Electric springs for voltage stabilization

Abstract

In recent years, the integration of renewable energy sources (RES) into the grid has increased significantly. This increase is leading to various power quality problems in low voltage networks (LV), mainly voltage instability due to their intermittent nature. Smart loads using the electric spring (ES) concept based on Hooke’s law can solve this problem as a demand side management technique. ES can provide both active and reactive power compensation. They can also be configured as decentralised compensation systems using algorithms, such as droop control, to control the voltage at various points along the grid. Hence, a strategy for the ES to keep voltage stability in a micro grid is proposed. The proposed control is validated through simulation emulating the practical scenario.