FACTS opportunities in Ireland

The ESB system is an isolated power system with a peak demand of about 3000 MW and is experiencing annual demand growth of about 4% per annum. The main transmission system is a 220 kV grid, with an underlying 110 kV grid. In addition two 400 kV lines over 200 km in length connect a major generation station on the West coast to the principle demand centre in the Dublin area. In carrying out investigations into the future development of the transmission network to meet the increasing demand and cater for newly-installed generation plant, a number of problem ares where the use of FACTS devices might be of benefit have been identified. Two of these are addressed in this paper