A regenerative elevator drive device, a method for buffering energy of a regenerative elevator drive device, and an elevator system are disclosed. The regenerative elevator drive device may include an inverter having a plurality of power components and a converter having a plurality of power components. The regenerative drive may further include a direct current (DC) link bridging the inverter and the converter, the DC link including a first capacitor bridging the inverter and the converter and a second capacitor in parallel with the first capacitor. The regenerative elevator drive device may be a multi-level regenerative drive device.