Phase Angle Regulation Versus Impedance Control: Which Offers Greater Control Of Power Flow On the Grid?
by Kalyan K. Sen and Mey Ling Sen, Sen Engineering Solutions, Pittsburgh, Penn., How2Power Today, Feb 15 2017
Focus:
Power flow control in electric transmission lines has long been attempted with the use
of a phase angle regulator (PAR). But PARs have performance limitations. Two decades
ago, a new impedance regulation method was attempted using a mostly power electronics-
based controller called a UPFC. Although the UPFC was not commercially successful due
to high cost and component obsolescence issues, experience with this technology led to
the development of the Sen Transformer (ST). This article presents a comprehensive
analytical comparison of PARs and the ST (by the inventor of the latter), which will
help utilities to make informed decisions when choosing power flow control solutions
and may inspire power electronics engineers to develop more practical UPFCs. This
article analyzes the effectiveness of each technique in terms of controlling power
flow in a transmission line in the range of 0 to 2 per unit.
What you’ll learn:
- How to understand the operation of phase angle regulators and Sen Transformers in grid- level power flow control
- How to understand how performance of Sen Transformers compares with that of phase angle regulators in controlling power flow on the grid
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