Reactive Power Compensation Using STATCOM and Instantaneous Reactive Power Theory
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Abstract
Reactive power can have a range of negative impacts on energy generation and consumption in a power system network. These include creating unnecessary increases in generation, leading to the overall decline in grid efficiency and significant resource inefficiencies. Reactive power compensation is, therefore, critical for improved system performance and elevated productivity. This research aims to design and simulate a 3-phase reactive power compensation model using a Static Synchronous Compensator (STATCOM) to improve the system’s power factor and effectively suppress the system harmonics. This is implemented using MATLAB/Simulink software in which the STATCOM is connected to a 3-phase load system fed from a 500 kVA, 11kV/400V source. Based on an instantaneous reactive power (IRPT) theory, the load reactive power is harnessed to generate an inverted signal that will drive the gates of the semiconductor devices of the STATCOM inverter to cancel out the reactive current consumed by the load. Initially, a purely resistive load is connected to the system, where the model response is observed through the Simulink display blocks. Subsequently, an incremental amount of reactive load is added in three steps: 4126 Var, 8576 Var and 13470 Var, respectively. In each case, the model's response is observed and analyzed. The results show that the model can instantly generate and compensate for the equivalent load reactive power, improving the power factor from 0.87, 0.84 and 0.81, respectively, to 1.0. Using a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) signal analyzer, the system’s total harmonic distortion (THD) is improved from 14.22% to 0.22%. This conforms to the IEEE 519 standard limit of 5.0%.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Abdulrahman Mohammed Galadima (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Abdulrahman Mohammed Galadima, Federal Polytechnic Mubi, Nigeria.
Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering Technology,
Federal Polytechnic Mubi, Nigeria.
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