Comparison of Synchronous Condenser and
STATCOM for Inertial Response Support
Yang Liu, Shuitao Yang, Shao Zhang and Fang Zheng Peng
Electrical and Computer Engineering Department,
Michigan State University, East Lansing, USA,
liuyan19@msu.edu
Abstract—This paper shows a comparison between
synchronous condenser (SC) and STATCOM in terms of
inertia frequency response (IFR) with synchronous generator
(SG). It has long been argued that, as a rotating-mass-based
reactive power compensation device, SC will contribute to the
total inertia of the network from its stored kinetic energy.
Whereas, its counterpart, the voltage source converter (VSC)
based STATCOM, will only supply reactive power and
maintain voltage balance. However, the energy stored in the
dc-link capacitor of the STATCOM, especially the cascaded
inverter based STATCOM whose dc-link capacitance is
relatively large, if properly controlled, can also contribute to
the IFR. A matlab/Simulink model of SG equipped with SC
and STATCOM is presented in this paper. It is demonstrated
that STATCOM can provide competitive or even better IFR
during disturbance condition. Both theoretical and simulated
results are provided.
I. INTRODUCTION
Synchronous generator (SG) has been in service in US
power system from long back. The operation and control of a
SG is mature in practice and it helps to maintain the power
system reliability and stability. However, with the
advancement of modern power system and increasing types
of load, the requirement for the transient stability has become
more rigid. Various reactive compensation devices have
been called for to support power system stability. These
devices can be roughly classified into three major categories:
synchronous condenser (SC), static var compensator (SVC),
and static synchronous compensators (STATCOM).
A synchronous condenser, by its nature, is a synchronous
generator operating without a prime mover. It supports
network voltage by providing reactive power compensation
and additional short circuit power capacity. Furthermore, it
can also support system frequency stability by increasing
network inertia.
STATCOM, arising from the family of FACTS device,
has been utilized widely in recent years. A STATCOM is a
controlled reactive power source, which typically includes a
voltage source converter (VSC) and a DC link capacitor
connected in shunt through coupling transformer, capable of
generating and/or absorbing reactive power. Alternatively,
cascaded multilevel inverter (CMI) based STATCOM
978-1-4799-5776-7/14/$31.00 ©2014 IEEE 2684
eliminates the bulky transformers and will respond much
faster. It is well suited for var compensation/generation
applications [6].
Since there is no mechanical part in VSC based
STATCOM, it has long been admitted that STATCOM
makes no contribution to the frequency stability of the SG
during load disturbance. However, STATCOM can be
properly controlled to make virtual inertia response. The
stored energy in dc-link capacitor can be utilized by varying
the dc-link voltage during disturbance condition. This
proposed methodology focuses on short-term oscillations
and incorporates no long-term power regulation, thus it
needs no mass storage device. Moreover, since SC and SG
are synchronized with the transmission network, the largest
allowable frequency deviation is limited and locked by the
system. In some scenario, the STATCOM will demonstrate
even better performance in terms of inertia frequency support
than SC. This is very attractive in power system applications
since bidirectional VSCs can work in generative and
motoring modes similar to SMs.
The rest of the paper is organized as follows. Section II
shows the frequency response of a SG. Section III describes
operation principle of SC and its integration with SG.
Section IV addresses nominal operation of the CMI-based
STATCOM and modified virtual inertia control (VIC).
Simulation results and discussions are presented in Section
V. Conclusion and future work are included in Section VI.
II. FREQUENCY RESPONSE OF SYNCHRONOUS
GENERATOR
The transient frequency response of the synchronous
generator, according to its time frame range, can be roughly
divided as inertial frequency response (IFR), primary
frequency response (PFR) and secondary frequency response
(SFR) [2].
In the first few milliseconds or seconds following the
loss of a large power generator or the increase of load
command, the grid frequency starts to drop. These initial
frequency dynamics are regulated by the inertial response of
the generators that still remain online. The synchronous
generators release their stored kinetic energy into the grid,
reducing the initial rate of change of frequency (ROCOF)
and allowing governor to catch up and contribute to 60.4

frequency stabilization [4]. It is the first step and the natural

Frequency (Hz)
60.2
response of a SG under load disturbance. 60

The step following the IFR is the Primary Frequency 59.8

Response (PFR). PFR can be understood as the instantaneous 59.6

0 5 10 15 20 25 30
proportional increase or decrease in real power output in Time (s)

response to system frequency deviations. This response is in 1.3

the direction that stabilizes frequency. It is attained due to 1.2

Power (p.u.)
governor action to instantly act relative to the frequency 1.1
deviation. This usually takes place within seconds to tens of 1
seconds.
0.9
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Finally, it is the secondary frequency response (SFR). Time (s)

