SITE SELECTION OF SUB-STSTION.

The site should be near the load center keeping in view the future load growth.

Some general factors to be considered are listed. It should be remembered that

some of the factors are actually interdependent.

 Access road to the site for smooth movement of construction machines,

equipments and transformers. Good Roadways to construction site and
shorter distance to rail head are desired.
 The site should be chosen to avoid soil filling, earth removal etc. The
requirement of soil filling and earth removal takes time and increases total
cost of substation
 Historical data of worst flood is taken into account to avoid water logging
of the substation in case of possibility of flood. Flood plains and wetlands are
avoided.
 Atmospheric conditions like salt and suspended chemical contaminants
influence selection of equipments and maintenance requirements.
 Interference with communication signals. The construction company have to
take permission from the appropriate authority.
 Electric and magnetic field strength are of particular concern especially for
Ultra High Voltage (UHV) systems at 765 kV,1200 kV or above. Research
organisations has shown the impact of strong Electric/magnetic fields due to
UHV substations and lines on human health. Such new concerns are also
required to be addressed properly
 Forest land, sanctuaries and national parks are avoided. Almost all
governments has laid stringent rules to comply for approval of forest land
and wild life sanctuary. The usual process takes time to get approval from
the concerned authorities. This process delays the construction activities.
 Approval is also required from aviation authority. Substation should be away
from airport and defence establishments.
 Water supply and sewage system are the two most important facilities to be
given due consideration.

Some other factors related to the general public:

 The substation should be located far from the crowded places. Efforts are
always made to locate transmission substations outside the city areas.
 The locals should be made aware of the upcoming substation. To avoid public
resentment it is better to involve the local people in the process. If required
they should be educated and trained. Many times the local people also plays
an important role to check vandalism and theft.
 Heritage sites and tourist spots are avoided.
 Electric substation is a source of noise. While charged transformers, reactors
and EHV lines are sources of continuous hissing noise, operation of
different equipment also emit sudden noise. The design should be adopted
to tackle the issues by complying to the standards set by the appropriate
authority for reduction of noise pollution and avoid public resentments.
  Landscaping should be done to keep the substation out of direct view of
common people.

Classification of Sub-Stations
There are several ways of classifying sub-stations. However, the two most important ways of
classifying them are according to

1. Service requirement and

2. Constructional features.

1. According to service requirement. A sub-station may be called upon to change voltage level
or improve power factor or convert a.c. power into d.c. power etc. According to the service
requirement, sub-stations may be classified into :

1. Transformer sub-stations. Those sub-stations which change the voltage level of electric
supply are called transformer sub-stations. These sub-stations receive power at some
voltage and deliver it at some other voltage. Obviously, transformer will be the main
component in such substations. Most of the sub-stations in the power system are of this
type.
2. Switching sub-stations. These sub-stations do not change the voltage level i.e. incoming
and outgoing lines have the same voltage. However, they simply perform the switching
operations of power lines.
3. Power factor correction sub-stations. Those sub-stations which improve the power
factor of the system are called power factor correction sub-stations. Such sub-stations are
generally located at the receiving end of transmission lines. These sub-stations generally
use synchronous condensers as the power factor improvement equipment.
4. Frequency changer sub-stations. Those sub-stations which change the supply frequency
are known as frequency changer sub-stations. Such a frequency change may be required
for industrial utilisation.
5. Converting sub-stations. Those sub-stations which change a.c. power into d.c. power
are called converting sub-stations. These sub-stations receive a.c. power and convert it
into d.c. power with suitable apparatus (e.g. ignitron) to supply for such purposes as
traction, electroplating, electric welding etc.
6. Industrial sub-stations. Those sub-stations which supply power to individual industrial
concerns are known as industrial sub-stations.

2. According to constructional features. A sub-station has many components (e.g. circuit

breakers, switches, fuses, instruments etc.) which must be housed properly to ensure continuous
and reliable service. According to constructional features, the sub-stations are classified as :

 Indoor sub-station
 Outdoor sub-station
 Underground sub-station
 Pole-mounted sub-station
1. Indoor sub-stations. For voltages upto 11 kV, the equipment of the sub-station is
installed indoor because of economic considerations. However, when the atmosphere is
contaminated with impurities, these sub-stations can be erected for voltages upto 66 kV.
2. Outdoor sub-stations. For voltages beyond 66 kV, equipment is invariably installed
outdoor. It is because for such voltages, the clearances between conductors and the space
required for switches, circuit breakers and other equipment becomes so great that it is not
economical to install the equipment indoor.
3. Underground sub-stations. In thickly populated areas, the space available for equipment
and building is limited and the cost of land is high. Under such situations, the sub-station
is created underground. The reader may find further discussion on underground sub-
stations in Art. 25.6.
4. Pole-mounted sub-stations. This is an outdoor sub-station with equipment installed
overhead on H-pole or 4-pole structure. It is the cheapest form of sub-station for voltages
not exceeding 11kV (or 33 kV in some cases). Electric power is almost distributed in
localities through such substations.
Synchronous phase modifier

Application

• Constant voltage transmission

For constant voltage transmission , especially designed synchronous motor , called the synchronous phase modifiers,

are installed at receiving end , which maintain the voltage drop across the line constant with the change in

load,power factor of the system is changed by the synchronous motors and thus voltage drop along the line remains

constant. The advantage and disadvantage is given below .

Merits of constant voltage transmission

1. Possibility of carrying increased power for a given conductor size in case of long distance heavy power

transmission

2. Improvement of power factor at times of moderate and heavy loads.

3. Possibility of better protection for the line due to possible use of higher terminal reactances.

4. Availability of steady voltage at all loads at the line terminals.

5. Improvement in system stability due to inertia effect of synchronous phase modifier and reduction in effect of

sudden changes in load.

