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Energy Savings in Public Power Distribution
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Superior silicon carbide power electronics could increase the efficiency and reliability of the
public electric power distribution system.
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Today, utilities generate on average 20 % more electricity than is consumed at any given time. This excess power reserve is needed to ensure that
electric service is reliably immune to everyday load changes and component failures that cause electrical glitches throughout the power grid. The
incorporation of solid-state "smart" power electronics into the power grid should significantly reduce the power reserve margin necessary for reliable
operation, because these semiconductor circuits can detect and instantaneously compensate for local glitches. It has been estimated that a mere 5 %
reduction in power reserve margin would eliminate the need for $50 billion worth of new power plants within the next 25 years. This same smart power
technology would also enable as much as 50 % larger power capacities to be carried over existing powerlines.
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Power semiconductor devices are a critical element of "smart" power electronics technology. Presently, these devices are all implemented in conventional
silicon-based semiconductor technology. Recent theorectical studies have shown that once silicon carbide semiconductor technology becomes sufficiently
developed, SiC power devices will greatly outperform silicon power devices. In short, SiC power devices could standoff higher voltages and
respond
faster using devices with lower parasitic resistances and physically sizes much smaller than silicon power devices. Faster switching speed not only
increases power system conversion efficiency, but it also enables the use of smaller transformers and capacitors to greatly shrink the overall size and
weight of the system. Furthermore, the high temperature capability of SiC greatly reduces cooling requirements that are also a substantial portion of
the total size and cost of a power conversion and distrubution system. SiC devices are therefore expected to drastically improve the distribution and
efficient usage of electric power in the 21st century.
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Additonal Background Information:
"High-Power Electronics" by N. Hingorani and K. Stahlkopf, Scientific American, November 1993.
"Introducing Custom Power" by N. G. Hingorani, IEEE Spectrum, vol. 32, no. 6, pp. 41-48, June 1995.
"Comparison of 6H-SiC, 3C-SiC, and Si for Power Devices," by M. Bhatnagar and B. J. Baliga, IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, vol. 40, pp. 645-655,
1993.
"Power ICs In The Saddle," by B. J. Baliga, IEEE Spectrum, vol. 32, no. 7, pp. 34-49, July 1995. |
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