Power Grid Applications of High Temperature Superconductors

100 years of superconductor discoveries have long fostered the vision of a revolutionary lossless electric power grid, addressing key issues in our national and global energy crisis.  The 1986 discovery of high temperature superconductors (HTS) has brought this vision a major step closer to reality, with many unanticipated benefits beyond just lower losses.  HTS underground cables, both at distribution and transmission voltages, offer high power capacity in small diameters, easily installed and not interfering with other underground infrastructure; this solution addresses the urgent need for bringing more power into rapidly growing, congested urban areas.  HTS fault current limiters handle the dangerously high fault currents in expanding urban grids.  High power HTS motors and generators provide increased efficiency in a compact power-dense package.  These and many other applications now demonstrated in full scale prototypes put HTS power grid technologies at the take-off point for commercialization.