Transmission is getting smarter with advanced power electronics

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Transmission is the unsung song of the smart grid and Utility of the Future. With the use of flexible AC transmission systems (FACTS) devices and high voltage DC (HVDC) transmission, coupled with advanced monitoring and control, the future of electric transmission systems can be nothing but smart as key requirements—reliability, security, capacity and efficiency—are all enhanced.

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Transmission owners have already begun implementing advanced power electronic technologies for a variety of applications. These applications include, dynamic reactive power support to ensure satisfactory voltage profiles during system events, and series compensation to effectively increase line capacity without incurring large capital expenditures typically associated with this. Transmission owners are taking it one step further. They are implementing coordinated schemes using static and dynamic sources of reactive power to strengthen their systems and account for variable power flows that result from wind and solar penetration.

Advanced power electronics play an important role in effectively combining storage, which is usually DC, with renewable energy resources, by mitigating the variability. Hence, advanced power electronics address the two major challenges of integrating renewable resources: variability and control. From an operator’s point of view, the ability to control and dispatch wind and solar like a conventional generator is huge.

Another significant benefit of advanced power electronics is the ability to provide ride-through capability when faults occur or large motors start. While preventing low voltage events from dropping loads is perhaps a more common application, advanced power electronics are equally capable of delivering solutions during high voltage events—typically caused by loss of loads.

From a green angle, the use of advanced power electronics not only enables the effective integration of renewable resources through generation, but it also eliminates the need for building conventional generation in reactive power deficient load pockets—a net positive impact on reducing carbon emissions. The use of advanced power electronics can also result in lower system losses.

Early adopters of advanced power electronic technologies have seen benefits that include deferred capital, improved control, enhanced performance, efficiency and security, and better system reliability. KEMA is working with a major Texas transmission operator to implement a Dynamic Reactive Control System (DRCS) that will also realize these benefits. Determining the reactive power needs (size, location, static / dynamic) is a critical first step in any such project. Design, specification development, vendor selection, installation, testing, commissioning, and training are necessary subsequent steps to complete integration with the provision for monitoring and controlling from a remote control center several hundred miles away.

As utilities move forward with smart grid deployments, there has never been a better time to consider the use of advanced power electronics as a viable transmission planning alternative. KEMA routinely assists utilities in the early stages of evaluating and implementing such advanced power electronics solutions. A recent study established the need for what has now become one of the world’s largest SVC installations, with a footprint as large as a football field!

Siri Varadan is a principal consultant with KEMA, Inc.,which is a leading authority in energy consulting and testing and certification.

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