Techno-Economic Feasibility Study on HTS Power Cables

High temperature superconducting (HTS) power cables operated at 77 K temperature could carry a lot more current through the same old underground city pipes and could satisfy the requirements for use in electrical networks. As this new technology still lacks practical operating experience, power network planners are eager to come to know its technical and economic feasibility. Under the pressure of reducing the cost of electric power transmission, it is crucial to demonstrate their profitability over conventional cables besides their technical feasibility. In this paper, a network planning with HTS power cables are expected to offer an economic alternative to 220 kV level conventional cables. The study shows that the use of superconducting cables in an underground transmission circuit is promising from the technical and economic point of view.