Power Electronics Applications in Power Systems

Course Instructor: Dr. Sanjib Ganguly

Associate Professor,
Department of Electronics and Electrical Engineering, IIT Guwahati

Week 11: Lecture notes

Static Synchronous Compensator (STATCOM)

The power electronics-based compensators can be broadly classified into shunt and series
compensators. The broad classification is given below:

Power-electronics based compensators

Shunt compensators Series compensators

Controlled susceptance Controlled impedance/ reactance

based compensators based compensators

TCR TSC FC-TCR MSC-TCR TSC-TCR TCSC TSSC GCSC

Converter based Converter based

compensators compensators

SSSC
STATCOM

It can be seen from the above classification that that the compensators studied so far are
controlled either by controlling the susceptance (for shunt compensators) or by controlling the
impedance/ reactance (for series compensators). However, the converter-based compensators
do not control susceptance or reactance. Converter based controllers involve generating and
controlling the output voltage, by proper switching operations.
Converter based controllers are used in both transmission systems as well as distribution
systems. The generally used converter-based compensators can be classified as:
 Converter based
compensators

Power transmission systems Power distribution systems

STATCOM SSSC UPFC D-STATCOM DVR UPQC

STATCOM : Static Synchronous Compensator

SSSC : Static Synchronous Series Compensator
UPFC : Unified Power Flow Controller
D-STATCOM : Distribution Static Synchronous Series Compensator
DVR : Dynamic Voltage Regulator
UPQC : Unified Power Quality Conditioner

➢ STATCOM (Static Synchronous Compensator):

A STATCOM is comparable to a Synchronous Condenser (or Compensator) which can supply
variable reactive power and regulate the voltage of the bus where it is connected. The single-
line diagram of the STATCOM is shown in figure 1. The voltage source converter (VSC) with
a DC link is connected to the transmission system through a step-down transformer, to lower
the rating of the STATCOM.

Bus

X Step-down Transformer

VSC

VSC

Figure 1:Single line diagram of STATCOM.

 Bus

STATCOM

Figure 2: Representation of STATCOM.

The STATCOM is represented by a variable current source as shown in figure 2. The basic
functionality of VSC is to create 3-phase, balanced ac voltage like a synchronous generator.
The voltage generated by the STATCOM is in synchronous with the system voltage. This is
achieved with appropriate switching of power electronics converter.
Consider that the voltage generated by the VSC of lossless, balanced STATCOM is
Vc = Vc  , and the voltage referred to the grid side of the step-down transformer is
Vc' = Vc' .The equivalent circuit can be represented as in figure 3.

I
V 0 Vc'
system voltage STATCOM voltage
jX 

Figure 3: Equivalent circuit.

The complex power (𝑆̅) flow between the transmission network and the STATCOM is given
by:
𝑉𝑉𝑐′ 𝑉𝑉 ′ 𝑉2
𝑆 = 𝑃 + 𝑗𝑄 = 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝛼 + 𝑗 ( 𝑋 𝑐 𝐶𝑜𝑠𝛼 − ) (1)
𝑋𝜎 𝜎 𝑋𝜎

𝑉𝑉𝑐′
⇒𝑃= 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝛼
𝑋𝜎

𝑉𝑉 ′ 𝑉2
𝑄 = ( 𝑋 𝑐 𝐶𝑜𝑠𝛼 − ) (2)
𝜎 𝑋𝜎

If we consider 𝛼 = 0,
𝑃=0
𝑉(𝑉𝑐′ −𝑉)
𝑄= (3)
𝑋𝜎

⇒ The active power exchange between the STATCOM and the transmission system is zero,
while as the reactive power exchange is non-zero.
Applying KVL in figure 3, we have:
𝑉̅ ∠0° = 𝑗𝐼 𝑋
̅ 𝜎 + 𝑉̅𝑐′ ∠𝛼 °

Since, the STATCOM exchanges only reactive power, therefore 𝛼 = 0.