Demerits of constant voltage transmission

1. Increase of short –circuit current of the system and, therefore, increase in the circuit breaker ratings.

2. Increase risk of interruption of supply due to falling of synchronous motors, called the synchronous phase
modifiers, out of synchronicity.

3. Lower reserve of lines in case of line trouble.

Synchronous phase modifier

It is well known that a synchronous motor can be made to take either a lagging or leading current from the line by

alternating its excitation. Idle-running synchronous motor were first employed in connecting in connection with

power plants to correct for low power factor of the load, and thus reduced the current and power losses in the feeders

and generators. The synchronous machines used for power factor improvement are usually referred to as

synchronous condensers as they are always required to take a leading current. However and idle-running

synchronous motor can be used for voltage regulating purposes by connecting it in parallel with the load at the

receiving end of a line , as shown in diagram since the machines used for voltage regulation as a synchronous

modifiers . They are usually of salient pole design with 6 or 8 poles with rating up to 60MVA, 11KV and connected

to high voltage system through transformers.

Synchronous phase modifier differ from the ordinary synchronous motor is as much as they are built for the highest

economical speeds, and provided with smaller shafts and bearings and special attention is paid for securing a high

overall efficiency . Standard machines for this purpose are designed to give their full-load output at leading power

factor, and can carry about 50% of their rated capacity at lagging power factor. machines can , however, be designed

to operate at full rating on both leading and lagging power factor s but they are larger in size , have poor efficiency

and are more expensive than standard machines .

Synchronous Phase Modifiers

It is well known that asynchronous motor can be made to take either a lagging or leading current form the line by
altering its excitation. Idle-running synchronous motors were first employed in connection with power plants to
correct for low power factor of the load, and thus reduce the current and power losses in the feeders and generators.
The synchronous machines used for power factor improvement are usually referred to as ‘synchronous condensers’
as they are always required to take a leading current.

However, an idle running synchronous motor can be used for voltage regulating purposes by connecting it in
parallel with the load at the receiving end of a line. Since the machines used for voltage regulation are required to
run part of the time with leading current and part of the time with lagging current depending upon the load
conditions, therefore, it is more appropriate to refer to these machines as ‘ synchronous phase modifiers.’

Synchronous phase modifiers differ from the ordinary synchronous motors in as much as they are built for the
highest economical speeds and provided with smaller shafts and bearings and special attention is paid for securing a
high overall efficiency. Standard machines for this purpose are designed to give their full-load output at leading
power factor, and can carry about 50% of their rated capacity at lagging power factor. Machines can, however, be
designed to operate at full rating on both leading and lagging power factors but they are larger in size, have poor
efficiency and are more expensive than standard machines.

Synchonous condenser
An over-excited synchronous motor has a leading power factor. This makes it useful for power
factor correction of industrial loads. Both transformers and induction motors draw lagging
(magnetising) currents from the line. On light loads, the power drawn by induction motors has a
large reactive component and the power factor has a low value. The added current flowing to
supply reactive power creates additional losses in the power system. In an industrial plant,
synchronous motors can be used to supply some of the reactive power required by induction
motors. This improves the plant power factor and reduces the reactive current required from the
grid.

A synchronous condenser provides step-less automatic power factor correction with the ability to
produce up to 150% additional vars. The system produces no switching transients and is not
affected by system electrical harmonics (some harmonics can even be absorbed by synchronous
condensers). They will not produce excessive voltage levels and are not susceptible to electrical
resonances. Because of the rotating inertia of the synchronous condenser, it can provide limited
voltage support during very short power drops .
The use of rotating synchronous condensers was common through the 1950s. They remain an
alternative (or a supplement) to capacitors for power factor correction because of problems that
have been experienced with harmonics causing capacitor overheating and catastrophic failures.
Synchronous condensers are also useful for supporting voltage levels. The reactive power
produced by a capacitor bank is in direct proportion to the square of its terminal voltage, and if
the system voltage decreases, the capacitors produce less reactive power, when it is most needed,
while if the system voltage increases the capacitors produce more reactive power, which
exacerbates the problem. In contrast, with a constant field, a synchronous condenser naturally
supplies more reactive power to a low voltage and absorbs more reactive power from a high
voltage, plus the field can be controlled. This reactive power improves voltage regulation in
situations such as when starting large motors, or where power must travel long distances from
where it is generated to where it is used, as is the case with power wheeling, the transmission of
electric power from one geographic region to another within a set of interconnected electric
power systems.

Synchronous condensers may also be referred to as Dynamic Power Factor Correction systems.
These machines can prove very effective when advanced controls are utilized. A PLC based
controller with PF controller and regulator will allow the system to be set to meet a given power
factor or can be set to produce a specified amount of reactive power.

On electric power systems, synchronous condensers can be used to control the voltage on long
transmission lines, especially for lines with a relatively high ratio of inductive reactance to
resistance.[4]

Gallery[edit]

Synchronous Condenser unit at Templestowe substation, Victoria Australia.

Side view of the condenser

unit
 Front end of condenser unit

Blueprint diagram showing

interior construction of
condenser

Synchronous Condensers

A synchronous condenser is a synchronous machine running without mechanical load and supplying or absorbing
reactive power to or from a power system. Also called a synchronous capacitor, synchronous compensator or rotating
machinery.

In November 1995, the first static synchronous compensator began operating at a TVA substation in Knoxville,
Tennessee. This compensator can regulate voltage without expensive external capacitors or reactors.