Wind energy powers-that-be successor generation in globalization

After a historic introduction, today's wind power technology is reviewed on a systems level, with some details, and with some brave suggestions for wind technology 2030 when power electronics (PE) will be some 2000 GW. Eternal themes like "electricity storage" are avoided. Aspects of drive-trains in towers and collection grids in parks are concisely described in the paper's core, including: 1) a power circuit scheme eliminating mechanical stress in geared drive-trains at grid faults and low-voltage ride-through (LVRT); 2) a brushless drive-train with partly rated PE; 3) a clarification of transients in cable collection grids including causes, prevention, and mitigation; and 4) details of interactions between PE and cables at faults. IEEE members are challenged to meet emerging demands, and to host future renewable energy (RE) conversion with education, standards, R&D, and wind system coordination, defined well above automation.