The Long Island Power Authority (LIPA; Uniondale, New York) has purchased a Dynamic Volt-Ampere-Reactive (D-VAR) reactive power compensation system from American Superconductor Corp. (AMSC; Westborough, Massachusetts). The D-VAR system will be installed in the East Hampton electrical substation located on the South Fork of Eastern Long Island to increase transmission grid reliability and to reduce the costs and environmental impacts associated with operating the grid during times of peak demand for electricity.

D-VAR systems provide a powerful yet highly cost-effective way to increase the reliability of power transmission grids by instantly injecting reactive power (VARs) into the grid at precise locations where voltage problems occur. D-VAR systems are based on AMSC's proprietary power-electronic PowerModule converters.

The system purchased by LIPA consists of one of AMSC's D-VAR units, and related GE Energy (Atlanta, Georgia) equipment, to provide needed dynamic reactive compensation to an area of the transmission grid that currently depends on fixed-shunt devices and older, relatively high-cost generation as the source of dynamic, reactive power. The D-VAR system provides LIPA with the flexibility of operating generators in the region only when it is absolutely necessary, which provides both an economic and environmental benefit.

“After in-depth evaluation of multiple options to further increase the reliability of our transmission grid in eastern Long Island, we chose D-VAR,” said Michael Hervey, executive director of transmission and distribution for LIPA. “High reliability, ease of installation and operation, and proven performance in multiple North American transmission grids over the last several years made D-VAR the right choice for us to meet our needs for dynamic reactive power compensation, and to avoid costs and environmental impacts associated with running generators for this purpose.”

LIPA's first D-VAR unit, which requires no new construction or rights-of-way, will be located within an existing electrical substation on the South Fork of Eastern Long Island. The D-VAR unit will be installed this spring to start adding value to the LIPA power transmission system in the summer of 2004.
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