⇒ 𝑉̅ ∠0° = 𝑗𝐼 𝑋
̅ 𝜎 + 𝑉̅𝑐′ ∠0°
 Case 1:
If 𝑉𝑐′ > 𝑉, the phasor diagram can be shown as below:

I (Capacitive current)

jIX 
90 V0
Vc'0

Figure 4: Phasor diagram for capacitive mode of operation.

The reactive power (𝑄) is positive as can be seen from equation (2). Thus, from the above
figure 4, the reactive power is injected into the power system and the current is capacitive in
nature. This corresponds to the capacitive mode of operation of the STATCOM.
Case 2:
If 𝑉𝑐′ < 𝑉, the phasor diagram can be shown as below:

jIX 
Vc'0
90 V 0

I (Inductive current)

Figure 5: Phasor diagram for inductive mode of operation.

The reactive power exchange (𝑄) is negative. Thus, from the above figure 5, the reactive
power is absorbed by the STATCOM and the current is inductive in nature. This corresponds
to the inductive mode of operation of the STATCOM.
• It is to be noted that in order to control voltage or current in SVC, the switching is done to
control the inductor and capacitor. However, in STATCOM we do not control the inductor or
capacitor, rather a synchronous 3-phase voltage is generated and its magnitude determines the
nature of the reactive power compensation (inductive or capacitive).
Control characteristics of STATCOM
The steady state control characteristics of a STATCOM are shown in figure 6. The STATCOM
current is considered purely reactive. The negative current indicates capacitive operation and
positive current indicates inductive operation. The limits on capacitive current and inductive
current are symmetric.
 VSTATCOM VSVC
Vref Vref

Production Absorption Absorption

limit limit Production
limit
limit
Control range I STATCOM Control range I SVC

(a) (b)
Figure 6: Comparison of control characteristics of STATCOM and SVC: (a) STATCOM (b) SVC.

The control characteristics show that unlike SVC, the reactive power support that a STATCOM
can provide is independent of the system/ bus voltage. Thus, the STATCOM is more useful
when system voltage falls.
Furthermore, the losses and harmonics are less in STATCOM than in SVCs.

Applications of STATCOM:
A STATCOM has several advantages over a SVC, such as; (𝑖) better performance under low
voltage conditions (𝑖𝑖) faster response that is independent of the system conditions and (𝑖𝑖𝑖)
reduced space requirement.
The STATCOM can used in various applications such as:
• Power system voltage control
• Steady-state power transfer capacity enhancement
• Transient stability enhancement
• Power system oscillation damping

(1) STATCOM in power system voltage control:

The schematic of a STATCOM for voltage control can be shown as in figure 7. The difference
of the bus voltage and the reference voltage is fed to the controller to generate appropriate
switching actions of the STATCOM VSC.

Bus
I STATCOM
Vm
Vref I ref
Controller STATCOM

Figure 7: Basic schematic of voltage control using STATCOM.

Here,
 𝑉𝑚 = Measured bus voltage
𝑉𝑟𝑒𝑓 = Reference voltage
𝐼𝑟𝑒𝑓 = Reference current

The dynamic behaviour of the compensator in the normal compensating range can be
characterized by the basic transfer function block diagram as shown in figure 8.

Vref
G1 G2

Figure 8: Block diagram of STATCOM for voltage control.

• The transfer function of the controller is given by,

1/𝐾
𝐺1 =
1 + 𝑇1 𝑠
Where, 𝐾 is the slope of control characteristic (regulation slope), and 𝑇1 is the time constant of
the controller. The value of the time constant 𝑇1 generally lies between 10ms to 50ms. If the
value of K is very small, the terminal voltage of the STATCOM tends to remain nearly constant
and almost independent of the system voltage variations.
• 𝐺2 = 𝑒 −𝑇𝑑 𝑠 is the transfer function of transportation lag, where 𝑇𝑑 is the time constant of the
transportation lag of the VAr generating converter, which is generally in the range of 0.2ms to
0.3ms.
• 𝐻 is the transfer function of measuring devices.
1
𝐻=
1 + 𝑇2 𝑠
Where, 𝑇2 is the time constant which generally lies in the range 8ms – 16ms.
❖ It should be noted that practical compensator controls often use filters in the signal processing
circuits, which may add additional time constants to the affected transfer functions.

