Investigating the potential impact of superconducting distribution networks

Several possible designs have been proposed with conventional distribution networks to reduce power losses, CO₂ and capital cost of the whole system. This will be difficult to achieve with conventional distribution networks when conventional equipment is used because the impedance of conventional equipment is high. Since High-Temperature Superconductor (HTS) materials provide very low impedance to AC when cooled to the boiling point of liquid nitrogen (77 K), the interest in using HTS materials to produce power cables and transformers is growing rapidly. The present paper investigates the practical effects of installing HTS equipment and seeks to identify novel network designs which make best use of the attributes of superconducting network assets to reduce power losses and capital cost in the future.