STATCOM-Based Voltage Regulation in Grid

Integrated Wind Farm under Variable Loading

Conditions
Emad Jamil, Qurratulain, Salman Hameed
Department of Electrical Engineering,
Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh-202002, India

Abstract— Penetration of wind energy system into grid injects PSS alone is not sufficient for damping of inter-area
disturbances which affect the power quality and pose stability oscillations [10, 11]. There are several tools and techniques in
issues. One such issue is voltage variation arising due to literature addressing the stability improvement in the system. It
intermittent nature of wind energy sources. Thus, it is necessary includes energy capacitor system, battery, flywheel, super
to maintain the power quality in the grid. In this context, FACTS conducting magnetic energy storage system, which are very
devices may play a significant role in improvement of voltage effective in active and reactive power control [12, 13]. Though,
profile resulting in system stability. This paper presents the these techniques are sufficient in improvement of transient
voltage regulation improvement of a grid integrated wind farm stability for minor disturbances, they are proved to be
using static synchronous compensator (STATCOM). The wind
ineffective for larger ones arising due to penetration of new
farm consists of turbines coupled with induction generators. The
generation technologies [14].
entire system is simulated using MATLAB/Simulink for different
loads (i.e. resistive, inductive and capacitive) under variable wind With the advancement in technology, power electronics
speeds experienced by the turbines. Results show that the now find its use in Flexible A.C. Transmission System
STATCOM can effectively stabilize the bus voltage and improve (FACTS) devices for enhancement of power system stability.
the stability of the system by controlling the reactive power. FACTS are being increasingly considered to increase the
available power transfer limits or capacity of existing system
Keywords— Renewable Energy Systems; Wind Turbine; Power
due their fast response [15]. Beside this, they augment the
System Stability; FACTS devices; STATCOM; Voltage Regulation
transient stability and damp out low frequency oscillations
[16]. These devices can also maintain voltage limits, which is a
I. INTRODUCTION critical consideration in improvement of the stability and
Modern power system is facing serious issues due the reliability of the system by controlling the active/reactive
deficiency in existing generation and transmission facilities to power flows [17, 18].
supply increasing load demands. Therefore, utilities worldwide This paper presents the modeling and simulation of grid
are increasingly turning towards the deployment of distributed integrated wind farm with STATCOM for improvement in
generation based renewable energy sources for generating voltage regulation. Variable loading conditions are also
electricity [1, 2]. Among emerging renewable energy introduced in this work for practical results under realistic
technologies, wind energy systems are the fastest growing and conditions. STATCOM maintains a smooth voltage profile at
most widely utilized technologies in electrical systems [3, 4]. its connecting node even in the presence of variable wind
But penetration of such technologies raises concern regarding power output and load variation. The paper is structured as
system stability and reliability which requires adequate follows: Section II describes the power circuit arrangement for
monitoring and control [5]. The system stability is needed to be system under study. A detailed modeling of each component is
maintained in the power system so that the system stays in presented in Section III. Results obtained are presented in
synchronism after being subjected to some form of Section IV which verifies the effectiveness and feasibility of
disturbances [6, 7]. Since, the stability has been considered a STATCOM. In Section V, conclusion is drawn on results
key factor for proper system operation, therefore, utilities all obtained.
over the globe is focusing primarily on the improvement of
stability limits [8, 9] owing to the integration of renewable
energy technologies. II. POWER SYSTEM UNDER STUDY
Fig. 1 shows the single line diagram of the power system
The instability in power system occur due to the large
model consisting of 120 kV generating system supplying
number of interconnections, EHV tie lines, variety of loads and
distribution transformer (47 MVA), stepping down voltage to
integration of intermittent renewable energy systems. In such
25 kV. A transmission line length between Bus B1 and B2 is
situations, Power System Stabilizers (PSS) may prove effective
considered as 25 km. Variable load as well wind farm is
to overcome stability issues. The PSS is considered as the first
connected at B2. The system consist of a fixed load of 2.5 MW
order controller for damping of power system oscillation which
(resistive), connected with two variable loads, inductive (0.2
is used as an excitation control. But in power system, use of
MW + 2.5MVAr) and capacitive (0.2MW+ 2.5MWAr) through

