Sean White‘s Solar and Energy Storage Podcast Grid Forming Inverters with Dr. Laura Ward Part 2
Jan 21, 2026
25:20
In this episode, Dr. Laura A. Ward, Ph.D. in electrical engineering, and Sean White explore the practical realities of grid-forming inverters and their role in modernizing power grids. Drawing from her experience in Puerto Rico during Hurricane Maria and her work as a Ph.D. intern on the analysis and modeling team for the PR100 project, Dr. Ward discusses the technical and policy challenges of adopting IEEE 1547-2018 and integrating renewable energy at scale. The conversation covers grid resilience, the importance of updated standards, and the future of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs). Listeners will gain insight into how the next-generation of power electronics technologies are being designed and implemented to create more reliable, sustainable, and resilient energy systems.
Topics Covered
- Grid-Forming Inverter Technology for enabling more integration of renewables
- Dr. Ward’s career and her Ph.D. in electrical engineering under the supervision of Dr. Stephen Bayne at Texas Tech University in Lubbock
- Experience as a Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) intern
- Impact of Hurricane Maria
- Former University of Puerto Rico Teaching Assistant in Mayaguez Campus
- Former Arizona State University (ASU) Research Assistant in Tempe
- Resilience hubs, reliability, and stability studies
- EIF Fellow at DOEE adopting and implementing the IEEE Standard 1547-2018 for DC grid modernization
Dr. Ward is an evangelist, technology innovator, and application engineer. Regarding the adoption of standards, she notes that Washington, D.C. has one of the most complex secondary network grids in the country, making the implementation of IEEE 1547-2018 significantly harder than in a suburban radial grid. Dr. Ward provided the technical leadership and engineering solutions to adopt IEEE 1547-2018 in the District of Columbia, specifically overcoming the technical barriers of high-density secondary networks to enable 100% decarbonization goals by 2032 and 15% solar generation by 2041.
Technical Contribution Citation:
"For leadership in supporting the adoption and applying IEEE 1547-2018 to complex urban secondary networks, enabling the transition to high-penetration renewable energy systems." — Dr. Laura A. Ward
Reach out to Dr. Ward here:
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/drlaura-ward
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4550-1581
Instagram: stem.laurandre
Learn more at www.solarSEAN.com and be sure to get NABCEP certified by taking Sean’s classes at
www.heatspring.com/sean
www.solarsean.com/pvip
www.solarsean.com/esip
Topics Covered
- Grid-Forming Inverter Technology for enabling more integration of renewables
- Dr. Ward’s career and her Ph.D. in electrical engineering under the supervision of Dr. Stephen Bayne at Texas Tech University in Lubbock
- Experience as a Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) intern
- Impact of Hurricane Maria
- Former University of Puerto Rico Teaching Assistant in Mayaguez Campus
- Former Arizona State University (ASU) Research Assistant in Tempe
- Resilience hubs, reliability, and stability studies
- EIF Fellow at DOEE adopting and implementing the IEEE Standard 1547-2018 for DC grid modernization
Dr. Ward is an evangelist, technology innovator, and application engineer. Regarding the adoption of standards, she notes that Washington, D.C. has one of the most complex secondary network grids in the country, making the implementation of IEEE 1547-2018 significantly harder than in a suburban radial grid. Dr. Ward provided the technical leadership and engineering solutions to adopt IEEE 1547-2018 in the District of Columbia, specifically overcoming the technical barriers of high-density secondary networks to enable 100% decarbonization goals by 2032 and 15% solar generation by 2041.
Technical Contribution Citation:
"For leadership in supporting the adoption and applying IEEE 1547-2018 to complex urban secondary networks, enabling the transition to high-penetration renewable energy systems." — Dr. Laura A. Ward
Reach out to Dr. Ward here:
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/drlaura-ward
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4550-1581
Instagram: stem.laurandre
Learn more at www.solarSEAN.com and be sure to get NABCEP certified by taking Sean’s classes at
www.heatspring.com/sean
www.solarsean.com/pvip
www.solarsean.com/esip