SFR is executed by automatic generation controller (AGC) Fig. 2. Typical system frequency response for a generation outage.
and often referred to as load frequency controller (LFC). The
AGC utilizes reserves to restore the frequency closer to The energy generated by the generator is relatively large.
scheduled frequency. Generally, the SFR can take place from However, the available energy during the initial transient of
seconds to minutes. These three steps happen sequentially so the system is not that much since the SG needs to be in
that frequency is recovered back to 60 Hz [3]. Fig.1 shows a synchronism with the system. The grid code has set up the
diagram of governor power frequency control. The analysis minimum frequency drop it can be, and it is typically within
of this paper is focused on the inertial frequency response. the range of 0.1-1 Hz [2]. Thus, the actual available inertia
Δω
energy is proportional to its inertia constant H,
1 1 2 1 2
ΔPL Jωom − Jωmin
R
' H _ available = 2 2 (ω 2 − ω 2 )
∝ om 2 min ⋅ H
(3).
ΔP
−
KI
+
m
+
+
+
1 Δω MVA ωom
s Ms+ D

ΔPm'' Only this limited amount of energy will be utilized for IFR.
+
Here inertial constant H is adopted to describe the different
1 ratings of the SG. As can be seen from Fig. 3, the actual
R available inertia energy is in the time frame of 70-300 ms.
Δω

Fig.1. governor power frequency control. 300 f-min=59.0 Hz(67~300 ms)

inertial energy constant (ms)

During the period of IFR, the frequency variation, 250

directly after a significant generation-load imbalance, is f-min=59.3 Hz (46~210 ms)
200
determined by the equation
150
⎛1 ⎞ f-min=59.6 Hz (27~120 ms)
d ⎜ ⋅ J system ⋅ ωel2 ⎟
Pm − Pe = ⎝
2 ⎠ 100
dt (1), 50 f-min=59.9 Hz(6.7~30 ms)

where Pm is the generated power, Pe is the demanded power. 0

The right side of the equation is the derivative of the kinetic
energy stored in the generator.
Another constant called H constant (also known as inertia
constant) is defined as [3]
Stored energy at rated speed in MW ⋅ S 1 Jωom2
H= = of SG, it is worthy studying the possible methods of
MVA rating 2 VAbase
The inertia constant is measured in seconds and it falls
typically in the range of 2-9 s for large power plants [1]. Fig.
2 and shows a typical waveform of a SG subjected to a loss
of generation unit or a sudden increase in load. If the inertia
available in the grid is large, the drop in frequency is not that
much. The nadir drops down to 59.65 Hz in this case. When
the frequency drops, the inertia energy from SG is
automatically released.
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
SG Typical inertia constant (s)
Fig. 3. Available inertial energy from SG with different minimum
frequency.
Given this very limited value of available inertia constant
(2). improving IFR. Like mentioned previously, SC, SVC and
STATCOM are the most three frequently used reactive
power compensators, and among which, only SC have been
claimed to contribute to the total inertia of the system.
However, it is not the obvious truth. The following section
will address the possible contribution from STATCOM for
IFR and a comparison between SC and STATCOM have
been made.

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 III. FREQUENCY RESPONSE OF SYNCHRONOUS IV. MODELING AND ANALYSIS OF STATCOM
CONDENSER FOR FREQUENCY SUPPORT
SC has been used since 1930 as a source of dynamic It has been witnessed that VSC based STATCOMs are
VARs (both inductive and capacitive) to improve system built all over the world. However, the benefit of STATCOM
stability and support voltage under varying load conditions is not fully potential. As a VSC based reactive compensator,
and contingencies. Its field is controlled by a voltage STATCOM has been penalized for not being able to help
regulator to either generate or absorb reactive power as with frequency regulation. The reason is that it has no
needed to control the voltage of the power system. The rotating mass thus has no stored kinetic energy. However, it
synchronous condenser is a rotating machine without a prime will be shown in this section that electric energy stored in the
mover. Because of this, they can provide a lower inertia from dc-link capacitor of STATCOM, especially for the CMI-
the kinetic energy stored in the rotating mass. The typical H based STATCOM, has large electric energy stored, will
value of SC is 1-1.25 s [1], thus the available inertial energy signicantly help the inertial response if properly controlled.
from the SC can be estimated similarly using equation in (3).
As can be seen from Fig. 4, the actual available inertia A. Normal operation of STATCOM
energy of SC is in the time frame of 3-41 ms. Basically, the STATCOM system is connected to the
weak grid bus at PCC. The CMI-based system is composed
50
of three main parts: a multilevel-cascaded VSC with separate
45
f-min=59.0 Hz (33~41 ms)
DC sources, a coupling inductor and a controller, as shown
40 in Fig. 6 [9].
Inertial energy constant (ms)

