studies based on the generic models are presented and analyzed: starting sequences, dynamic performances following AC and DC disturbances. The results of these studies are compared against the performances of actual equipment.