North Carolina State University, in collaboration with the New York Power Authority (NYPA) and EPRI, has designed and tested a high-efficiency solid state transformer (SST) capable of handling up to 1 MW of power under real-world conditions. Supported by NYPA and demonstrated at EPRI's laboratory in Lenox, Mass., the system underscores the technology's potential to improve energy efficiency, including at installations with significant power demand such as data centers, and to provide potential cost savings in grid operations. The SST can reduce heat loss associated with power production and due to its compact size can be used in areas with space constraints, such as urban areas. 

"This is the first independently verified, megawatt-class solid state transformer validated on a live utility distribution feeder," saysSrdjan Lukic, principal investigator on the SST project and Lampe Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at NC State."This is a significant step in advancing power transformer technology."

The SST prototype was designed, constructed, tested and deployed by NC State students and faculty. The prototype used in this NYPA-supported, EPRI-supervised demonstration was connected to a real distribution feeder at EPRI's power delivery laboratory.

Electricity is transmitted across power lines in the form of a high-voltage alternating current (AC). However, applications that require large loads, such as data centers and electric vehicles, make use of lower-voltage direct current (DC). Conventional power systems use two pieces of technology - a transformer and a rectifier - to convert high-voltage AC into low-voltage DC. These two together - the conventional transformer and rectifier - are only about 96% efficient, meaning typically approximately 4% of the power is lost as heat during the conversion process. SSTs function as both the transformer and the AC/DC rectifier. They are significantly more efficient resulting in only about 2% of the power being wasted.

View photo of the SST here

Media Contacts:   
Matt Shipman, NC State News Services,matt_shipman@ncsu.edu
Lynne Smith, NYPA,media.inquiries@nypa.gov