A study on optimal SFCL specification to enhance the transfer capability on Korean power system

• The fault current problem is a severe issue in the Korean power system in the future.
• The fault current contribution method has been used with the real Korean power system planning data.
• The effectiveness of the SFCL application is verified using the proposed algorithm.

The Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) power system has the characteristics of the load being concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan region and direct power transfer from generations located at distant points in the system thereby resulting in high levels of fault current in the metropolitan region during fault conditions. This fault current problem in the metropolitan region has been a critical issue during the past few years where the increase in the load elevates the fault current levels thereby requiring the replacement of numerous circuit breakers. In order to reduce the fault current levels in the system, the installation of superconductivity fault current limiter (SFCL) has been considered as a solution to reduce the fault current levels in the system. In this paper, an optimal SFCL specification is proposed, by using the fault current contribution method, for siting the optimal location of the SFCL to minimize the current injection into the fault point. The effectiveness of the SFCL application is being verified by simulations based on the KEPCO power system planning data where several installation points are examined for effective reduction of the fault current issue in the system.