Complementary Reactive Power Control of Three-Phase AC/DC Voltage Source Converters for Grid Support Applications

This research investigates the role of voltage source converters (VSCs) in providing reactive power support in power systems. With the increasing integration of power electronics-based loads (PELs) and distributed generation (DG), the traditional emphasis on reactive power management becomes critical to maintaining system stability and efficiency. While effective and traditional solutions such as STATCOMs are often centralized and costly, this study focuses on the use of voltage source rectifiers (VSRs) deployed at various interfaces to provide reactive power support. A three-phase 100 kW VSR model is implemented using vector control techniques to provide adjustable reactive power output in range of +/-45 kvar under various supply voltage and loading scenarios. The results show that the VSR controlled by vector control techniques effectively regulates the AC side reactive power while maintaining a stable DC side voltage. The study demonstrates the feasibility of using VSRs for distributed reactive power support in power systems.