The Recent Development of Power Electronics and AC Machine Drive Systems

Abstract

Currently, power electronics and AC machine drive systems are employed in numerous areas, such as in industrial processes, consumer electronics, electric vehicles (EVs), renewable-energy-source (RES)-based distributed generation (DG) systems, and electric power generation systems. As RESs such as wind and solar are attracting relatively more attention due to environmental issues caused by fossil fuel use, various RESs have been integrated into the utility grid (UG) as DG systems. As a result, the concept of a microgrid (MG), which constructs an electrical power system with DGs, energy storage systems (ESSs), and loads, has emerged. Recently, the DG-based MG has been regarded as a promising and flexible technology for those involved in constructing electric power systems. This article presents future technology and recent developments in applied power electronics. In this Special Issue, “The Recent Development of Power Electronics and AC Machine Drive Systems”, four papers were published highlighting recent developments in this field. In addition, other topics beyond the coverage of the published articles are highlighted by a guest editor to address other trends and future topics related to the Special Issue. Through an in-depth investigation of recent development trends, this article seeks to encourage related studies in power electronics.

Keywords

• AC/DC microgrid
• distributed generation
• grid-connected inverters
• optimization of a power system
• power electronics
• renewable energy source