In electrical engineering, the power factor of an AC power system is defined as the ratio of the real power absorbed by the load to the apparent power flowing in the circuit. Real power is the average of the instantaneous product of voltage and current and represents the capacity of the electricity for performing work. Apparent power is the product of RMS current and voltage. Due to energy stored in the load and returned to the source, or due to a non-linear load that distorts the wave shape of the current drawn from the source, the apparent power may be greater than the real power, so more current flows in the circuit than would be required to transfer real power alone. A power factor magnitude of less than one indicates the voltage and current are not in phase, reducing the average product of the two. A negative power factor occurs when the device generates real power, which then flows back towards the source.
A high-voltage direct current (HVDC) electric power transmission system uses direct current (DC) for electric power transmission, in contrast with the more common alternating current (AC) transmission systems.
A power inverter, inverter or invertor is a power electronic device or circuitry that changes direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC). The resulting AC frequency obtained depends on the particular device employed. Inverters do the opposite of rectifiers which were originally large electromechanical devices converting AC to DC.
Distributed generation, also distributed energy, on-site generation (OSG), or district/decentralized energy, is electrical generation and storage performed by a variety of small, grid-connected or distribution system-connected devices referred to as distributed energy resources (DER).
A flexible alternating current transmission system (FACTS) is a system composed of static equipment used for the alternating current (AC) transmission of electrical energy. It is meant to enhance controllability and increase power transfer capability of the network. It is generally a power electronics-based system.
A static VAR compensator (SVC) is a set of electrical devices for providing fast-acting reactive power on high-voltage electricity transmission networks. SVCs are part of the flexible AC transmission system device family, regulating voltage, power factor, harmonics and stabilizing the system. A static VAR compensator has no significant moving parts. Prior to the invention of the SVC, power factor compensation was the preserve of large rotating machines such as synchronous condensers or switched capacitor banks.
A variable-frequency drive (VFD) is a type of motor drive used in electro-mechanical drive systems to control AC motor speed and torque by varying motor input frequency and, depending on topology, to control associated voltage or current variation. VFDs may also be known as 'AFDs', 'ASDs', 'VSDs', 'AC drives', 'micro drives', 'inverter drives' or, simply, 'drives'.
A microgrid is a local electrical grid with defined electrical boundaries, acting as a single and controllable entity. It is able to operate in grid-connected and in island mode. A 'Stand-alone microgrid' or 'isolated microgrid' only operates off-the-grid and cannot be connected to a wider electric power system.
In electrical engineering, a synchronous condenser is a DC-excited synchronous motor, whose shaft is not connected to anything but spins freely. Its purpose is not to convert electric power to mechanical power or vice versa, but to adjust conditions on the electric power transmission grid. Its field is controlled by a voltage regulator to either generate or absorb reactive power as needed to adjust the grid's voltage, or to improve power factor. The condenser’s installation and operation are identical to large electric motors and generators.
A phasor measurement unit (PMU) is a device used to estimate the magnitude and phase angle of an electrical phasor quantity in the electricity grid using a common time source for synchronization. Time synchronization is usually provided by GPS or IEEE 1588 Precision Time Protocol, which allows synchronized real-time measurements of multiple remote points on the grid. PMUs are capable of capturing samples from a waveform in quick succession and reconstructing the phasor quantity, made up of an angle measurement and a magnitude measurement. The resulting measurement is known as a synchrophasor. These time synchronized measurements are important because if the grid’s supply and demand are not perfectly matched, frequency imbalances can cause stress on the grid, which is a potential cause for power outages.
Doubly-fed electric machines also slip-ring generators are electric motors or electric generators, where both the field magnet windings and armature windings are separately connected to equipment outside the machine.
A static synchronous compensator (STATCOM), originally known as a static synchronous condenser (STATCON), is a regulating device shunt-connected to alternating current electricity transmission network. It is based on a power electronics voltage-source converter and can act as either a source or sink of reactive AC power to an electricity network. If connected to a source of power it can also provide active AC power. It is a member of the FACTS family of devices, that became possible in 1990s due to availability of powerful gate turn-off thyristors (GTO). STATCOM is inherently modular and electable.
An electric power system is a network of electrical components deployed to supply, transfer, and use electric power. An example of a power system is the electrical grid that provides power to homes and industries within an extended area. The electrical grid can be broadly divided into the generators that supply the power, the transmission system that carries the power from the generating centers to the load centers, and the distribution system that feeds the power to nearby homes and industries.
An electrical grid is an interconnected network for electricity delivery from producers to consumers. Electrical grids vary in size and can cover whole countries or continents. It consists of:
Dynamic voltage restoration (DVR) is a method of overcoming voltage sags and swells that occur in electrical power distribution. These are a problem because spikes consume power and sags reduce efficiency of some devices. DVR saves energy through voltage injections that can affect the phase and wave-shape of the power being supplied.
A magnetically-controlled shunt reactor represents electrotechnical equipment purposed for compensation of reactive power and stabilization of voltage level in high voltage (HV) electric networks rated for voltage classes 36 – 750 kV. MCSR is shunt-type static device with smooth regulation by means of inductive reactance.
Synchronverters or virtual synchronous generators are inverters which mimic synchronous generators (SG) to provide "synthetic inertia" for ancillary services in electric power systems. Inertia is a property of standard synchronous generators associated with the rotating physical mass of the system spinning at a frequency proportional to the electricity being generated. Inertia has implications towards grid stability as work is required to alter the kinetic energy of the spinning physical mass and therefore opposes changes in grid frequency. Inverter-based generation inherently lacks this property as the waveform is being created artificially via power electronics.
Wide-area damping control (WADC) is a class of automatic control systems used to provide stability augmentation to modern electrical power systems known as smart grids. Actuation for the controller is provided via modulation of capable active or reactive power devices throughout the grid. Such actuators are most commonly previously-existing power system devices, such as high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission lines and static VAR compensators (SVCs) which serve primary purposes not directly related to the WADC application. However, damping may be achieved with the utilization of other devices installed with the express purpose of stability augmentation, including energy storage technologies. Wide-area instability of a large electrical grid unequipped with a WADC is the result of the loss of generator rotor synchronicity, and is typically envisioned as a generator oscillating with an undamped exponential trajectory as the result of insufficient damping torque.
A static synchronous series compensator (SSSC) is a type of flexible AC transmission system which consists of a solid-state voltage source inverter coupled with a transformer that is connected in series with a transmission line. This device can inject an almost sinusoidal voltage in series with the line. This injected voltage could be considered as an inductive or capacitive reactance, which is connected in series with the transmission line. This feature can provide controllable voltage compensation. In addition, SSSC is able to reverse the power flow by injecting a sufficiently large series reactive compensating voltage.
Voltage control and reactive power management are two facets of an ancillary service that enables reliability of the transmission networks and facilitates the electricity market on these networks. Both aspects of this activity are intertwined, so within this article the term voltage control will be primarily used to designate this essentially single activity, as suggested by Kirby & Hirst (1997). Voltage control does not include reactive power injections within one AC cycle, these are a part of a separate ancillary service, so called system stability service. The transmission of reactive power is limited by its nature, so the voltage control is provided through pieces of equipment distributed throughout the power grid, unlike the frequency control that is based on maintaining the overall active power balance in the system.
