Flexible ac transmission comes of age
After more than 15 years of research and development, a new generation of solid-state electronic devices has entered utility service, providing an unprecedented level of control over transmission networks. By replacing thyristor-based devices, utilities now have the opportunity to regulate ac power flow in ways that make more efficient use of existing transmission lines, while counteracting stability or power quality problems almost instantaneously as a they arise. The driving vision behind this effort is to create a flexible ac transmission system (FACTS) that acts as a giant integrated circuit - highly automated, self-correcting, robustly stable and able to operate closer to inherent thermal limits. Power electronics represents the Second Silicon Revolution, offering the same advantages of speed, reliability and precision as the now-ubiquitous silicon microprocessors - but scaled up by a factor of some 500 million in power. FACTS controllers use thyristors in much the same way that computer chips use microscopic transitors, switching power in a fraction of a cycle to perform functions that could not even be considered with mechanical controllers. These functions include the control of power flow on specific lines, increased loading while maintaining or improving system security, prevention of cascading outages, and damping of power system oscillations. By providing the increased capacity for bulk power transfer, FACTS devices may also provide utilities with the opportunity to realize vast capital savings through reduced generation reserve margins. Much of the long-term research underlying development of FACTS has been sponsored by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI).
- OSTI ID:
- 160252
- Journal Information:
- Electric Light and Power, Journal Name: Electric Light and Power Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 73; ISSN ELLPAJ; ISSN 0013-4120
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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