Enspec Power’s Muhammad Hanan Azam has received the Best Paper Award at IEEE PECon 2026 for his technical paper presented at the international conference in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.
Hanan presented “Maximum Active Power Dispatch Considering Grid Code Reactive Power Capability Requirements: A Wind Farm Case Study” at the conference, which took place on 10–11 August.
It was Hanan’s first opportunity to represent Enspec Power at an international conference, making the recognition particularly special.
After receiving the award, Hanan said:
“Our paper has won the Best Paper Award, and I am glad that the Enspec name is echoed among many international researchers from Germany, Italy, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and other parts of the world.”
Exploring reactive power capability for wind farms
Hanan’s paper considers reactive power capability requirements for Grid Code compliance and proposes a methodology to determine the maximum feasible active power dispatch for a wind farm while satisfying reactive power capability requirements at the Point of Connection (PoC).
The methodology considers the coupling between active and reactive power together with network constraints.
The work can support network operators and developers during the planning stages by providing improved visibility of the maximum compliant dispatchable capacity relative to the installed plant capacity. This can enable a more informed assessment of suitable registered capacity or Maximum Export Capacity (MEC) values while maintaining compliance with Grid Code requirements.
Kerim Ozer, Director of Consultancy at Enspec Power, explained the practical importance of considering this during the grid connection process:
“Hanan winning the Best Paper Award at IEEE PECon is a great achievement. His work addresses an important issue for onshore wind farms. Registered capacity is usually decided based on the maximum WTG active power capacity at LV, but losses and transformation to the Point of Connection at 66 kV and above can lead to non-compliance with reactive power requirements, particularly on the capacitive side of the P-Q Grid Code envelope.
“Considering this at the grid connection application stage can help developers set a more realistic registered capacity from the start, reducing the potential impact on investment decisions and commercial figures later in the project.
“We are very proud of Hanan and pleased to see his work recognised internationally.”
Representing Enspec on an international stage
IEEE PECon brought together researchers from around the world to share developments and research within electrical engineering and power systems.
For Hanan, the conference provided his first opportunity to represent Enspec Power internationally and present his work to the wider research community.
Returning with the Best Paper Award is a fantastic achievement and recognition of the work behind the paper.
Congratulations, Hanan, from everyone at Enspec Power.
The paper is expected to be available through IEEE Xplore following publication.
