The Concept of “Filter-Ready” Capacitor Banks

With the increasing adoption of renewable energy generation, such as solar and wind power, in electrical grids, the need to address challenges related to power quality control has emerged. While renewable energy sources are environmentally friendly, they can introduce harmonic distortions into the electrical grid, leading to power quality issues. In this context, harmonic filters play a crucial role in mitigating these unwanted effects, ensuring efficient and reliable operation of renewable energy installations. On that context,, "filter-ready" capacitor banks refer to the installation of capacitors with elevated ratings, ensuring they can be potentially transformed into harmonic filters in the future.
By installing capacitor banks with higher ratings than currently required, the plant can be prepared for the possibility of harmonic issues arising in the future. If harmonic problems become a concern, the excess capacity of these "filter-ready" capacitor banks can be utilized by adding additional components to convert them into harmonic filters and/or detuned capacitor banks. This conversion involves connecting reactors and other components to the capacitors, effectively transforming them into harmonic mitigation devices.