A 6.6‐kV transformerless cascade PWM STATCOM. Experimental verification by a three‐phase 200‐V, 10‐kVa laboratory system

This paper deals with a 6.6‐kV transformerless STATCOM cascading multiple single‐phase H‐bridge PWM converters in each phase. The AC voltage of the STATCOM is almost sinusoidal, so that it requires no harmonic filter. Each converter is equipped with a capacitor and a voltage sensor on the DC side, which are electrically isolated from each other. The STATCOM has the capability of self‐starting and voltage‐balancing without any external power supply or equipment. Experiments using a three‐phase 200‐V, 10‐kVA laboratory system, along with computer simulations, are carried out to confirm the viability and effectiveness of the STATCOM. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 170(1): 55–64, 2010; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley. com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20822