Steady-state power transfer capability enhancement using STATCOM:

The steady-state power transfer capability enhancement can be understood by developing the
expression for power flow in a transmission line with STATCOM.
Consider a 3-phase, lossless, short transmission line with a lossless STATCOM connected at
its midpoint. Since, the STATCOM voltage is in phase with the system voltage, there is no
exchange of real power. The system can be represented by a single-line diagram shown in
figure 8.
 
V  Vm 
2 V0

X A X
j j
2 2
Step-down
transformer
X I STATCOM

 STATCOM
Vp 
2

Figure 9: Single-line diagram of midpoint compensation using STATCOM.

Here,
𝑉∠𝛿 = Sending end voltage
𝑉∠0 = Receiving end voltage
𝛿
𝑉𝑚 ∠ 2 = Mid-point voltage
𝛿
𝑉𝑝 ∠ 2 = STATCOM output voltage

Applying KCL at the midpoint A, we have:

𝛿 𝛿 𝛿 𝛿
𝑉∠𝛿 − 𝑉𝑚 ∠ 2 𝑉∠0 − 𝑉𝑚 ∠ 2 𝑉𝑚 ∠ 2 − 𝑉𝑝 ∠ 2
+ =
𝑋 𝑋 𝑗𝑋𝜎
𝑗2 𝑗2

𝛿 𝛿 𝛿
𝑉∠𝛿 + 𝑉∠0 2𝑉𝑚 ∠ 2 𝑉𝑚 ∠ 2 𝑉𝑝 ∠ 2
⇒ = + −
𝑋 𝑋 𝑋𝜎 𝑋𝜎
2 2
𝛿
𝑉∠𝛿 + 𝑉∠0 𝑉𝑝 ∠ 2 𝛿 4 1
⇒ + = 𝑉𝑚 ∠ ( + )
𝑋 𝑋𝜎 2 𝑋 𝑋𝜎
2
4 1
Let, + =𝐾
𝑋 𝑋𝜎

𝛿
𝑉∠𝛿 + 𝑉∠0 𝑉𝑝 ∠ 2 𝛿
⇒ + = 𝐾𝑉𝑚 ∠
𝑋 𝑋𝜎 2
2
𝛿
𝛿 𝑉∠𝛿 + 𝑉𝑚 ∠0 𝑉𝑝 ∠ 2
⇒ 𝑉𝑚 ∠ = +
2 𝑋 𝐾𝑋𝜎
𝐾2

Equating imaginary parts of both the sides we have,

 𝛿
𝛿 𝑉𝑠𝑖𝑛𝛿 𝑉𝑝 𝑠𝑖𝑛( )
2
𝑉𝑚 𝑠𝑖𝑛 ( ) = 𝑋 + (4)
2 𝐾 𝐾𝑋𝜎
2

The power flow through the line with STATCOM placed at the mid-point is given by,
𝑉𝑉𝑚 𝛿
𝑃𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝 = 𝑠𝑖𝑛 ( )
𝑋 2
2
Using equation (4) we get,
𝛿
𝑉 𝑉𝑠𝑖𝑛𝛿 𝑉𝑝 𝑠𝑖𝑛 (2)
𝑃𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝 = [ + ]
𝑋 𝑋 𝐾𝑋 𝜎
2 𝐾2
𝛿
𝑉2 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝛿 𝑉𝑉𝑝 𝑠𝑖𝑛 (2)
⇒ 𝑃𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝 = +
𝐾𝑋2 𝐾𝑋𝑋𝜎
4 2

