ABSTRACT
Seen from the shore, a modern offshore wind farm producing 1000 MW may seem analogous to a conventional power plant. However rather than a few large generators fed by controllable amounts of fossil fuel, the offshore power plant is actually formed by tens or hundreds of individual wind turbines harnessing optimal power from the wind. This power has to be collected by the offshore array of power cables, before being converted to a higher voltage for transmission to shore. For very long distances, it is more economical to use a DC voltage for transmission back to shore. As the offshore collection array voltage is AC, power electronic converter stations in this case would be required to convert the offshore AC to DC for transmission, and then back to AC for connection to the onshore network, as shown in Figure 5.1.
