Decision method for the investment in shunt capacitors based on a long-term voltage stability analysis

Abstract: As the electric consumption increases and the constraints multiply, the grid becomes weaker and may not be able to face critical voltage stability problems. Indeed, in the past decades some blackouts occurred in Europe and America, due to voltage instabilities. At a 5-year horizon, new lines or new power plants cannot be built in time, it is therefore necessary to invest in capacitors to prevent voltage collapses. The core of this project is the best localization of these investments, to make the grid strong enough to bear a major fault in an already difficult situation. The first part of the master’s project is the development of a new method which permits to decide where to install new capacitors based on a dynamic approach. The second part consist on simulations performed on a specific part of the French grid. Each simulation was the subject of a variation of one of the different parameters or elements of the situation. These simulations have a double goal: to validate the method by examining the consistency of the different results, and to have a first idea of the impacting parameters, or their influence on the number of capacitor which should be installed, and their localizations.