Transmission capacity and static stability improvement by series compensation: case study on South-North corridor of Italy

Abstract

The European power system is undergoing significant change, driven particularly by the sustained growth in electricity generation from variable Renewable Energy Sources (RES). In this context, securing the power system stability becomes more complex for the Transmission System Operators (TSOs), due to the unpredictability in energy flows and the long corridors between primary sources and load centres. Present paper addresses the series capacitive compensation of Extra High Voltage (EHV) transmission system with hight share of RES installations and focuses on how static stability and transmission capacity can be enhanced by power lines reactance reduction. In more detail, the study assesses the impact of series compensation on a pilot grid in terms of voltage phase shifts, and quantifies the benefits provided by series capacitors as compared to an uncompensated base case.