978-1-5386-4318-1/17/$31.00 ©2017 IEEE

 B. STATCOM
A STATCOM is a shunt connected FACTS device which
provides rapid action on reactive power control and regulation
on voltage at connecting bus. It maintains the bus voltage at
nominal value by supplying or absorbing the reactive power
when the voltage is lower or higher than nominal value,
respectively. This compensating action of STATCOM on
reactive power is achieved by means of Voltage Source
Converter (VSC) such that the variation in its output voltage
may supply or absorb reactive power through a coupling
transformer, as shown in Fig. 3, 4. The VSC uses forced-
Fig. 1 System under study commutated power electronics switches to regulate its output
voltage from a capacitor acting as DC voltage source. Fig. 4
circuit breaker, simulating overloaded and lightly loaded depicts the control and operation of the STATCOM.
system conditions respectively. The wind farm consists of three
turbines coupled with induction generators of 3 MW each. The If V1 and V2 represent voltages at the bus and output of
distance between wind turbines and bus B3 is 1 km. To STATCOM’s VSC respectively, then active and reactive
maintain the power system stability, the system is shunt power is governed by equations given below [19]:
compensated through 6MVA STATCOM with the control
strategy as depicted in Fig. 3, 4. The wind farm subjected to
changing wind speeds and variable load on system, both V1V2 sin δ (2)
P=
develops the variation in system voltage profile. X

III. MODELING OF WIND TURBINE AND STATCOM V1 (V1 − V2 cosδ )

Q= (3)
X
A. Wind Turbine
where,
A wind turbine is a component of wind energy conversion X= interconnection transformer and filters reactance
system which translates the kinetic energy of wind into į = phase angle between sources of V1 and V2
mechanical energy by means of producing torque. This
mechanical energy is converted into electrical energy mostly
through induction generator. The turbine mechanical output
power, Pw, is developed which is represented by a function of
air density ȡ (kg/m3), radius of blade R (m), wind speed Vw
(m/s) and power coefficient CP. Power coefficient is itself
related to tip speed ratio Ȝ and pitch angle of blade ȕ (degree).
A mathematical relation for mechanical power generation from
wind turbine is described below [2]:

Pw = 0.5ρπR2Vw3C p (λ, β ) (1)

The characteristics of wind turbines used in this work is Fig. 3 A basic STATCOM module
shown in Fig. 2 (for ȕ = 0°) under various wind speed.

Fig. 2 Characteristics of Wind Turbine Fig. 4 Control system of STATCOM

 For interaction of reactive power only between the sources,
į is set = 0°. Two conditions can be addressed from (2) and (3) 4 Without STAT COM
such that if V1 is higher than V2, then STATCOM is absorbing With STATCOM

the reactive power (Q is flowing from V1 to V2) and vice versa.

Active Power at Bus (MW)

2
The amount of generated or absorbed reactive power is
calculated from (3). Thus, by controlling V2, STATCOM can 0
effectively control the excess or deficiency of reactive power at
the connected bus. -2

IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION -4

The power system along with different components, as -6

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
discussed in previous section, is modeled in Time (s)
MATLAB/Simulink® 2010 environment. Three separate case
scenarios are developed to test and study the system Fig. 6 Active Power at Bus
performance with and without STATCOM for different
conditions of loading and changing wind speed. Simulation 3
runtime is set to 10 sec. The cases developed are discussed

R ea ctiv e P o w e r at B u s ( M V A r )
Without STATCOM
below in detail: 2 With STATCOM

1
Case 1: Variable Load and Constant Speed of Wind
In this case, wind speed experienced by wind turbine is set 0
constant at base/rated speed of 9m/s and there are three
different loads connected at different time. Resistive load is -1
present throughout the simulation time. Inductive load is -2
introduced from t=3-5 sec. and capacitive load is introduced
from t=7-9 sec. -3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Fig. 5, 6 and 7 shows the plot of bus voltage, active power Time (s)
and reactive power at bus B2 respectively with respect to time. Fig. 7 Reactive Power at Bus
From t=3-5 sec., in absence of STATCOM, inductive load
demands of 2.25 MVar of reactive power which introduces a
dip in active power of 0.2 MW causing drop in voltage by 5% Without STATCOM
S T A T C O M P C C V o lta g e ( p u )

from nominal value, as can be observed in the corresponding 1.2

With STATCOM
plots. Similarly, capacitive load from t=7-9 sec. generates 2.5 1
MVar of reactive power which develops a condition of load
demand being less than supply. Thus, a sudden increase in 0.8
active power of about 0.3 MW is observed causing a voltage 0.6
swell of 4% as shown in the same plots.
0.4
Fig. 8 shows the PCC voltage of STATCOM when
0.2
connected to the system, maintaining the voltage profile at
around nominal value of 1 p.u. at the bus. As can be observed 0
from Fig. 9, it generates reactive power from t=3-5 sec. and 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
absorbs reactive power from t=7-9 sec. Thus, it attempts to Time (s)
improve voltage profile and compensate reactive power at bus Fig. 8 PCC Voltage of STATCOM
as shown in Fig. 5, 7.
1.5
1.1 Without STATCOM
Without STAT COM
With STATCOM
R eactiv e P o w er ( M V A r )

1
S T A T C O M G en er ated

With STATCOM
1.05
B u s V o ltag e ( p u )

0.5
1
0
0.95
-0.5
0.9
-1
0.85 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Time (s)
Time (s)
Fig. 9 STATCOM generated reactive power
Fig. 5 Bus Voltage
Case 2: Constant Load and Variable Speed of Wind 10

