Dr. Gab-Su Seo received the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea, in 2015. From 2016 to 2017, he was a research associate with the Colorado Power Electronics Center, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA. Since 2018, he has been with the Power Systems Engineering Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO, USA. At NREL, he leads research projects focused on power electronics and power systems applications for electric grids with high integration of inverter-based resources. Dr. Seo is an IEEE Roadmap Working Group Chair of the International Technology Roadmap of Power Electronics for Distributed Energy Resources (ITRD)--WG3 Integration and Control of DER. He is an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics. He is currently the secretary of the IEEE Power Electronics Society Technical Committee on Sustainable Energy Systems.
Keynote Speech: Challenges and Opportunities of High Levels of Inverter-based Resources in Power Grids
Abstract: This keynote introduces state-of-the-art and emerging renewable energy grid integration technologies for power grids with high levels of inverter-based resources (IBRs). The talk will first discuss the technical challenges in renewable energy integration in today’s grids due to the increasing level of IBRs. To overcome these challenges, potential solutions from the machine-to-electronics paradigm shift are introduced, including grid-forming inverters. Centered on the proactive use of IBRs to stabilize and maintain the reliability of future grids without synchronous machines, it will disseminate outcomes from recent research and development projects. It will also discuss leveraging existing technologies to support the grid, such as inverters with grid support functions, synchronous condensers, and STATCOM, to realize the new and dynamic energy landscape. Based on the understanding of emerging enabling technologies and recent R&DD project outcomes, the talk will elucidate the pathways to future power systems with high IBRs.