Practical Power Flow Controller Brings Benefits Of Power Electronics To The Grid

Focus:

One way to increase the capacity of the power grid’s transmission system is to increase the power flow in underutilized lines. This can be achieved using a full power electronics-based solution, an electromechanical solution or a hybrid of the two. This article discusses the evolution of the power electronics inverter-based solution, explaining its interesting capabilities and also why its adoption has been limited. Then a new solution known as the SMART Power Flow Controller (SPFC), which based on the SEN transformer, is introduced. The SPFC offers the choice of either a low-cost electromechanical design using impedance-regulating transformers and mechanical load tap changers (LTCs) or a power electronics-based design that replaces the mechanical LTCs with thyristor-based LTCs. The power flow control techniques described are applicable in electric transmission lines as well as in motor drives, flicker control, and harmonic mitigation. The article begins by reviewing principles of power flow in the grid.

What you’ll learn:

• How to understand requirements and possible solutions for improving power flow control in the power grid
• How to economically improve power flow control and capacity of the power grid’s transmission system

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Author & Publication:

Kalyan K. Sen, Sen Engineering Solutions, Pittsburgh, Penn, How2Power Today, Mar 13 2015

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