Phase current estimation based shunt active power compensation

Nonlinear and unbalanced loads introduce distortions to the power network in the form of harmonics and asymmetric load conditions. Through the rising penetration of residential renewable plants, energy is fed back into the grid. By shaping the output of those power converters the distortions can be mitigated. The technique of shunt active power filtering allows the instantaneous compensation of a dedicated nonlinear load, by measuring its distorted consumption. The goal of this article is to present an extension to this method which allows to compensate for a given area utilizing the advanced metering infrastructure in a smart grid. Given a compensation unit, instantaneous voltage measurements are collected from neighboring consumers. By utilizing the model of the distribution line, a linear Kalman filter allows the estimation of the phase currents. These values replace the dedicated nonlinear load measurements, and by compensating for line currents, the power quality of a given transformer area is improved. Analyzing the model based approach against real world like scenarios and elaborating the robustness shows the potential for real world applicability