Power electronics in electric utilities – Large and small

Power flow control in large scale transmission systems have
traditionally been realized using thyristor based power electronic
converters and dc link voltage source converters. We will discuss some
of the recent developments that utilize ac link power converters, and
bridge of bridge power converters towards these applications.
Topologies, modeling, control and experimental results will be
presented. On a smaller scale, increasing interests in integration of
distributed and renewable energy sources are providing opportunities for
power converter based solutions to play a role in the emerging area of
microgrids. We will discuss some of the developments in modeling the
interactions between converter controls and system parameters and
conclude with a short discussion of upcoming opportunities and challenges.