Now,
𝐾𝑋2 4 1 𝑋2 𝑋2
=( + ) =𝑋+
4 𝑋 𝑋𝜎 4 4𝑋𝜎

𝐾𝑋𝑋𝜎 4 1 𝑋𝑋𝜎 𝑋
=( + ) = 2𝑋𝜎 +
2 𝑋 𝑋𝜎 2 2
Therefore,
𝛿
𝑉 2 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝛿 𝑉𝑉𝑝 𝑠𝑖𝑛( )
2
𝑃𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝 = 𝑋2
+ 𝑋 (5)
(𝑋+ ) (2𝑋𝜎 + )
4𝑋𝜎 2

At 𝛿 = 0, 𝑃𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝 = 0
𝑉𝑉𝑝
At 𝛿 = 𝜋, 𝑃𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝 = 𝑋 ≠0
(2𝑋𝜎 + )
2

This is unlike the case when there is no STATCOM. At 𝛿 = 𝜋, the power flow is zero
when there is no STATCOM present in the system.
 Pcomp

WitH STATCOM VSTATCOM

(IC2 max  IC1 max )

With STATCOM
(IC1 max )

Without STATCOM I C2 max I C1 max I STATCOM


Figure 10: Power-angle characteristics with STATCOM.

STATCOM in transient stability enhancement of power systems:

Transient stability refers to the ability of the power system to recover after a major disturbance,
such as a severe fault on a heavily loaded line. This can cause a sudden drop in transmitted
electric power while generators continue to receive constant mechanical input. The resulting
power imbalance causes the generators to accelerate. Transient stability depends on the post-
fault power-angle (𝑃 − 𝛿) characteristics of the system. A STATCOM controlled to regulate
its terminal voltage, can enhance transient stability by supporting transmission voltage at the
midpoint or another suitable intermediate location, under increased power flow following the
fault clearance.

Pcomp With STATCOM

Pcomp With SVC

Amargin Amargin

Without
SVC

Without
STATCOM

 =0  =  =0  =
Figure 11: Transient stability enhancement using STATCOM and SVC.

As seen from the figure 10, Am arg in with STATCOM is greater than Am arg in with SVC.

The marginal area for transient stability using STATCOM is higher than the similar rated SVC,
thus the STATCOM is more effective in enhancing the transient stability of the power system
than the similar rated SVC.

STATCOM in power system oscillation damping:

 Power oscillations damping using STATCOM involves varying the compensator terminal
voltage in proportion to the rate of change of the power angle. Rotor angle changes cause
frequency and real power variations. Practically, the real power or system frequency variations
are measured to control VAR output to achieve desired change in voltage. Consequently, due
to the reactive power injection the bus voltage is modulated so as to increase or decrease the
power flow in transmission line. The schematic of the control scheme is shown in figure 12.
𝜕∆𝛿
• When ∆𝑓 ≈ is positive, the bus voltage is momentarily increased so as to increase the
𝜕𝑡
power flow in transmission line, thereby opposing the acceleration of the generators.
𝜕∆𝛿
• When ∆𝑓 ≈ is negative, the bus voltage is momentarily decreased so as to reduce the
𝜕𝑡
power flow in transmission line, thereby opposing the deceleration of the generators.

Bus
I STATCOM
Vm
Vref I ref
Controller STATCOM


K
t

Figure 12: Basic schematic diagram of STATCOM for oscillation damping.

Comparison between STATCOM and SVC:

(i) It is seen from the control characteristics that the output of the SVC is voltage dependent while
as the output of the STATCOM is voltage independent.
(ii) The response speed of the STATCOM is faster than SVC.
(iii) The marginal area for transient stability enhancement using STATCOM is greater than using
SVC.
(iv) STATCOM has easy interface with the real power sources such as renewable sources.