Application of superconductive magnetic energy storage in an asynchronous link between power systems

Abstract

The concept that superconductive magnetic energy storage (SMES) can be incorporated into a back-to-back DC link is introduced. With an SMES-DC link, an SMES system can be shared between several neighboring power systems. This results in better economics for SMES usage for each participating power system. In addition to SMES operation, an SMES-DC link also allows asynchronous connection and interchange of power between the interconnected systems. It is demonstrated that an SMES-DC link can achieve significant economic benefits over pure power interchange or SMES operation alone. The basic principle of an SMES-DC link, which is able to interconnect any number of neighboring power systems with a single SMES unit, and various interconnected system operation modes are presented. A battery-DC link is discussed and compared with the SMES-DC link.