Скачать или смотреть Improving Transmission Grid Reliability in Michigan

The transmission systems in the Upper Peninsula (UP) and northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan are connected through submarine cables across the Straits of Mackinac. In recent years, the addition of new power sources, such as wind power, has provided a substantial increase in the electricity flowing from west to east across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

ATC needed a solution that could control the power flow across the Straits of Mackinac and the UP, and at the same time operate reliably in challenging, remote parts of the system. The solution was a high voltage, direct current (HVDC) converter station using voltage source converter technology, operating in a back-to-back configuration to stabilize the system.

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The Straits of Mackinac… where submarine cables connect Michigan’s Lower and Upper Peninsula’s transmission grid. Over the years, the addition of new power sources forced the American Transmission Company to operate the grid in a split configuration. It made maintenance and upgrades difficult, and increased the risk of power interruptions. To solve the problem, the Mackinac high-voltage, direct current converter station now closes the split, creating a fully interconnected transmission network.

"The Mackinac HVDC Converter Station is a voltage source converter, 200 megawatt back-to-back converter station, and it stabilizes American Transmission Company’s networks and it helps smooth out the power flows so you don’t have disruptions." - Preston Fairly | Engineering Manager, Black & Veatch

"Black & Veatch helped us achieve the vision that we had with their expertise in HVDC projects. Also they brought construction management to the project that we did not have, allowing us to track and oversee the project from startup to completion." - Ken Jauquet | Project Manager, American Transmission Company

"The benefits to ATC’s more than 300,000 customers are prevention of overloads, the ability to utilize more diverse sources of energy and most importantly system stability." John Rector | Project Manager, Black & Veatch

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