Voltage Quality Improvement in Isolated Power Systems

Isolated power systems are commonly found in rural and remote areas of the world. These systems represent the alternative to grid connection, where interconnection to a large grid is not viable due to high cost and/or geographical obstacles. Furthermore, power systems such as those onboard of ships, in oil exploration areas and remote mining districts are characterized by limited generating capacity, supplying loads which can consist of significant amount of motor drives and power converters. The power systems are often considered weak in that they possess relatively low short-circuit ratio, in comparison to a grid. Network voltage control becomes a challenging task as a result. The power-quality (PQ) problem iscompounded as the drive-converter loads are likely to fluctuate in conjunction with the mining or exploration activities.