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A P P L I C AT I O N N OT E
SVC and STATCOM
An overview
— SVC (Static Var Compensator) and STATCOM (Static
01 220 kV SVC Light, Chile.
Synchronous Compensator) are shunt devices in the
FACTS family. The initial of the two, SVC, based on
high power thyristor technology, appeared in the
field in the 1970s. STATCOM, based on GTO (Gate
Turn-off Thyristors) came into use in the 1980s, and
subsequently, with high power IGBT (Insulated Gate
Bipolar Transistor) becoming commercially avail-
able, STATCOM based on this technology platform
came on line in the 1990s.
As power demand is on the rise in most parts of the
world, power transmission facilities need to keep
up, as well. Building more power lines may not be
the only or even the best way, however, as transmis-
sion lines cost a lot of money, take considerable
time to build, and are subject to lengthy permit pro-
cedures and environmental constraints. With SVC
and STATCOM, the power transmission capability of
lines can be increased considerably. Squeezing more
power out of existing lines can eliminate or at least
postpone the need to build new lines, which all adds
up to reduced environmental impact, and significant
cost and time savings.
Developed and refined over the years in a number of
ways, SVC is still ruling as the main controllable
shunt compensation device. Simultaneously, STAT-
COM is gaining momentum and is to an increasing
SVC and STATCOM:
An overview
degree catching the interest of utilities looking for
options that can offer additional benefits to those
traditionally available, in particular where space in
sub-stations is scarce, the reactive power output
needs to be controllable more or less independent
of the AC system voltage, or a speed of response
one order of magnitude greater than what is possi-
ble with thyristors is desired.
In fact, SVC or STATCOM should be the natural
choice where the following qualities are required or
desirable:
• Rapid dynamic response
• Ability for frequent variations in output
• Output smoothly adjustable
Each in its own particular way, SVC and STATCOM of-
fer benefits such as:
• Grid voltage control under normal and contin-
gency conditions
• Fast response reactive power following contingen-
cies
• Preventing/reducing risk for voltage collapses in
the grid
• Preventing over-voltages at loss of load
• Boosting voltage during under-voltage distur-
bances and faults
• Damping active power oscillations
• Increased power transfer capability, by stabilizing
the voltage in weak and/or heavily loaded points in 420 kV SVC, Norway
the grid
• Power quality improvement by load balancing,
flicker mitigation and harmonic filtering

SVC
SVC can be built using a variety of designs. However,
the controllable elements used in most systems are
similar. The commonly used controllable elements
are:
• Thyristor-controlled reactor (TCR)
• Thyristor-switched capacitors (TSC)
• Thyristor-switched reactor (TSR)

SVC configuration: TCR/TSC/Harmonic filters

TCR TSC TSC Harmonic filters
As TCR produces harmonics during operation, filters
are required as parts of SVC design. When the SVC is
required to safeguard power quality at the point of
common connection in grids feeding heavy installa-
tions such as railways, steel plants and mining com-
plexes, additional harmonic filters usually need to
be included in the SVC scheme.
STATCOM
SVC Light® is a STATCOM device, based on a chain-
link modular multilevel (MMC) voltage source con-
verter (VSC) concept, particularly adapted for power
system applications. It is capable of yielding high re-
active power input to the grid more or less unim-
peded by suppressed grid voltages, and with high
dynamic response. This is useful, for instance, to
support more or less weak grids loaded by a large
percentage of air conditioners in hot and humid cli-
mates, and to improve the availability of large wind
farms under varying grid conditions.
Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBT) and Insu-
lated Gate Commutated Thyrustirs (IGCT) are key
components in SVC Light. The multilevel chain-link
solution is built up by linking H-bridge modules in
series with one another to form one phase leg of
the VSC branch. (a) shows a single H-bridge with
four IGBTs, and (b) shows a configuration in which
four H-bridge modules make up each of the three
phase legs.

SVC Light: Multilevel chain-link converter setup.

SVC: a case example
As a result of large power demanding industry de-
velopment in central Norway, the demand in the re-
gion has increased dramatically and is expected to
grow further. The power import capacity to the re-
gion has previously been limited by the risk of volt-
age collapse. As a remedy, two SVCs were installed
in the existing power system. With the installation
of the two SVCs, the power import capacity to the
region has increased by up to 400 MW over the ex-
isting lines. (a) H-bridge cell with IGBTs (single phase)
 U +
dc
-

U +
dc
-

U
+
Udc
-

+
dc
-

U +
dc
-
+
-
Udc

U dc -
+

U dc-
+
-
Udc

U dc-
+

U dc-
Udc
+
-

(b) 3-phase chain-link of H-bridges

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02 03

—
02 SVC Light: SVC Light is available for system voltages up to
Multilevel chain-link
69 kV and converter ratings of up to -/+ 400 Mvar.
converter setup.
— For higher voltages, a step-down transformer is
03 220 kV SVC Light, Chile.
used to connect SVC Light to the grid. SVC Light
provides a symmetrical operating range. For asym-
metrical operations and in order to optimize perfor-
mance, thyristor-switched reactors and capacitors
are operated in parallel to form hybrid solutions.
SVC Light: a current example
In Chile there is growing opposition to the construc-
tion of new transmission infrastructure. As a conse-
quence, Chile´s main transmission owner and opera-
tor had been investigating optimal ways to exploit
existing facilities to a higher degree. To this end, it
was decided to install an SVC Light with the aim of
increasing the dynamic stability of the system and
thereby allow more power to be transmitted
through the grid. The SVC Light is located in the
capital of Chile, where the greatest part of the load
is concentrated. The tasks of the SVC Light are the
following:
• Regulate and control the 220 kV grid voltage under
normal steady-state and contingency conditions;
• Provide dynamic, fast response reactive power fol-
lowing system contingencies, such as network
short circuits and line or generator outages, par-
ticularly during high power flow northwards;
• Enable an increase of the power transfer capability
of the grid.
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