Current source
converter
Voltage source
converter
Maturity of
technology
Mature Developing
Valves Thyristor, dependent
on AC system voltage
for commutation
IGBT, self
commutating
Commutation failure Can occur Does not occur
Minimum DC power Typically 5–10% of
rated power
No minimum value
Reactive power
exchange with AC
system
50% of active power
transmitted
Independent control
of active and reactive
power
Reactive
compensation
Required Not required
AC harmonic filters Switchable filters
required
Less filtering
required, filters need
not be switchable
Converter
transformers
Special design
required
Conventional
transformers can be
used
Reversal of power
flow
DC voltage polarity
reversal required
Controllable in both
directions, no
reversal of DC voltage
polarity required
Converter station
footprint (relative size)
200m x 120m x 22m
(100%)
120m x 60m x 22m
(~40%)
Conversion losses
(per converter end)
0.7% to 0.8% of
transmitted power
1% of
transmitted power
DC voltage Up to 800kV
available
Up to 350kV
VSC-based HVDC systems offer several advantages over conventional HVDC, including
independent control of active and reactive power, dynamic voltage support for enhanced
stability, and compatibility with multi-terminal DC systems without the need for fast
communication between converter stations. Each converter station, equipped with a VSC,
provides bi-directional and continuous active and reactive power control. Active power balance
is maintained by one converter operating on DC voltage control while others operate on active
power control (Shahi & Singh, 2014).
to sub-transm
ission systems, which consist of stations and lines
The csc-hvdc illustrated in figure 3 employs
The topology is favourable for long distance power transmission and hv bulk power
without capacitance effect on the transmission line.
Proposed a flexible csc using DC reinjection concept to reduce current signal to 0
during valves commutations and hence, eliminate the converter dependency for line
commutation. This topology can also regulate the active and reactive power.
 Viewpoint                      CSC-HVDC                         VSC-HVDC
 Type of the Converter          Current Source Converter         Voltage Source Converter
                                (Thyristors)                     (IGBT)
 Control Capability             Limited Control because it       Independent control for both
                                requires a strong AC Network.    Active and reactive power.
 AC grid Dependency             Requires a strong AC Grid to     Can operate with weak or
                                operate                          without AC Grid.
 Converter losses               Lower (1-2%)                     Higher (2-3%)
 Footprint                      Larger because it required a     Compact with minimal filter
                                Filter and reactor               needed
 Black-start Capability         Doesn’t have the capability to   Does have the capability to
                                restart.                         restart.
 Reactive Power support         Require an external power        Provide an essential power
                                compensation                     support
 Application                    Long        distance     power   Long         distance        power
                                transmission                     transmission, offshore wind,
                                                                 urban integration and weak grid
                                                                 support
 Power Tapping                  No option to tap off the power   Possibility to tap off the power to
                                                                 different locations.
 Reliability                    Mature technology for decades    Emerging        but      increasing
                                                                 reliability and stability
The AC output voltage of power converters are not purely sinusoidal but have harmonics
because of the switching devices inside the converter. Wang et al., (2020) stated that this
can lead to harmonic currents in the phase reactor.