Dr.

Babasaheb Ambedkar Technological University,

Lonere.

A PROJECT REPORT ON
THREE PHASE STATCOM FOR REACTIVE POWER
COMPENSATION

Submitted by
Mr.GHOTALE PRATHMESH PANDIT (18)
Mr . KAMBLE PRADHUNYA DATTU(24)
Mr.WAGHMODE AMAR RAJEBHAU(28)
Under the Guidance
Prof. MANTHALE.R.R
In partial fulfillment for the award of the Degree of

BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY
IN ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

ELECTRICAL
Vilasrao Deshmukh Foundation Engineering & Technology,
Latur Maharashtra 41351
MONTH YEAR
 2022-23

Vilasrao Deshmukh Foundation Engineering &

Technology, Latur.

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the project titled “THREE PHASE STATCOM

FOR REACTIVE POWER COMPENSATION" has been submitted by , mr.
Ghotale Prethmesh Pandit, mr . Kamble Pradhunya Dattu,mr.
Waghmode Amar Rajebhau My guidance in partial fulfillment of
Degree of Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical Dr. Babasaheb
Ambedkar Technological University, Lonere. During the
Academic Year2022-2023.

Project Guide HOD

Prof. MANTHALE.R.R Prof. INGALE R.U

Principal
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I express our sincere gratitude to Prof. Manthale.R

Department of ELECTRICAL Engineering, for his/her invaluable

guidance, advice, sharing expertise and constant encouragement

throughout the course of the project. Helpful suggestions given

throughout the course of this work without which this work would

not have been successfully completed.

This work has not been submitted to the award of any other

degree, BATU University. The work is humbly submitted to BATU

University as project under the curriculum of AcademicYear

2022-23.

I take this opportunity to express gratitude to all of the

Department faculty members for their help and support.

 ABSTRACT

Reactive power compensation is an important issue in the

control of electric power systems. Reactive power increases the
transmission system losses and reduces the power transmission
capability of the transmission lines. Moreover, reactive power
flow through the transmission lines can cause large amplitude
variations in the receiving-end voltage. Therefore, reactive power
compensation is required for power systems.

In this project, a shunt reactive power compensation device,

STATCOM (Static Synchronous compensator) is designed using
various subsystems in MATLAB SIMULINK. A suitable controller
is also designed for the STATCOM. The performance of a Power
system having 415 V, 50Hz with and without STATCOM is also
compared for an RL and RC load.
 CONTENTS

CHAPTER NO TITLE PAGE NO.

➢ CANDIDATES DECLARATION 2

➢ ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 3

➢ ABSTRACT 4

➢ CONTENTS 5

1 INTRODUCTION 7

2. REACTIVE POWER 8

3. NEED FOR REACTIVE POWER 9

COMPENSATION

4. STATCOM 11
4.1 Voltage source converter
4.2 Capacitor
4.3 Inductive reactance
4.4 Harmonic Filter

5. STATCOM : PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION 13

6. CIRCUIT DIAGRAM OF POWER SYSTEM 16

7. MODELLING OF SUBSYSTEMS OF STATCOM 17

7.1 Phase Locked Loop (PLL)
7.2 Measurement systems
7.3 V_ref generator loop
 7.4 PWM generator
7.5 Three phase inverter

8. SIMULATION RESULTS 21

9. CONCLUSION 24

10. REFERENCES 25
 1. INTRODUCTION
Power transmission and distribution systems in today’ s world face increasing
demands for more power with better quality and higher reliability at lower cost due to
industrial advances. To meet these growing demands for reliable power, power transfer
capabilities of power systems must be enhanced. Reactive power compensation is an
important issue in the control of electric power systems. Reactive power increases the
transmission system losses and reduces the power transmission capability of the
transmission lines. Reactive power flow through the transmission lines can also cause
large amplitude variations in the receiving-end voltage. Various voltage regulation and
system stabilization measures are being used to effectively utilize the existing
transmission networks. This has also led to the use of power electronics in power
systems in the form of SSSC, STATCOM and UPFC.

A static synchronous compensator(STATCOM) is a shunt power electronics device used

for reactive power compensation. It is a controlled reactive-power source which provides
the desired reactive-power generation and absorption entirely by means of electronic
processing of the voltage and current waveforms in a VSC.

