Bonneville Power Administration

Abstract: A practical method is given for solving the power flow problem with control variables such as real and reactive power and transformer ratios automatically adjusted to minimize instantaneous costs or losses. The solution is feasible with respect to constraints on control variables and dependent variables such as load voltages, reactive sources, and tie line power angles. The method is based on power flow solution by Newton's method, a gradient adjustment algorithm for obtaining the minimum and penalty functions to account for dependent constraints. A test program solves problems of 500 nodes. Only a small extension of the power flow program is required to implement the method.

Abstract: Matrix inversion is very inefficient for computing direct solutions of the large sparse systems of linear equations that arise in many network problems. Optimally ordered triangular factorization of sparse matrices is more efficient and offers other important computational advantages in some applications. With this method, direct solutions are computed from sparse matrix factors instead of from a full inverse matrix, thereby gaining a significant advantage in speed, computer memory requirements, and reduced round-off error. Improvements of tea to one or more in speed and problem size over present applications of the inverse can be achieved in many cases. Details of the method, numerical examples, and the results of a large problem are given.

Abstract: As background, we describe frequently used feedforward wide-area discontinuous power system stability controls. Then we describe online demonstration of a new response-based (feedback) Wide-Area stability and voltage Control System (WACS). The control system uses powerful discontinuous actions for power system stabilization. The control system comprises phasor measurements at many substations, fiber-optic communications, real-time deterministic computers, and transfer trip output signals to circuit breakers at many other substations and power plants. Finally, we describe future development of WACS. WACS is developed as a flexible platform to prevent blackouts and facilitate electrical commerce.

Abstract: Recently, renewable wind energy is enjoying a rapid growth globally to become an important green electricity source to replace polluting and exhausting fossil fuel. However, with wind being an uncontrollable resource and the nature of distributed wind induction generators, integrating a large-scale wind-farm into a power system poses challenges, particularly in a weak power system. In the paper, the impact of static synchronous compensator (STATCOM) to facilitate the integration of a large wind farm (WF) into a weak power system is studied. First, an actual weak power system with two nearby large WFs is introduced. Based on the field SCADA data analysis, the power quality issues are highlighted and a centralized STATCOM is proposed to solve them, particularly the short-term (seconds to minutes) voltage fluctuations. Second, a model of the system, WF, and STATCOM for steady state and dynamic impact study is presented, and the model is validated by comparing with the actual field data. Using simulated PV and QV curves, voltage control and stability issues are analyzed, and the size and location of STATCOM are assessed. Finally, a STATCOM control strategy for voltage fluctuation suppression is presented and dynamic simulations verify the performance of proposed STATCOM and its control strategy.