To Free the Baltic Grid, Old Technology Is New Again
Spinning megamachines will safeguard the Baltic power grid as it
desynchronizes from the Russian grid
The Baltic countries--Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia--recently
accelerated a plan to cut the electrical chains that keep them tied to
Russia. A technical lynchpin to their planned escape from the
Moscow-controlled synchronous AC power zone is a constellation of
synchronous condensers: free--spinning and fuel-free electrical
generators whose sole purpose is to stabilize and protect power grids.
The Baltic states, all of which are members of the European Union and
NATO, started freeing themselves from Russia's electrical embrace
almost a decade ago with the construction of high-voltage direct
current (HVDC) connections to Finland, Sweden, and Poland. Those
alternative sources of electrical support ended the Baltics'
dependance on imported power from Russia and Belarus.
...
...
Synchronous condensers (also called synchronous compensators) are
essentially generators that, in normal operation, are spun by an AC
grid's power and synced to its frequency (rather than driven by their
own fuel). When power plants or transmission lines shut down
unexpectedly, the momentum in their spinning mass offers an
instantaneous supply of energy that cushions the blow, thus protecting equipment and preventing outages.
...
...
Synchronous convertors were first deployed in the early 20th century,
but they were rarely used because grid stabilization could be supplied
by power plants with big spinning generators. But plants with steam
and turbine-driven generators are increasingly being replaced by solar
panels, wind turbines, and batteries that deliver their energy via
electronic converters. Hence, a worldwide comeback for a technology
that was invented over a century ago.
https://spectrum.ieee.org/baltic-power-grid
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