An Overview of SMES Applications in Power and Energy Systems

Superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES) is known to be a very good energy storage device. This article provides an overview and potential applications of the SMES technology in electrical power and energy systems. SMES is categorized into three main groups depending on its power conditioning system, namely, the thyristor-based SMES, voltage-source-converter-based SMES, and current-source-converter-based SMES. An extensive bibliography is presented on the applications of these three types of SMES. Also, a comparison is made among these three types of SMES. This study provides a basic guideline to investigate further technological development and new applications of SMES, and thus benefits the readers, researchers, engineers, and academicians who deal with the research works in the area of SMES.