Environmental Impacts of Power Flow Control with Variable-Impedance FACTS

Growing environmental concerns as well as the decline in renewable energy project costs have led to drastic changes in the generation mix, and increasing penetration from renewable energy resources. However, the intermittency of renewable energy resources in contrast to legacy design of transmission system remains as one main obstacle against renewable energy integration. Several solutions, including energy storage, demand response and transmission system expansion have been proposed in response to this problem. Flexible ac transmission system (FACTS) devices are also shown as to offer a cost-effective solution for congestion problem in transmission system. This paper studies the environmental impacts of power flow control through FACTS devices as well as the economic benefits. Results show that implementing power flow control can effectively reduce dispatch cost and carbon emissions. However, the location of FACTS devices and renewable energy sites can critically affect carbon emission and renewable energy curtailment.