Electric power supply options for FIRE

The FIRE experiment(1) will present a net electric power demand approaching 1000MW for 10's of seconds, repeated once every 2 hours, delivered to the load via thyristor AC/DC converters which exhibit a widely varying power fa ctor. The issues associated with the supply of such a load from the utility grid can be divided into two categories: Technical transmission line power flow vs, capacity voltage deviation within the grid vs, limits frequency deviation within the grid vs, limits loading of electrical equipment (e.g. generators) control of power generation (e.g. steam turbines) Operational control and monitoring of grid power now coordination of protection systems repetitive cycling of power system equipment allowance for contingency on tie line power flows power flow reversal harmonic content of load power and energy monitoring, billing rate structur e The technical issues are amenable to analysis using well developed tools, m odels, and methods which have been in use for many years by the electric ut ility industry. The operational issues are less clear cut (particularly in the era of deregulation) and are more site dependant. This paper focuses on the technical issues and describes methods which can be used to reduce the impact of the load on the grid.