Building the Electric Power Grid One Unit at a Time

As the world experiences an electrical revolution at a historic scale, equally historic innovations are essential to meet the changing demands of the electric grid. Beginning with light bulbs and moving forward through motor drives-all the way to today's renewable energy sources and the electrification of load sectors-global advances in electrical technology now rely on power electronics (PE). It is a key technology for power conditioning and grid integration of distributed energy resources and for delivering power over long distances mainly from offshore wind and utility-scale solar farms. The technology is vital for management and conversion of energy for end-use applications such as megawatt-scale charging infrastructure and industrial processes and equipment.