INT 94-08833 Spee This collaborative research grant supplements Grant No. ECS- 93-01168 ("Intelligent Control of Complex Nonlinear Systems with Electric Power Application"), which is studying Flexible AC Transmission Systems (FACTS) in an effort also supported by the Electric Power Research Institute and the Bonneville Power Administration. The current grant provides partial support for a U.S. researcher, Dr. Rene Spee, of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Oregon State University, to spend six months at University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, to investigate a "next generation" FACTS device which utilizes force commutated power converter technology. Activities proposed include design, modeling and evaluation of this "Unified Power Controller" with an emphasis on device performance in power systems representative of the western United States and Southern Africa. The South African partner is Dr. Johan H. R. Enslin, of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. The work at University of Stellenbosch is supported by the South African national utility, ESKOM. The collaboration includes a six-month stay at Oregon State U. by the South African partner, with partial support from the South African Foundation for Research Development. This collaboration promises benefits to both institutions, which have ongoing research projects on system and device level control of FACTS, and to the power needs of both countries. Devices and control strategies not previously investigated in depth for the western North American power system will be evaluated in a system setting very similar to the US, thus speeding possible application and reducing development cost. The South African utility is interested in the potential of FACTS for a number of reasons, including: use in ESKOM's rural electrification program, as a technology for improving quality of supply, and as a solution for present stability problems. ***
