Preliminary Analysis of Hydropower Unit Characteristics in Reactive Power Support Scenarios

Grid voltage or reactive power stability is crucial for equipment safe and stable operation. The installation of many capacitors, power electronic reactive power compensation devices, and synchronous condensers have distinctly increased the operating costs of the power grid. In the context of enhancing the unit's flexibility, hydropower units have significant potential for reactive power support due to their economic efficiency and flexible regulation. However, most of the existing research on the characteristics of hydropower units under reactive power support scenarios is based on simulation or experimental results, lacking effective analysis methods. To address these problems, this article proposes a characteristic curve integrated method, combined with a reactive power support model for hydropower units, which can analyse the transient and steady-state changes of various variables in reactive power support scenarios, providing ideas for reactive power regulation methods and improving unit flexibility