Thank you all for your time.
I am verging towards a high-torque pony motor (11 KV, 600 KW, 36 Amps, 3000 RPM) coupled at the ODE of the main motor. (This would of course involve replacing the shaft and an additional motor bed, which is not a biggie). The pony motor LRA would be about 5 times i.e. 180 A, which would not trip the utility O/L relay, which is set at 200 Amps
I am also planning to have a 500 KVAR, 30 A, 11 KV PFC capacitor bank for the main 1850 KW motor. This PFC cap would be energized along with the pony motor, which should reduce the inrush current further to (180 – 30) = 150 A. This PFC cap will stay energized in the circuit as long as the main motor is running. When the pony motor reaches the full speed, the main motor will be energized (possibly with an inrush of very short period) and the pony motor will be de-energized.
Sequence of starting
1. Energize the pony motor along with the PFC cap with an inrush of 150 Amps app.
2. When the pony motor reaches the full speed, energize the main motor.
3. De-energize only the pony motor with PFC cap running in parallel with the main motor.
4. During this starting process, the compressor will be fully unloaded.
Do you see any issues with this set-up ?
Muthu