Power system planning analysis and functional requirements of the Progress Energy Carolinas Jacksonville static VAR compensator

Progress Energy Carolinas (PEC) is planning the installation of a transmission level Static VAR Compensator (SVC) at the Jacksonville (NC) 230 kV Substation, rated +300 MVAR to -100 MVAR at the 230 kV point of common coupling. The project will be supplied as a full turnkey installation by Mitsubishi Electric Power Products Inc, including complete engineering, design, procurement, manufacturing, installation, testing, and commissioning of the SVC system, with a planned in-service date of June 1, 2013. The planning requirements for the Jacksonville SVC are based on the system topology and generation situation in the area of operation. The PEC northern coastal geographic area is largely rural, with several relatively small cities. The electrical loads in the area are almost entirely residential and light commercial, with very little industrial load or operations. The high voltage transmission system in this area consists of 230 kV and 115 kV lines, and there are no significant generation sources within the area. Transmission planning studies of the area were performed using complex load models which accounted for the effects of induction motors. The results of these studies indicated that the post-fault voltage recovery may not be adequate under certain scenarios. These studies also confirmed that a +300 MVAR (capacitive) to -100 MVAR (inductive) Static VAR Compensator (SVC) connected to the 230 kV system at the Jacksonville 230/115 kV substation will provide sufficient dynamic response to allow voltage recovery prior to widespread motor stalling. This paper provides a description of the SVC to be installed at Jacksonville, a review of the power system analysis performed in determining the need for the SVC, and an overview of the resulting functional system requirements and key technical specifications.