Consideration of the wind and solar generation reactive power capability on grid voltage performance

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of replacing conventional generation by wind and solar generation on the grid voltage performance. California is one of the states which will be facing adverse effects of such generation shift. California has also very high renewable portfolio standards (RPS) target. Therefore, a western electricity coordination council (WECC) equivalent system is examined to identify the issues with voltage performance after such generation alteration. Two approaches are examined to mitigate the negative impacts on voltage performance by adding synchronous condenser at the retiring conventional units and by operating wind generation with voltage control mode of operation.