Active Harmonic Filtering in STATCOMs for Enhanced Renewable Energy Integration

Existing STATCOMs at a number of wind farms in close proximity have been upgraded to act as active harmonic filters to mitigate voltage distortion. The paper describes the different steps in the process, from reviewing the network configuration and collecting measurements to the tuning of the active filter, and demonstrates that STATCOMs, without the need of any additional equipment, can help to improve power quality and achieve compliance with standards. The process is illustrated with data from a real case where the authors solved a voltage harmonics problem that affected the transmission network in the south-west of Scotland in a location where there are four wind farms connected.