The key players in the energy transition...

… with IT as an ‘enabler’

The energy transition places a heavy burden on the shoulders of grid operators. They are facing many challenges, which makes their position similar to that of a juggler who has to keep several balls in the air at the same time.

• Huge increase in electricity consumption
  The demand for electricity will increase significantly in the years ahead. This will be due to advances such as electric vehicles, heat pumps that will provide heating to many homes, and the rise of data centers as well. Some forecasts predict that by 2030, half of all electricity consumption will be attributed to data centers.
• Congestion
  At the same time, the supply of sustainably generated energy will also surge, with wind and solar making up the lion’s share. Everyone has surely noticed this trend in recent years: solar panels and wind turbines are now a part of our landscape. Huge wind farms are being built in the North Sea. So much additional electricity has been generated that the grid operators’ network is “bursting at the seams”. And when the supply is greater than the network’s capacity, it results in congestion. This mainly occurs in rural areas where the network is weaker and solar parks abound.
• “Going gas-free”
  The Netherlands is going gas-free. By 2021, municipalities must come up with heating transition plans in which they indicate what each neighborhood will use instead. This also presents an interesting challenge for grid operators. When it comes to heating buildings, natural gas will be replaced partly by electricity and partly by thermal power.
• Affordability
  In response to the energy transition, grid operators must make substantial investments in their networks. Concerns in this regard include affordability and, of course, public support for the energy transition. Grid operators therefore focus on the following three points when it comes to investment decisions: anticipate, enhance and go smart.

Smart networks thanks to IT

Grid operators are making every effort to use the network as optimally and efficiently as possible. Various technologies are available to balance the electricity supply and demand, such as electricity grids with smart algorithms, network sensors that monitor voltage levels and quality, and the data produced by smart energy meters in households. All of these are aimed at making the grid “smarter”.

Now much more than in the past, grid operators are being asked to show flexibility in order to accommodate fluctuations in supply and demand and make the grid robust enough for the future. The optimal use of IT is essential in this regard.

Consider for example the following IT applications:

• While it used to be very common for consumption data to be processed in batches at specific times, it has now become much easier to process and view data in real time. This offers more opportunities than you might think. For example, it is possible to make agreements with companies that can be flexible in their electricity needs. These companies can enjoy a discounted rate if they switch off their machines during the network’s peak load times, or they can get paid for purchasing electricity when the supply exceeds the demand.
• Asset maintenance is an important issue for grid operators. The Internet of Things and machine learning can be used to create a bridge between short- and long-term asset management planning, thus increasing the acceptance of condition monitoring.
• Predictive maintenance helps to anticipate when maintenance of these assets is truly necessary, for instance based on weather conditions, malfunction data and maintenance history.
• Data can also be used to predict where and when the capacity will need to be expanded. An example would be a neighborhood where many residents drive an electric car: in this case it might be necessary to expand the network capacity.

Want to learn more?

Every day we help our clients in the energy sector with their digital transformation. Do you want to learn more about the possibilities that technologies like Artificial Intelligence and Cloud Native have to offer your organization? We will be happy to assist you.