Enhancing Renewable Energy-Grid Integration by Optimally Placed FACTS Devices: The Nigeria Case Study

The global shift towards renewable energy (RE) sources, driven by climate change and fossil fuel depletion, encounters challenges in integrating intermittent sources like wind and solar power into existing grids.Developing countries, such as Nigeria, with weak grids, face significant limitations on RE penetration.This study focuses on enhancing RE grid integration in Nigeria by strategically deploying Flexible Alternating Current Transmission System (FACTS) devices.Results obtained from the Nigerian grid indicate that FACTS devices, particularly STATCOMs, can extend the penetration limit by 40%, enabling an additional 152 MW of wind energy to be integrated without jeopardizing system stability.Improved voltage profiles and enhanced stability highlight the effectiveness of FACTS devices in facilitating RE integration into weak grids.Thus, developing grids can accommodate more renewable energy without extensive reconfiguration of the power system architecture.