Applying Reactive Power Compensators to Large Wind Farms to Improve the Stability of Isolated Power Systems

Abstract

As wind power generation technology has advanced, investment in the construction of wind farms has flourished, and the consequences of parallel connection of wind farms to the electric power transmission grid have become particularly important. The aim of this study is to analyze the effect of voltage-ampere reactive (VAR) compensators on improving the system stability of regional electric power transmission grids containing wind farms. A voltage stability analysis in coordination with appropriate search methods is performed to determine the optimal location and capacity in configuring these VAR compensators. In addition to the method proposed in this paper of simulating the eastern regional electric power system of the Taiwan Power Company (Taipower), the Electrical Transient Analysis Program (ETAP) is used to analyze the voltage distribution situation of the eastern regional electric power system, and Matrix Laboratory (MATLAB) and Power System Analysis Toolbox (PSAT) software are used to analyze wind farm integration and assess the influence of the static VAR compensator (SVC) and static synchronous compensator (STATCOM) on the system. The research results show that the STATCOM and the SVC can indeed effectively improve the dynamic characteristics of the system under the interference of faults, which can provide a reference and application for planning the configuration of VAR compensators and the analysis of wind power integration.