Ubiquitous Power Electronics in Future Power Systems: Recommendations to Fully Utilize Fast Control Capabilities

Power systems worldwide are evolving toward a new mix of generating resources, transmission networks, and consumption devices, driven by economic development, environmental sustainability, and deep electrification. The resource mix has been changing in recent years with rapidly growing inverter-based resources such as wind, solar generation, and battery storage. The electricity infrastructure is also evolving, being augmented with dc power lines, flexible alternating current transmission systems (FACTS), and solid-state transformers. Electric loads are being transformed by the electrification of end uses such as electric vehicles (EVs) as well as the adoption of new grid interfaces such as variable frequency drives and digital power supplies. All these evolutions have one thing in common-power electronics. They all need power electronics to connect to the rest of the power system (Figure 1). As a result, a high percentage of electricity will be generated, transmitted, and consumed by power electronics in the future power system.