An electrode line is an electrical connection from a HVDC converter station to the grounding electrode (cathode or anode). HVDC electrodes are used for bipolar HVDC transmission systems as a means to improve the reliability of the entire system. In the event that one of the poles in the bipolar system is faulted, the current path will switch to ground return, thus reducing the possibility that a pole fault will cause a bipolar outage. Usually these ground return paths are only used for very short durations until the faulted pole can be returned to service.
The grounding electrode is located some kilometers away from the converter station, so for this a separate line connection is necessary. This can be implemented, depending upon the situation of the electrode (ashore or in the sea), as ground cables, as overhead line, or as a combination of ground cable and overhead line.
The operating voltage of the electrode system usually is in the range of approx. 10-20kV (medium voltage range).
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