35

30 f-min=59.3 Hz(23~29 ms)

25

20
f-min=59.6 Hz (13.3~16.6 ms)
15

10

5 f-min=59.9 Hz (3~4.2 ms) Fig. 6. Single line diagram of the cascaded multilevel inverter based
STATCOM.
0
1 1.125 1.25
SC Typical inertia constant (s)
The exchange of real and reactive power between
Fig. 4. Available inertial energy from SC with different minimum cascaded inverter and the power system can be controlled by
frequency. adjusting the amplitude and phase angle of the converter
output voltage. Usually, it can be divided into capacitive
Fig. 5 shows a typical connection of a SC with SG. As mode and inductive mode, as shown in Fig. 7. Two
have been discussed in [5], SC shows a good dynamic important control laws of cascaded-multilevel VSC for
performance for reactive power compensation. Furthermore, STATCOM application [9]:
SC will contribute to the total inertia of the system as well 1. The amount of transferred reactive power (Q) can be
and the ROCOF is reduced. controlled by adjusting the magnitude of converter
output voltage;
2. The amount of transferred real power (P) can be
controlled by adjusting the phase angle of the
converter output voltage with respect to the voltage
at PCC.
B. Inertia energy from STATCOM
Fig. 5. SG with SC connected to load bus. As a VSC based reactive power compensator,
STATCOM have no real “inertia”. However, we use a term
Although the benefit of SC, the drawback of synchronous of virtual inertia constant in this paper, similar as defined in
condenser is that it calls for high demand of cooling for [6], associated with the inertia constant in synchronous
thermal consideration and it cannot be controlled fast enough rotary condensers,
to compensate for rapid load changes. 1
C ⋅ N ⋅ (Vdc2 _ max − Vdc2 _ min )
For the above two perspectives, STATCOM shows a H STATCOM = 2
better performance since VSC based FACTS device has a S STATCOM (4).
much quicker response time and very low thermal design
requirement.

2686
 T /4

Ci =
ΔQi
=
∫θ i (t )
2 I cos ωtdt
=
2 I (1 − sin θ i )
ΔVdc 2εVdc 2ωεVdc (5).
Therefore, the total capacitance for a three-phase M-level
inverter is,
( M −1) / 2
C =3 ∑C i

(a). operation in non-ideal condition

i =1 (6).
Table I shows the parameters used for the analysis and
experimental setup.

TABLE I. SYSTEM PARAMETERS FOR SIMULATION AND ANALYSIS

Parameter Value
S (rated power) 1 MVA
Vs0 (ph-ph rms) 13.8 kV∠0, 60 Hz
(b). operation in lossless condition Vdc 600 V
Fig. 7. Normal operation of STATCOM as Var generator. Vdcmin 540 V
Vdcmax 840 V
The voltage rating of the dc link is determined by the Number of CMI per phase 22 (10% redundancy)
connected network. A detailed analysis can be referred to H-bridge capacitance 4700 μF
[7]. Fig. 8 shows a schematic for CMI-based STATCOM for
the utility connected application.
Therefore, the relationship between initial dc link voltage
(Vdc0), dc-link capacitance (Cdc) and inertia constant from
STATCOM (HSTATCOM) is shown in fig. 9.

1.4

1.2
in e rtia c o n s ta n t o f S T A T C O M (s )

1.5
1

1 0.8

0.6

0.5
0.4

Fig.8. SG with STATCOM connected to load bus.
Dc-link voltage has limited variation range. For the
design of CMI-based STATCOM, some redundancy has
been considered and in this analysis, 10% redundancy is
used so the minimum voltage rating is taken to be 0.9 pu.
Besides, the maximum voltage Vdcmax cannot exceed the
voltage ratings of the power semiconductor devices and dc-
link capacitors. In this analysis, 1.4 pu is taken as the upper
limit.
Another important parameter that determines the energy
capacity is the dc link capacitor. For the proposed cascade
inverter, since each phase has its own separate dc capacitors,
calculation of the required capacitance of each H-bridge dc
capacitor needs to cover both positive-sequence and
negative-sequence reactive power [7]. The required
capacitance, Ci, can be formulated as
0 800 0.2
9000 8000 750
7000 6000 700
5000 4000 650
3000 2000 600
DC link capacitance (uF) 550 initial DC link voltage (V)
Fig. 9. Relationship between Vdc, Cdc and HSTATCOM.
A comparison between SC and STATCOM for possible
available inertial energy using parameters from Table I is
shown in Fig. 10. As can be obtained from Fig. 10,
STATCOM can provide possible competitive inertia energy
compared to SC, and under some conditions, it will provide
even more inertia energy. This is largely because that
although the inertia response from SG and SC is natural and
automatic, it obviously limited by the frequency deviation
due to the grid code. However, as a voltage controlled device,
the STATCOM is independent of that requirements and can
provide large inertia energy given enough short term energy
storage.

