Comparative Analysis of Voltage Stability in Offshore Power-from-Shore Systems with Fast-Switching On-Load Tap-Changers and STATCOM/TCSC Technologies

Power-from-Shore systems have emerged as a key strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the oil and gas industry. Offshore installations are powered by long HVAC or HVDC links, replacing local fossil-fuel-based generation with onshore grid supply, including renewable energy sources. However, operating long subsea HVAC cables poses significant challenges to dynamic voltage stability. To address these challenges, dynamic voltage control is typically implemented using Static Synchronous Compensators (STATCOMs), with ThyristorControlled Series Capacitors (TCSCs) applied in selected cases. Nevertheless, STATCOMs require substantial financial investment and a significant footprint. Therefore, an alternative configuration employing a fast-switching on-load tap-changer is proposed. The…