Improved control of field current heating for voltage stability machine design-Powerformer/sup TM/

Abstract

The risk for voltage collapse requires that the system operator use available reactive resources in the receiving area to maintain the voltage level. There is hence a need to boost the reactive generation from synchronous machines. ABB has developed a new class of synchronous machines, Powerformer/sup TM/, which are able to deliver electric power directly at transmission voltage levels. The first Powerformer has a rating of 45 kV, 11 MVA and 600 rpm. It has now (October 2000) accumulated more that 10,000 hours of successful operation. Powerformer has a better overload capability than a conventional generator.