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 40 f-min=59.0 Hz The virtual inertia constant HSTATCOM can be obtained by
(33~41 ms)
equating the SG power variation in (9) with capacitor power
35
in (10) yields,
Inertial energy constant (ms)

30 DeltaVdc=0.5 pu
f-min=59.3 Hz
25 (23~29 ms) WSTATCOM WSTATCOM
2 H STATCOM 2 H
WK + WSTATCOM df NCVDC dVDC WK + WSTATCOM df
20 ⋅ = ⋅ + ⋅
f0 dt S STATCOM dt f0 dt (11).
f-min=59.6 Hz
15 (13.3~16.6 ms)
DeltaVdc=0.3 pu

10 The new dc link voltage reference is obtained through the

5 f-min=59.9 Hz relationship between frequency variation and inertial energy
(3~4.2 ms)

0
DeltaVdc=0.1 pu can be used from dc link,
1 1.125 1.25
SC typical inertia constant (s)
2 2
2 H STATCOM ⋅ f NCVDC NCVDC
Fig. 10. Theoretical inertial energy comparison between STATCOM and = + 2 H STATCOM − 0

SC. f0 2S STATCOM 2 S STATCOM (12).

C. Virtual inertia control for STATCOM Then the new dc-link voltage reference can be obtained as,
In order for the STATCOM to generate desired active
current (id*) and reactive current (iq*). The decoupling 4S STATCOM H STATCOM
*
feedforward and feedback control has been used as the VDC = ⋅ f − K2
controller [8]. The relationship is given as in NCf 0
(13).

⎡ ⎛ d ⎞⎤ where, K 2 = (4SVSC H VSC ) /( NC ) − VDC2

V + ωLI *pq − ⎜ L I *pd + RI *pd ⎟⎥
⎡V pd* ⎤ ⎢ Sd ⎝ dt ⎠⎥
0
⎢ * ⎥=⎢ Based on the above analysis, the virtual inertia control (VIC)
⎣⎢V pq ⎦⎥ ⎢VSq − ωLI *pd − ⎛⎜ L d I *pq + RI *pq ⎞⎟ ⎥ strategy of the STATCOM is presented in Fig. 11. It is
⎢⎣ ⎝ dt ⎠ ⎥⎦ (7), modified from traditional control.
To verify the working principle of the proposed VIC
and controller, a simulation has been carried out. The simulated
waveform is shown in Fig. 12. The active current reference
⎧V * = V *2 + V *2 is commanded from frequency variation and reactive current
⎪⎪ p pd pq

⎨ * ⎛ V *
⎞ reference stays constant. It can be seen that Ipd rapidly tracks
⎪α p = tan ⎜⎜ V * ⎟⎟
−1 pq
the step-changing reference while the reactive current Ipq
⎪⎩ ⎝ pd ⎠ (8). remains unchanged. Complete decoupled control is achieved.
Next section will show simulation results of the STATCOM
The typical control of CMI-based STATCOM is known as with the proposed VIC control in system study.
balancing control and individual control. The traditional
control principle is to maintain the DC link voltage stable 0.8
and balanced between different modules. In this study, since 0.7
it is desired to utilize the energy stored in the DC link
Current (p.u.)

capacitor during load disturbance or frequency variation, a 0.6

I *pd
modified control strategy is utilized. Similar deviation has I pd
0.5
been adopted in [10]. The equation of the machine angular
motion is given in (9): 0.4 I pq I *pq
0.3
2 H df
⋅ = PM − PE = ΔP1 ( pu) 0.2
f 0 dt (9). 0 2m 4m 6m 8m 10m 12m 14m
Time (s)
In order to equate the available power of the dc link Fig. 12. Simulated waveforms showing virtual inertia based decoupling
capacitors to that of an electrical machine, the capacitor feedback control for CMI-based STATCOM.
dynamics (in terms of dc link voltage and output power) are
V. SIMULATION RESULTS
presented in (10):
The effectiveness of the proposed VIC of STATCOM is
NCVDC dVDC validated in Matlab/Simulink. The tested system is a two-
⋅ = Pin − Pout = ΔP2 ( pu ) area-four-machine system [3]. It compromises with two fully
S STATCOM dt (10).

