On Exploring the Power Quality Enhancement Capability and Other Ancillary Functionalities of Solid State Transformer Application in the Distribution System

Abstract

Nowadays, the distribution grids are facing technical challenges due to the increased connection of sizeable loads like electric vehicle (EV) charging stations as well as large penetration of distributed renewable energy resources (DRERs) notably wind energy conversion system (WECS) and solar power plant (SPP), thus resulting in some operational issues in the form of power quality disturbance, reliability issues and grid congestion. To this extent, solid state transformer (SST) has been envisioned as a promising device for improving the power quality, providing a bidirectional power flow capability as well as ensuring a smooth and safe way of interfacing DRERs with the distribution grid. This paper reviews the basic power quality parameters in electrical power system, the role of SST in power quality improvement as well as some other ancillary services that SST can offer to the grid which cannot be achieved with the conventional line frequency transformer (LFT)