In this project, the effect of STATCOM in power systems on reactive power control is
shown by proper modelling of a simple power system of 415 V source voltage having
frequency 50Hz connected to a load. Voltage source converter based STATCOM is
simulated using simulink and simpower system toolboxes in MATLAB. Power system
circuit is analysed for an RL and RC load. The results for power flow with and without
conditions are recorded for the power system. The current and voltage waveforms for
source, load and inverter are also recorded.
2. REACTIVE POWER

Reactive power, or VAR represents the product of volts and amperes that are
out-of-phase with each other. It is the portion of electricity that helps establish and
sustain the electric and magnetic fields required by alternating current equipment. It
is a type of power that does no real work and is generally associated with reactive
elements (inductors and capacitors). The amount of reactive power present in an AC
circuit will depend upon the phase shift or phase angle between the voltage and the
current . Reactive power is either generated or consumed in almost every
component of the power system.

Positive reactive power is caused by inductive loads such as motors and

transformers (especially at low loads).

Negative reactive power is caused by capacitive loads. This can include lighting
ballasts, variable speed drives for motors, computer equipment, and inverters
(especially when idle).
 3. NEED FOR REACTIVE POWER COMPENSATION

Consider Sending end side with Voltage Vs ∠ δs and Receiving end side with
Voltage V r ∠ δr The Reactive Power flow in a transmission line is given by :

Phase angle between Vs and Vr is very small therefore cos(δs-δr)≈1:

Solving for V we get :

From the above equation, there are three possible cases. They are:

1) When Reactive power demand (Q) is positive, i.e Q>0, Receiving end Voltage
becomes less than Sending end Voltage. As reactive power demand (Q) increases,
Receiving end Voltage (V ) falls further.

2) When Reactive power demand (Q) is zero, i.e Q=0, Receiving end Voltage is equal to
Sending end Voltage.

3) When Reactive Power demand (Q) is negative, i.e. Q<0 , Receiving end Voltage
becomes more than Sending end Voltage. This effect takes place in medium or long
transmission lines in case of no load or small load.

These voltage fluctuations can cause various problems like failure in equipment
connected to the receiving end by overheating or excessive current so reactive power in
power systems must be compensated to avoid these undesired voltage fluctuations.
The effects of reactive power in power systems :

1. Reactive power increases the transmission system losses(I2R) as when both active
and reactive power is flowing in the transmission system, the magnitude of current is
high due to presence of its active as well as reactive component.

2. It reduces the power transmission capability of the transmission lines.

3. As observed from the above equation, reactive power flow through the transmission
lines can cause large amplitude variations in the receiving-end voltage which is
undesirable.

4. It can also cause failure in insulations of cables.

5. High reactive power flow leads to low power factors.

Effects of reactive power compensation:

1. Increase or decrease in reactive power demands lead to fluctuating receiving end

voltage. Therefore, in order to obtain a flat voltage profile for various loading conditions,
reactive power must be compensated.

2. If reactive power is compensated, more active power can flow through transmission
lines and therefore, power transfer capability is enhanced.

3. Increase in stability margin.

4. Apparent power KVA is given by square root of sum of squares of active and reactive
power. Therefore, by reactive power compensation, KVA loading of the line is reduced.

5. Magnitude of current flowing through transmission lines is reduced when reactive

power is compensated as current only has an active component and no reactive
component. Hence, it reduces power losses(I2R).
4. STATCOM

A static synchronous compensator(STATCOM), also known as a static synchronous

condenser, is a regulating shunt device used on alternating current electricity
transmission networks. 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. It
provides the desired reactive-power generation and absorption entirely by means of
electronic processing of the voltage and current waveforms in a VSC. It is categorised
under Flexible AC transmission system (FACTS) devices. As STATCOM uses VSC, it
means that the capacitor banks and shunt reactors are not needed for reactive-power
generation and absorption, thereby giving the STATCOM a compact design.

Fig 2. STATCOM

STATCOM is seen as an adjustable voltage source behind a reactance which is

controlled by a suitable controller to either generate or absorb reactive power. Since
STATCOM uses a Voltage Source Converter(VSC), it means that the capacitor banks
and shunt reactors are not needed for reactive-power generation and absorption. This
gives STATCOM a compact design. STATCOMs are expensive, however their
performance compensates for the high cost.
STATCOM has the following components:

4.1 Voltage Source Converter : The voltage-source converter is used to convert the DC
input voltage to an AC output voltage. We have used Inverter using IGBT for this
purpose which uses Pulse Width Modulation technique to create a sinusoidal waveform
from a DC voltage source .

4.2 Capacitor : A Capacitor is used to supply constant DC voltage to the voltage source
converter, VSC.

4.3 Inductive Reactance: A Transformer is connected between the output of VSC and
Power System. It is responsible for connecting the converter to the high voltage power
system. The transformer also neutralizes harmonics contained in the square waves
produced by VSC.

