Patent ID: 8552696

Claim:
A self-excited reactive power compensation apparatus, comprising: a self-excited converter connected to a power system having a plurality of phases, and including a self-arc-suppressing switching element; a voltage detector for detecting a system voltage of said power system; a current detector for detecting a current flowing between said power system and said self-excited converter; and a control device for controlling a reactive current output from said self-excited converter to said power system, by controlling said switching element, said control device including: a reactive current detecting unit for detecting said reactive current based on said current detected by said current detector, a voltage control unit for generating a current reference of said reactive current such that said system voltage follows a predetermined voltage, based on said system voltage detected by said voltage detector, a first reference generating unit for generating a first voltage reference of an output voltage output from said self-excited converter, such that said reactive current detected by said reactive current detecting unit follows said current reference, a second reference generating unit for generating a second voltage reference of said output voltage output from said self-excited converter, such that a value of said reactive current becomes a predetermined value, a selecting unit for selecting a maximum value from said first and second voltage references, and a signal generating unit for generating a drive signal for driving said switching element, based on the voltage reference selected by said selecting unit.