TC 12: Energy Access and Off-Grid Systems

Following the success of Empower a Billion Lives (EBL), a strong expression of interest in the technologies underlying energy access, and a burgeoning need for power systems with more autonomous control that can be implemented in a highly decentralized manner, TC 12 is being formed to provide global leadership in this important area.  Some of the topics of interest to TC 12 that are rapidly gaining prominence, represent some of the emerging technical challenges that power electronics will face, and are at the heart of enabling successful solutions for energy access include:

• Autonomous inverters for inverter dominant grids
• DC nanogrids
• Decentralized bottom-up grids
• Energy access solutions
• Grid as an ecosystem
• Hyper-efficient appliances, including CHP
• Real-time control of inverters to meet the physical, market, and cyber needs
• Self-organizing grids and microgrids
• Sensing, architecture, market, and business models for energy access
• Ultra-automation in AC or DC microgrids

For more information, please contact Sanjib Panda about TC 12 and Jane Celusak about EBL.