AMSC’s STATCOM Replaces SVC at Ergon Energy€™s STATCOM Replaces SVC at Ergon Energy A Case...
2
AMSC’s STATCOM Replaces SVC at Ergon Energy A Case Study by AMSC • September 2012 The Background Ergon Energy is an Australian electricity distributor, retailer and generator, servicing around 680,000 customers across an operating area of over one million square kilometers – 97% of the state of Queensland. Despite the presence of a static VAR compensator (SVC) at one of the area substations, this utility had begun experiencing voltage stability problems in its network around St. George, which is situated 500 kilometers inland of Brisbane on the Balonne River in southern Queensland. By utilizing AMSC’s D-VAR ® system, Ergon was able to resolve these instability issues while also retiring the SVC system. The Problem Ergon Energy was utilizing an aged SVC that was experiencing occasional outages and failures at its St. George substation, which is located in a remote area and is served by a single, 194 kilometer subtransmission feeder operating at 66 kilovolts. This SVC system was exposing the surrounding grid to significant voltage fluctuations caused in part by switching of large commercial farming, cotton gin and pump loads. In order to continue managing power quality in the surrounding area, the SVC system required replacement with a solution that was able to normalize system voltages to acceptable levels at all times and was also able to be expanded to meet future VAR requirements. AMSC’s Analysis AMSC’s Network Planning and Applications Group performed a series of studies for Ergon Energy to determine the solution’s optimal/desired: • Dynamic performance • Harmonic performance • Grid impact These studies determined that a hybrid solution consisting of STATCOMs and capacitors would be the optimal approach to meet Ergon Energy’s cost and performance perspective requirements. Classified as a Flexible AC Transmission Systems (FACTS) device, AMSC’s D-VAR STATCOM utilizes the company’s proprietary and advanced control and monitoring algorithms that detect and instantaneously compensate for voltage disturbances by injecting leading or lagging reactive power (VARs) precisely when and where it is needed. The reactive power is generated by AMSC’s proprietary four-quadrant IGBT inverters that are capable of fully injecting capacitive or inductive VARs in one line cycle. The system’s full dynamic capability of 2.67 times its rated output can be provided for up to two seconds.
Transcript of AMSC’s STATCOM Replaces SVC at Ergon Energy€™s STATCOM Replaces SVC at Ergon Energy A Case...
AMSC’s STATCOM Replaces SVC at Ergon Energy
A Case Study by AMSC • September 2012
The BackgroundErgon Energy is an Australian electricity distributor, retailer and generator, servicing around 680,000 customers across an operating area of over one million square kilometers – 97% of the state of Queensland. Despite the presence of a static VAR compensator (SVC) at one of the area substations, this utility had begun experiencing voltage stability problems in its network around St. George, which is situated 500 kilometers inland of Brisbane on the Balonne River in southern Queensland. By utilizing AMSC’s D-VAR® system, Ergon was able to resolve these instability issues while also retiring the SVC system.
The ProblemErgon Energy was utilizing an aged SVC that was experiencing occasional outages and failures at its St. George substation, which is located in a remote area and is served by a single, 194 kilometer subtransmission feeder operating at 66 kilovolts. This SVC system was exposing the surrounding grid to significant voltage fluctuations caused in part by switching of large commercial farming, cotton gin and pump loads. In order to continue managing power quality in the surrounding area, the SVC system required replacement with a solution that was able to normalize system voltages to acceptable levels at all times and was also able to be expanded to meet future VAR requirements.
AMSC’s AnalysisAMSC’s Network Planning and Applications Group performed a series of studies for Ergon Energy to determine the solution’s optimal/desired:
• Dynamic performance• Harmonic performance• Grid impact
These studies determined that a hybrid solution consisting of STATCOMs and capacitors would be the optimal approach to meet Ergon Energy’s cost and performance perspective requirements.
Classified as a Flexible AC Transmission Systems (FACTS) device, AMSC’s D-VAR STATCOM utilizes the company’s proprietary and advanced control and monitoring algorithms that detect and instantaneously compensate for voltage disturbances by injecting leading or lagging reactive power (VARs) precisely when and where it is needed. The reactive power is generated by AMSC’s proprietary four-quadrant IGBT inverters that are capable of fully injecting capacitive or inductive VARs in one line cycle. The system’s full dynamic capability of 2.67 times its rated output can be provided for up to two seconds.
About AMSC
AMSC (NASDAQ: AMSC) generates the ideas, technologies and solutions that meet the world’s demand for smarter, cleaner … better energy. Through its Windtec Solutions, AMSC provides wind turbine electronic controls and systems, designs and engineering services that reduce the cost of wind energy. Through its Gridtec Solutions, AMSC provides the engineering planning services and advanced grid systems that optimize network reliability, efficiency and performance. The company’s solutions are now powering gigawatts of renewable energy globally and enhancing the performance and reliability of power networks in more than a dozen countries. Founded in 1987, AMSC is headquartered near Boston, Massachusetts with operations in Asia, Australia, Europe and North America.
www.amsc.com© 2012 AMSC. AMSC, D-VAR, GRIDTEC SOLUTIONS, SMARTER, CLEANER … BETTER ENERGY, are trademarks or registered trademarks of American Superconductor Corp. or its subsidiaries.
ERGN_CS_0912
The SolutionIn order to resolve the customer’s requirements in the most cost effective manner, AMSC developed a solution that coupled the company’s D-VAR STATCOM systems with multiple capacitor banks, step-up transformers and a master plant controller. The total system had a continuous rating of more than 20 MVAr capacitive and 5 MVAr inductive and a dynamic rating of more than 15 MVAr. The inherently modular and flexible characteristics of AMSC’s solution allows for additional D-VAR units and capacitor banks to be added to the system in the future if/when changes to the area load increased VAR support requirements. AMSC completed a turnkey installation and commissioning of this system as well as decommissioning of the old SVC in 2012. AMSC continues to provide ongoing maintenance and support services to Ergon Energy.
“We were very pleased with AMSC’s responsiveness and
professionalism from pre-sale through implementation. AMSC continues
to provide ongoing maintenance and support services to Ergon Energy”
Stephen Arthur, Substation Design Engineer
External, Ergon
![Controller Design of STATCOM for Power System … · than SVC [6, 7]. The STATCOM is based on the principle that a voltage source inverter generates ... differences between HBMO algorithm](https://static.fdocuments.in/doc/165x107/5b5db8887f8b9ac6028ef856/controller-design-of-statcom-for-power-system-than-svc-6-7-the-statcom-is.jpg)
