KEPCO, GE, to establish HVDC infrastructure at Bitgaram Energy Valley

HVDC market is globally valued at US$6b.

Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) and GE announced that they have signed an MOU to establish infrastructure for High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) in Bitgaram Energy Valley1 in Naju city.

The global market for HVDC, now valued at around US$6B, is set to reach approximately US$15B by 2026. Today, both companies have agreed to cooperate on localizing the newer HVDC technology.

Bitgaram Energy Valley will be leveraged further as the HVDC test bed with investments in digital grid applications and big data analysis. To support this initiative GE will open an office in Naju by the end of this month.

This GE Energy Connections’ HVDC technology is the ideal solution for connecting renewables, off shore wind and the smaller footprint makes it suitable for infeed to urban areas.

An HVDC system interconnects two Alternative Current (AC) networks by converting AC to DC at one end for transmission and at the other, DC to AC before it goes to homes and factories.

As the power demand continues to increase along with the need to integrate more renewables into the energy mix, DC transmission system has proven to be the most
economical solution, given that it has lower electrical losses and less radio interference, compared to AC voltage system.