%0 Journal Article %T Comparative Assessment of SVC and TCSC Controllers on the Small Signal Stability Margin of a Power System Incorporating Intermittent Wind Power Generation %A T. R. Ayodele %J Journal of Wind Energy %D 2014 %R 10.1155/2014/570234 %X Wind power is highly variable due to the stochastic behavior of wind speeds. This intermittent nature could excite the electromechanical modes resulting in the small signal instability of a power system. In this study, the performance of static VAR compensation (SVC) and thyristor controlled series capacitor (TCSC) controllers in the damping of electromechanical modes is analyzed and compared. The study employs probabilistic modal analysis method using Monte Carlo simulation and Latin hypercube sampling techniques. Various scenarios are created to get insight into the study. The results obtained from the modal analysis are verified by using the time-domain simulation. Some of the key results show that SVC is more robust in the damping of electromechanical modes compared to TCSC. The result also reveals that allocation of power system stabilizer (PSS) using probabilistic method is more effective and robust compared to deterministic approach. 1. Introduction The complexity of power system has increased due to high rate of growth of power demands, and the increasing penetration of renewable energy generators (REGs) on the grid in recent years has further pushed the operation of the existing transmission lines closer to their operating limit. This has necessitated the need to understand the impact of REGs on the overall stability of a power system. The output power of most REGs (wind generators, PV, small hydrogenerators, etc.) is highly variable and can have considerable effect on the dynamic behavior of a power system leading to power swing and less synchronizing coupling [1]. Wind generators have been the most proliferated REG in recent time. This is a result of its technological maturity and the availability of wind resources in many regions of the world [2]. The present and the progressive scales of integration have generated concern about the possible impact it may have on the power system grid integrity. Most of the large wind farms are located where the wind resources are found; hence they are far from the load center and are connected to relatively weak grid [3]. The presence of wind generators connected to such weak transmission networks incurs serious concern about system stability, system security, and power quality. Small signal stability is a key issue in the study of grid impact of wind power integration as a result of its intermittent nature [4, 5]. Small signal stability is concerned with the ability of a power system to ascertain a stable operating condition following a small perturbation around its operating equilibrium [6]. Modal %U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jwe/2014/570234/