Superconductor technologies for a controllable and reliable high capacity grid

Superconductor technologies offer solutions to critical problems facing the electric power grid, including the needs for improved grid stability, higher capacity and a "smart" grid in which power flows can be controlled. The best known of these technologies is superconductor underground power transmission cable. By virtue of its high current density and low losses, it offers high power capacity, avoiding higher transmission voltage levels, with minimal local environmental impact, neither thermal nor electromagnetic. The low inductive impedance of the shielded cold-dielectric superconductor cables, coupled with their high capacity, can relieve an overloaded network and enable power control through the use of a phase angle regulator. Dynamic synchronous condensers, rotating machines based on high temperature superconductor rotor coils, are another key technology for improving grid stability, providing a high level of reactive (VAr) compensation in a compact trailerized format that can be conveniently sited at substations or directly at load or generation sites.