Chapter 3.6: AC Cable: Yokohama Project

High Temperature Superconducting (HTS) cables can transmit large amounts of electricity in a compact size with minimal losses. Therefore, they are expected to save the construction cost of underground lines in urban areas and decrease transmission losses. Several HTS cables have recently been demonstrated in networks around the world, and full-scale commercialization is expected in the near future. In Japan, the development of compact HTS cables suitable for urban deployment has been underway since the early 1990s. In 2007, a national project was started to verify their operational performance and long-term reliability in the grid. An HTS cable 240 m long was installed at the Asahi substation of the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) in Yokohama; then a joint, terminations and cooling system was constructed in 2011. After successful performance tests, the cable was connected to the grid for the first time in Japan, and started to deliver electricity to 70,000 households in October 2012. This trouble-free in-grid service continued for over a year. We can conclude that the HTS cable system performs well and has the stability required for long-term in-grid operations.