Economic Assessment Method for Superconducting Fault Current Limiter (SFCL) in Fault Current-Constrained Power System Operation

An increase in the generation capacity can lead to an increase in the fault current levels in a power system. The increased fault currents can then impose additional operation costs in power system operation. When new generators are installed, the appropriate use of a superconducting fault current limiter (SFCL) not only reduces the maximum fault current but also improves the efficiency of power system operation. Therefore, there is an increasing need to evaluate the economics of an SFCL by considering the operation costs of a power system and the investment costs of an SFCL. In this paper, a systematic method to assess the economic benefits of an SFCL as an alternative to the bus-splitting method is proposed. Numerical results are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed SFCL economic assessment method.