2022 IEEE Smart Grid Bulletin Publications – A Year of Significant Changes in Policies and Frameworks for the Clean Energy Transition

Written by Panayiotis Moutis, Mehrdad Rostami, and Binesh Kumar

Since no government or republic exists in a vacuum, it is only fair to assume that this commitment will raise an additional few (if not several) trillions of dollars in investments and initiatives by other countries, as also the private sector in the exact same direction.

 

Significance of 2022

The year 2022 will go down in history books as the time when one of the most significant contributors to climate change, the USA, committed about half a trillion dollars to the energy sector and activities to mitigate the effects and reduce the amounts of carbon and other emissions to the world’s climate. Since no government or republic exists in a vacuum, it is only fair to assume that this commitment will raise an additional few (if not several) trillions of dollars in investments and initiatives by other countries, as also the private sector in the exact same direction. The undertaking is huge, the aspirations and foreseen projects are already formulated and budgeted, and the path forward is both exciting and challenging.

 

The Era of Industrial Evolution

The Industrial Revolution was the fuse for wide socioeconomic growth, leaps in scientific, human, and cultural advances, as also, and unavoidably, of what two centuries later we identified as Climate Change. We are on the cusp of Industrial Evolution; a new era, where humanity’s growth is conscious of its effect on the environment and, thus, on ourselves as part of it. Energy efficiency, clean energy, and reduction of all kinds of waste are aspects of the same overarching goal. The coming years will shape our common destiny and call on us to identify clearly what, how, and to what extent we can contribute to the goal.

 

IEEE Smart Grid Community - Vision and Purpose

Within the IEEE Smart Grid Community, every year, we attempt to get the pulse of what the digitalization of the electricity sector brings and requires for us all who are part of it. Even though we were foreseeing the dawn of this “Industrial Evolution” from earlier years, we could not count on it or lightly take it for granted. Now that new ways, means, and efforts are imminent, we can take pride in our foresight to frame this new era via the publications in the Bulletin. Especially in 2022, we put together some special issues that – we believe – clearly articulate what one should expect from the Smart Grid and the areas and topics it includes and touches in this landscape.

Two full issues were devoted to Grid Integration of distributed energy resources. With various funding incentives and rampant research on how inverter-based resources of these types are interacting with the grid, we were delighted to welcome more than a dozen authors spanning eight articles on this subject across August and September. Another three issues we are particularly proud of and bear a somewhat common thread are business modeling, standards development, and quality and reliability of service. The vast amounts of incentives and the initiatives to implement the clean energy transition will require an efficient path to implementation that is conducted according to strict frameworks for the security, stability, and longevity of the power system, its assets, and the billions of customers of numerous types and expectations it will serve.

 

Looking Ahead to 2023

In 2022, we solemnly and rigorously tried to collect best views, concerns, and experiences that justify and shape the urgency of the clean energy transition within the electricity sector and, specifically, within the aims and scopes of the Smart Grid applications and research. We have most definitely not covered all bases and looking towards 2023 we wish to better understand what topics are necessary to be addressed and challenges to be identified. We have already put together some plans for the first half of 2023, but always appreciate your inputs and comments. You can always find us via our contact details or, if you are passionate about the Smart Grid as we are, join us as volunteers in the Publications Committee and the other activities.

A huge shout out to the Editorial Team including our expert editors and guest reviewers, and to our staff for managing and keeping things running smoothly behind the scenes. We wish you all very happy holidays and look forward to an exciting new year with a lot in store for 2023.

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To view all articles in this issue, please go to December 2022 eBulletin. For a downloadable copy, please visit the IEEE Smart Grid Resource Center.