4.4 Harmonic Filter : Harmonic Filter attenuates the harmonics and other high
frequency components due to the VSC. Simplified equivalent circuit diagram of VSC
based STATCOM is as follows :

Fig 3. Equivalent Simplified diagram of a STATCOM

5. STATCOM : PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION

Consider two sources V1 and V2 are connected through an impedance Z = R + jX as

shown in figure below

Fig 4. STATCOM principle of operation

Taking V1 = V1 δ, V2 = V2 0 and neglecting Ra

Applying KVL,
I = (V1 δ - V2 0)/(jX) => (V1cosδ + jV1sinδ - V2)/(jX)
=> I = V1sinδ/X + j((V2 - V1cosδ)/X)

=> Power transmitted,

S = V2× (I*) = V2× (V1sinδ/X - j((V2 - V1cosδ)/X))

=> S = V1V2sinδ/X + j(V2/X)(V1cosδ - V2)

Active power transmitted, P = V1V2sinδ/X

Reactive power transmitted, Q = (V2/X)(V1cosδ - V2)

In the above reactive power flow equation, angle δ is the angle between V1 and V2.
Thus if we maintain angle δ = 0 and if R is assumed negligible then,

Reactive power flow will become

Q = (V2/X)[V1Cosδ - V2] = (V2/X)[V1-V2] 0 [Cos(0) = 1]

and active power flow will become

P = V1V2Sinδ / X = 0 [Sin(0) = 0]

If the angle between V1 and V2 is zero, the flow of active power becomes zero and the
flow of reactive power depends on (V1– V2). Thus for flow of reactive power there are
two possibilities.

1) If the magnitude of V1 is more than V2, then reactive power will flow from
source V1 to V2.

2) If the magnitude of V2 is more than V1, reactive power will flow from source V2 to
V1.

This principle is used in STATCOM for reactive power control. The exchange of reactive
power between the STATCOM and the ac system can be controlled by varying the
amplitude of the 3-phase output voltage Vout of the STATCOM. If the amplitude of the
Vout is increased above that of the grid voltage Vgrid, the current flows through the
reactance from the converter to the AC system and the converter generates
capacitive-reactive power for the AC system. If the amplitude of the Vout is decreased
below the grid voltage Vgrid, the current flows from the AC system to the STATCOM and
the STATCOM absorbs inductive-reactive power from the AC system. The
reactive-power exchange becomes zero if the Vout equals the grid voltage Vgrid. This
condition is known as the floating state of STATCOM.

. Fig 5. STATCOM power exchange

I. In the VSC at the DC side, a relatively small capacitor is connected due to which the
STATCOM is capable of only reactive power exchange with the power system.

II. The real power flowing into the converter supplies the converter losses due to
switching and charges the DC capacitor to a satisfactory DC voltage level.

III. The capacitor is charged and discharged during the course of each switching cycle.
But in steady state, the average capacitor voltage remains constant.

IV. Since the DC capacitor and the losses are relatively small, the amount of real power
transfer is also relatively small.

V. The STATCOM output AC current is approximately 90° with respect to AC system

voltage at its line terminals and hence only reactive power transfer takes place.

VI. A STATCOM is used for voltage regulation in a power system.

VII. Under lightly loaded conditions, the STATCOM is used to minimize or completely
diminish the line overvoltage.

VIII. It can also be used to maintain certain voltage levels under heavy loading
conditions.
6. CIRCUIT DIAGRAM OF POWER SYSTEM
7. MODELLING OF SUBSYSTEMS OF STATCOM

The STATCOM controller consists of several functional blocks:

Fig 8. STATCOM

7.1 Phase Locked Loop (PLL) : Vabc is converted to alpha beta 0 form which is further
converted to dq0 form. To obtain the correct value of wt, Vq must be 0 so that Vgrid is in
phase with the D-axis. A closed loop is formed and Vq is compared with Vq_ref which is
0 so that Vq becomes 0. A PI controller is used to generate signals corresponding to the
error between Vq and Vq_ref. The output of the PI controller is given to the integrator to
obtain wt.

Fig 9. PLL subsystem

7.2 Measurement systems : The d-axis and q-axis components of the voltages and
currents are computed by executing an abc-dq0 transformation in the synchronous
reference determined by wt provided by the PLL.