2688
 K2
+ 4S STATCOM H STATCOM Vs
PLL
frequency
- NCf 0

Virtual Inertia Control

Vsd
Vsd (=Vs)
I *pd + V pd* + I pd
Vdc* V pd 1
PI PI -
+ + - sLs + Rs
- - + STATCOM +
Vdc I pd ωLs (can be seen as ωLs
I pq a unity transfer
ωLs function)
ωLs
- - - I pq
+ - V pq* V pq - 1
I *pq PI
sLs + Rs
+ +
Vsq (= 0) Vsq
Decoupling Feedback Control Control Plant

Fig. 11. Virtual inertia control for CMI-based STATCOM.

symmetrical of four machines, and good for studying low 60.5

frequency electromechanical oscillation and inertial response 60.4

of the generator. Each generator equipped with its own

Frequency (Hz)
60.3
SG+STATCOM (C=4700 uF) inertial control
governor and excitation control [11]. The system illustration 60.2
SG+SC inertial control SG+STATCOM (C=5600 uF) inertial control
60.1
is shown in Fig. 13. The tested CMI-based STATCOM and 60
SC are connected to load bus at L7 and L9 for system 59.9
dynamic performance comparison. 59.8
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

0.3

0.2
SG+STATCOM (C=5600 uF) inertia control
PSTATCOM (pu)

0.1

-0.1
SG+STATCOM (C=4700 uF) inertial control
-0.2 SG+SC inertial control
-0.3

-0.4
Fig. 13. Two-area-four-machine system. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Time (s)

A. Case I. Variation in DC-link capacitance Fig. 14. System response for 10% loadshed.
The first simulation study was carried out for variation of 60.3

dc-link capacitance of CMI-based STATCOM. By changing 60.2

the dc-link short-term energy storage of the STATCOM, a 60.1

Frequency (Hz)

series of IFR from VIC based system can be obtained.

60

59.9
ΔVdc=0.3 pu. The rest of the parameters is in accordance in 59.8

Table I. This is compared with SC with H=1.25 s. The 59.7

disturbances include load increase and load decrease, 59.6

59.5
respectively. Simulation results are shown in Fig. 14 and 0 1 2 3 4 5 6

Fig. 15.
As can be seen from Fig.14 and Fig. 15, with the VIC based 0.5

STATCOM, the ROCOF of SG is damped, this will largely 0.4

0.3
improve the system stability. Since very limited frequency 0.2

deviation, SC released very limited energy for the IFR and 0.1

STATCOM perform better during this period of time. 0

-0.1

-0.2

-0.3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6

Fig. 15. System response for 10% load increase.

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B. Case II. Variation in allowable dc-link voltage Experimental results will be involved in future paper to
The second simulation study was carried out for variation demonstrate the proposed control strategy.
of allowable dc-link voltage of CMI-based STATCOM. By REFERENCES
changing the depth of voltage variation, a series of IFR from
VIC based system is illustrated. Cdc=4700 μF. The rest of the [1] W. E. Corporation, Electrical transmission and distribution reference
book: Westinghouse electric & manufacturing Company, 1942.
parameters is in accordance in table I. This is compared with
[2] NERC Frequency Response Initiative, April, 2010.
SC with H=1.25 s. Simulation result is shown in Fig. 16.
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[5] S. Teleke, T. Abdulahovic, T. Thiringer, and J. Svensson, “Dynamic

59.95 SG +SC inertial performance comparison of synchronous condenser and SVC” IEEE
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59.9
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59.75
[7] F. Z. Peng, J. S. Lai, J. W. McKeever and J. VanCoevering, "A
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operation will be better, although not as good as the
STATCOM inertial control. Since it is locked by the system
frequency to make synchronized with the system. For the
STATCOM to provide this inertial energy, as we allow
more deviation for DC link voltage, the frequency deviation
will become smaller thus will benefit the system stability
and reliability.
VI. CONCLUSION
A virtual inertial control for the CMI-based STATCOM
is introduced in this paper. Its contribution to inertial
frequency response has been compared with SC. With the
modified virtual inertia control of the DC link voltage,
STATCOM can provide competitive inertial energy response
as SC or provide even better response. Since this electric
inertia is not limited by the system frequency rather its own
dc link capacitance (short term energy storage) and dc link
voltage variation, it is attractive to system study of
STATCOM. A 1-MVA cascaded inverter based STATCOM
is under construction in lab. It is expected to carry out the
experiment using the proposed controller on STATCOM.

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