A thorough comparison among impact of different technologies on power system reactive planning

The Irish transmission network is quickly changing its basic features from many points of view, and the consequent potential scenarios increase uncertainty in planning future network. In particular, the importance of wind power generation has risen in the last years so much as to be considered among the most important and affordable Renewable Energy Sources (RES), with a growing rate faster than other technologies. This requires new criteria to set out the appropriate architecture for future grids, in terms of topology, technology and control structures. This paper describes how to use a var planning methodology to identify reactive needs for future mixed meshed AC/DC system, taking into account different transmission technologies.