Fig 10. Measurement subsystem

7.3 V_ref generator loop : The DC voltage is compared with VDC_ref to keep the DC link
voltage constant to its nominal value (VDC_ref=800 V). This loop further consists of
proportional-integral (PI) controllers that control the d-axis and q-axis currents. The
controllers outputs are the Vdi and Vqi voltages that the PWM inverter has to generate.
The Vdi and Vqi voltages are converted into phase voltages Va, Vb, Vc using dq0 to abc
converter which are used to synthesize the PWM voltages
 Fig 11. Reference voltage generator subsystem

7.4 PWM Generator: Vref obtained from the V_ref generator is compared with a
triangular wave which is used as a carrier wave. The sampling rate which is equal to the
frequency of the carrier wave is 10 KHz. The Vref and triangular waves are compared
using relational blocks to generate PWM signals. For each relational block, one output is
directly used and one is complemented to make sure 2 switches in the same leg of the
inverter are never turned on together.

Fig 12. PWM generator block

7.5 Three Phase Inverter : The three phase inverter consists of 6 IGBTs connected
across the RC load. The gates of the IGBTs receive pulses generated from a
PWMgenerator. This generates a certain switching sequence which leads to the
generation of a three phase AC signal at the output of the inverter.

At a certain moment in this circuit, two IGBTs will always be active, one of which is
connected to a positive VDC and the other to the negative VDC because otherwise the
circuit will not be completed. At any given time, both the switches in the same segment
of three phase inverter should never be closed as it leads to short circuits failing the
entire setup. The three outputs from the inverter R, Y and B give the three phase AC
output.

Fig 13. Three Phase Inverter subsystem

8. SIMULATION RESULTS

8.1 Series RL Load having 200 KW and 100 KVAR :

Without STATCOM, the active as well as the reactive power required by load is
completely supplied by the source. However, with STATCOM the active power required
by load is supplied by the source and the reactive power required by the load is supplied
by the STATCOM.

Fig 14. figure shows the reactive power compensation by the STATCOM for an RL load
 Fig 14. Source Voltage and Source Current

Fig 15.Load Voltage and Load Current

 Fig 16. Inverter Voltage and Inverter Current

The voltage and current waveform for Phase A from the source is shown with and
without STATCOM in fig 16. Without STATCOM, voltage and current waveform are out
of phase as reactive power is being delivered by the source. However, in case of
STATCOM, the reactive power is being delivered by the STATCOM and therefore, voltage
and current waveform for the source is in phase.

It can also be observed that the current from the source is high when active as well as
reactive power is taken from source only as the current will be having both active and
reactive components. This high current will lead to high transmission losses (I2R).
However, in case of reactive power compensation by STATCOM, the current from
source contains only the active component and therefore, is lower in magnitude. This
leads to less transmission losses as current(I) is reduced.
9. CONCLUSION

Reactive power is unusable power which is either generated or consumed in

components of the power system. Reactive power compensation is required to improve
voltage regulation, enhance power transfer capabilities of the line and increase safety
margins. STATCOM is a shunt device, which uses force-commutated power electronics
(i.e.IGBT) to control power flow and improve transient stability on electrical power
networks. STATCOM can generate as well as absorb reactive power with the help of
Voltage Source Converter(VSC). The exchange of reactive power between the
STATCOM and the AC system can be controlled by varying the amplitude of the 3-phase
output voltage of STATCOM. The circuit for the power system is simulated with and
without a STATCOM device for a 415V source voltage having frequency 50Hz.
Simulation results show that in case of RL load, the reactive power is supplied by the
STATCOM and in case of RC load, the reactive power is absorbed by the STATCOM and
hence, reactive power compensation is achieved using STATCOM. The current and
voltage waveforms for source, load and inverter are also recorded. The current and
voltage waveforms for source with and without STATCOM are also compared to
analyse the effect of reactive power compensation done by the STATCOM.
10. REFERENCES

1. Hingorani, N. and Gyugyi, L. (2000). Understanding FACTS; Concepts and Technology

of Flexible AC Transmission Systems.

2. O. Farrok, M.G. Rabbani and M.R. Islam (2010). Design and Simulation of an Efficient
STATCOM Controller to Improve Electric Power System Dynamics.

3. STATCOM– Working Principle, Design and Application :

https://electricalbaba.com/statcom-working-principle-design-and-application

4. Importance of Reactive Power in Power Generation and Transmission:

https://www.elprocus.com/importance-of-reactive-power-in-power-system-n etwork/

5. Reactive Power and Voltage Control of a Transmission Line:

https://electricalbaba.com/reactive-power-and-voltage-control-of-a-transmiss ion-line/

6. Power Flow through Transmission Line | Two Bus System:

https://www.eeeguide.com/power-flow-through-transmission-line/

7. Future Energy - STATCOM : https://www.futureenergy.net.in/statcom.php

8. Simulation of 3 phase grid connected inverter using MATLAB with dq Control :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=US3tsnUOJL0