Superconductivity, an enabling technology for 21st century power systems?

Several technologies based on superconductivity are moving to practical use on electric power systems. The next decade will see operational prototypes of superconducting cables, transformers, SMES, and motors installed on electric utilities in sizes that are appropriate for power distribution applications. Will these installations lead to a change in the power system of the future? Will that power system (or parts of it) look different from what we see today? Two independent and very different issues will determine the answers to these questions. The first is the future demand for electric power, both locally and worldwide. The second is the progress in superconducting materials and the subsequent development of the applications mentioned above. Several very different scenarios have been proposed for the growth and evolution of electric power in the 21/sup st/ century. These scenarios will be described briefly and their implication for superconductivity will be discussed. Finally, the author predicts the likely penetration of superconducting technologies into electric power systems.