Screening Advanced FACTS and State-of-the-Art Technologies to Improve Power Systems Stability with High RES Penetration

The progressive and massive penetration of variable renewable energy sources (RES) into electrical grids is introducing new critical issues in power systems around the world. Due to their non-programmability, variable RES plants, that are also devoid of mechanical inertia, may have important repercussions on the stability of the electricity grids, in particular on the regulation of the frequency and voltage. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to present the State-of the-Art related to some technological solutions capable of supporting the power system stability in scenarios with high RES penetration. In particular, the paper focuses on advanced FACTS (Flexible Alternating Current Transmission System) devices, like STATCOMs (Static Synchronous Compensators), for a comparison with synchronous condensers and supercapacitors. The performance and the technical features of these technologies are screened and evaluated, to identify which solution may be the most suitable for different scenarios.