A Blast of Activity

The growth of wind power activities within the IEEE power & energy Society (PES) has been nothing short of phenomenal. Those who thought electric power was a mature industry have learned that it is far from that. Wind power has changed the face of the industry and has instigated fundamental changes in the ways power systems are designed and operated. Wind power blurs the traditional distinction between generating resources, which produce power according to dispatch commands from operators, and system load, which is variable and uncertain but predictable by means of forecasts. A lot has been learned, but as wind power penetration continues to increase, the challenges do too. PES has responded with a greatly increased level of wind-related activities.