The urgent need to reduce carbon emissions is leading to growing use of renewable electricity, particularly from wind and photovoltaics. However, the intermittent nature of these power sources presents challenges to power systems, which need to ensure high and consistent power quality. Going forward, power systems also need to be able to respond to changes in loads, for example from EV charging. Neither production nor load changes can be predicted precisely, and so there is a degree of uncertainty or fuzziness. One way to meet these challenges is to use a kind of artificial intelligence -...

In order to fulfill the tremendous worldwide demand for electrification, power line professionals will need to adopt rapid, reliable and sustainable solutions. For example, in a fast-developing country like India, which had the largest population without electricity in 2014 and 1.34 billion inhabitants in 2017, the demand for electrification is immense. In recent years, a new program facilitated 0.73 million new household connections per month and almost 19,000 villages per year.

Wide-spread experience in geographical, geological, social and economic diversity leaves no doubt that...

Deploying lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries depends on cost-effective electrode materials with high energy and power density to facilitate lower weight and volume. Si-based anode materials theoretically offer superior lithium storage capacity. Replacing a graphite anode with high-capacity materials such as silicon will further improve the energy density. Durable, low-cost, and high-energy-density materials are vital to developing plug-in electric vehicles as affordable and convenient as gasoline-powered ones, while reducing carbon emissions.

This reference presents the knowledge gained...

Wind power is a pillar of low emission energy systems. Designing more efficient wind turbines and farms, and increasing reliability and flexibility, is an area of intense research and development. In order to overcome the intermittent character of wind power, both the individual turbines and the wind farm as a whole must be considered.

Many recent advances have been achieved in multiple aspects of utility-scale wind power. This structured research review conveys recent progress, with chapters written by an international team of experts.

Organized into five parts, the book...

High-frequency switching power semiconductor devices are at the heart of power electronic converters. To date, these devices have been dominated by the well-established silicon (Si) technology. However, their intrinsic physical limits are becoming a barrier to achieving higher performance power conversion. Wide Bandgap (WBG) semiconductor devices offer the potential for higher efficiency, smaller size, lighter weight, and/or longer lifetime. Applications in power grid electronics as well as in electromobility are on the rise, but a number of technological bottle-necks need to be overcome...

The importance of power electronic converters for electricity grid equipment is increasing due to the growing distribution-level penetration of renewable energy sources. The performance of the converters mostly depends on interactions between sources, loads, and their state of operation. These devices must be operated with safety and stability under normal conditions, fault conditions, overloads, as well as different operation modes. Therefore, enhanced control strategies of power electronic converters are necessary to improve system stability.

This book for researchers and...

In solar cell production, metallization is the manufacturing of metal contacts at the surfaces of solar cells in order to collect the photo-generated current for use. Being one of the most expensive steps in solar cell fabrication, it plays both an electrical and an optical role, because the contacts contribute to shading, and to the series resistance of solar cells. In addition, metal contacts may reduce the solar cells voltage due to charge carrier recombination at the metal / silicon interface. Addressing these challenges could increase solar cell conversion efficiency while cutting...

Microgrids have emerged as a promising solution for accommodating the integration of renewable energy resources. But the intermittency of renewable generation is posing challenges such as voltage/frequency fluctuations, and grid stability issues in grid-connected modes. Model predictive control (MPC) is a method for controlling a process while satisfying a set of constraints. It has been in use for chemical plants and in oil refineries since the 1980s, but in recent years has been deployed for power systems and electronics as well.

This concise work for researchers, engineers and...

Photovoltaic electricity generation is a rapidly growing industry, and a key pillar of a decarbonised energy system. In modern solar cells, laser technology is used to form localised structures such as a selective emitter through doping or to locally ablate dielectric layers for contact definition. A critical factor is the ability to passivate the laser-induced defects to prevent premature charge carrier recombination reducing the cell efficiency. Hydrogenation is such a passivation technique. The exact mechanisms have until recently been poorly understood, so this timely reference covers...

The development of offshore wind power has become a pressing energy issue, driven by the need to find new electrical power sources and to reduce the use of fossil fuels. Offshore wind farms can harness tremendous wind resources without annoying citizens and with a comparatively low environmental impact. They are thus becoming a central pillar of a carbon free energy system. However offshore turbines and wind farms are costly to install and maintain, making reliability and cost-effectiveness key issues. This work covers reliability of offshore wind farms as a whole, starting from weather...