R e a ctiv e P o w er a t B u s ( M V A r )
Without STATCOM
In this case, constant load i.e. only resistive load of 2.5 MW With STATCOM
is connected to the system throughout simulation time but the
speed of wind experienced by the wind turbines vary with time. 5
Speed of wind is simulated as 6m/s, 8m/s, 5m/s, 7m/s, 8m/s
and 4m/s for first 2 sec, 2-3 sec, 3-6 sec, 6-7 sec, 7-8 sec and 8-
10 sec. respectively. 0
In absence of STATCOM, it is seen from Fig. 10 that
voltage at the bus varies due to intermittent power output of
turbine owing to changing wind speeds. It causes insufficient -5
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
power supply to connected load and thus dip in voltage can be
Time (s)
observed. Voltage drops by about 6% when wind speed is
reduced to 55% of the base value between t=8-10 sec. Thus, Fig. 12 Reactive Power at Bus
the deficiency of active power is produced in the system.
Induction generators absorb reactive power Q for the operation Without STATCOM

S T A T C O M P C C V o lta g e ( p u )
to supply active power when rotor speed exceeds synchronous 1.2
With STATCOM
speed. Since, the wind speed drops in this case, the delivery of 1
active power is reduced by the induction generators and
0.8
absorption of reactive power is continued as it is. Thus, a
reactive power demand is introduced on the interconnected 0.6
system as shown in Fig. 12. 0.4
Fig. 13 shows the STATCOM PCC voltage when 0.2
connected to the system. It generates reactive power to
compensate for reactive power demand by generators as shown 0
in Fig. 14, thus minimizing the reactive power demand on the 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
system and maintaining voltage profile at the bus, Fig. 10, 12. Time (s)

Fig. 13 PCC Voltage of STATCOM

1.1
With STATCOM
Without STATCOM 3
1.05 Without ST AT COM
B u s V o l ta g e ( p u )

2.5 With STATCOM

R eactive P o w er (M V A r)
S T A T C O M G en er ated

1 2

0.95 1.5

1
0.9
0.5
0.85 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Time (s) Time (s)

Fig. 10 Bus Voltage Fig. 14 STATCOM generated reactive power

10 Case 3: Variable Load and Variable speed of Wind

With STATCOM
In this case, variation of both load and wind speed is
A ctiv e P o w e r a t B u s ( M W )

Without STATCOM
considered. This simulates realistic conditions to obtain
5
practical results. The variation in load and speed of wind is
same as in Case-1 and Case-2 occurring simultaneously.
0
Fig. 15 shows the bus voltage w.r.t time. In absence of
STATCOM, it can be observed that the combination of two
-5 cases produces worst case scenario and thus, a poor voltage
profile occur at the bus voltage posing stability issues. Thus,
the deficiency of active power is produced in the system.
-10
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Variable conditions cause the reactive power demand and
Time (s) generation at the bus, as shown in Fig. 17.
Presence of STATCOM in the system stabilizes the bus
Fig. 11 Active Power at Bus
voltage at around nominal value of 1 p.u. by generating
reactive power from t=0-7, 9-10 sec. and absorbing the reactive successfully for three different case scenarios in presence of
power form t=7-9 sec. as shown in Fig. 19. As a result reactive variable load and changing wind speed. It can be concluded
power at the bus is maintained to minimum value and thus from the results obtained that the variation in voltage is
regulating voltage at around 1 p.u., Fig. 15, 17. significantly reduced and it is stabilized when the STATCOM
is utilized in the system. The results show the effectiveness of
From the results obtained in each case, it can be observed the device in controlling reactive power and their capability to
and inferred that the STATCOM enhances the voltage stability provide better regulation in voltage profile. Hence,
by regulating it closer to nominal value. This is the outcome of STATCOM proves to enhance the power system stability
the reactive power compensation provided by STATCOM in under practical conditions.
grid integrated wind farm even when variable load is connected
to the system in the presence of changing wind speed profile. 1.5

S T A T C O M P C C V O L T A G E (pu)
Without STATCOM
With STATCOM
V. CONCLUSION
1
In this work, the effect of STATCOM in grid integrated
wind farm is investigated. The system is developed and
simulated in MATLAB/Simulink environment and is tested
0.5
1.1
Without STATCOM
With STATCOM
1.05 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
B u s V o lta g e ( p u )

1 Time (s)
Fig. 18 PCC Voltage of STATCOM
0.95

0.9 3
Without STATCOM
With STATCOM
R eactiv e P o w er ( M V A r )

0.85
S T A T C O M G en er ated

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 2
Time (s)
Fig. 15 Bus Voltage 1

10 0
Without ST ATCOM
A ctiv e P o w er at B u s ( M W )

With ST ATCOM
5 -1
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Time (s)
0
Fig. 19 STATCOM generated reactive power

-5

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