Siemens Energy, a global energy company, says it will supply a reactive power compensation plant to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP).
The plant will enhance operations at Barren Ridge Switching Station, LADWP’s renewable energy transmission facility in Kern County, Calif., about 80 miles north of Los Angeles. Siemens Energy says the plant will be based on its SVC PLUS technology that combines the benefits of static synchronous compensation (STATCOM) and modular multilevel converter (MMC) technology. The fast response of the STATCOM stabilizes the transmission system when the amount of power generated by solar, wind or hydro generation changes. The MMC technology allows the implementation of this complex technology in a very small footprint compared to traditional solutions.
“The great advantage of our SVC PLUS technology is that it is even faster than conventional solutions,” says Beatrix Natter, executive vice president of transmission at Siemens Energy. “It offers high flexibility regarding design and layout of converters and substations. Its modularity and low number of system components also reduce commissioning time compared to complex conventional systems. This enables an execution time of only 16 months for the Barren Ridge project so that the reactive power compensation is ready in time to prevent voltage collapses or even blackouts.”
The SVC PLUS is comprised of two three-phase step-down transformers with 230 kV and 200 MVA of capacity. In addition to the plant, Siemens Energy will provide an extended warranty that it says will maximize availability and operating flexibility for LADWP. Commissioning of the plant is planned for summer 2022.
