The global energy landscape is on the cusp of transformational changes. To ease the migration to clean power, switching to renewables with as little friction as possible is key. The switch is bringing about a revolution in electricity generation and expanding its role across economies. According to a special report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the world’s electricity use needs to grow 20% faster in the next decade than it did in the previous one, if national energy and climate goals are to be met.
Centrality of the grid
A crucial element in this complex shift is the power grid.
Power grids have been the backbone of electricity transmission and distribution for more than a century. For the future, the grid will be expected to bear a significant burden with electrification taking deeper roots in society.
It’s a fact reinforced by the IEA who revealed that operators would have to add or replace 80 million km of grids — equivalent to all grids available globally today — by 2040 to achieve climate targets and ensure reliable energy supply.
So what are the challenges?
First is expanding the grid which, although just one part of the problem, is essential.
Renewable energy projects are growing in number and are supplying power to an already congested grid. It means issues related to traffic volume, load distribution, transmission and storage will only worsen. Not to mention the mushrooming of micro and nano grids that need to be connected to the larger network.
This creates a second problem of a highly unpredictable energy environment which means a modern grid must be able to balance supply to demand in real time, due to the intermittent nature of wind and solar power.
There is also a third consideration. Prosumers are a new crop of consumers and businesses who, in increasing number, produce energy locally from rooftop solar panels, electric vehicles and home batteries etc., and are quite inclined to channel the excess power back to the grid.
The needs of this small but growing community must also be met.
How does a smart grid tackle these problems?
The transition to green energy requires an intelligent grid system capable of managing the complexities associated with renewables.
Smart grids powered by Industry 4.0 will deploy the latest digital solutions, including software and sensors to monitor and control operations. All in real time while reducing costs and maintaining the integrity of the grid.
Connectivity offered by private wireless to digital twins, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML), the Internet of Things (IoT), edge computing, automation, robotics, augmented and virtual reality, smart meters and big data analytics will revolutionize the way grid operators work and give a fillip to the wider decarbonization drive.
Digitalization of the grid is an all-encompassing phenomenon. Long Term Evolution (LTE) is a key 4G technology and it’s been around for some time. The arrival of licensed wireless spectrum has enabled private networks such as LTE (4.9G) and 5G to play a major role in providing for grid communications. Industrial-grade private wireless can provide grid operators with a network that is ubiquitous, independent, self-contained, self-healing and secure.
The rise of Microgrids
The shift to renewables is triggering a new trend, the proliferation of microgrids in the energy sector. Microgrids operate independently from the traditional grid. They offer immense efficiency and flexibility, especially when it comes to distributed energy resources like solar. Since microgrids can operate during outages, it reinforces grid resilience and helps mitigate disturbances.
Private wireless networks can empower the microgrid controller by helping it to connect to assets administering the grid. It enables optimal load balancing between energy demand and availability of local distributed energy resources. It does away with the need to deploy cabling to connect sensors and other devices associated with operating the microgrid, leading to faster deployment and expansion.
Energy consumption is witnessing a huge spike and data linked to production, use and storage needs to be monitored. This is often done by applications based in the cloud that have limitations. This is where edge computing comes in by deploying computing capabilities right at the source of the data and users. The edge basically takes on the role of an intermediary, facilitating communication and storage between computing resources and the smart grid.
There is a big push to edge compute for processing multiple streams of data in near real-time, robustly, with low latent communications and with cybersecurity that is with low or no overheads. The key is using the right tool for the right job.
Sophisticated AI-infused analytic software can help grid operators to turn information into actionable intelligence, too. At the same time, machine learning could help in managing asset maintenance programmes, upkeep of records, forecasts and weather tracking.
Digital twins accelerates ‘time to insight’
Furthermore, a smart grid can leverage the benefits of digital twin technology, one of the most promising applications of the early industrial metaverse that creates virtual replicas of physical objects. Currently, grids in distant locations use fiber supporting Supervisory Control and Data Acquisitions (SCADA) connectivity for remote monitoring and control. Digital twins will allow operators to clone the entire environment of a power grid, gain valuable operational insights in real time and not just experience the physical world in a virtual space, but control it.
Likewise, automation can assist in increasing reliability and lowering cost, given the surge in devices and applications in energy grids. It can even help balancing the grid in case of outages and regulate supply and demand. It, again, allows for the easy deployment of new devices and applications.
Virtualization, another product of digitalization, contributes to grid resiliency. Services and apps can be quickly launched in the event of an outage or anomaly. It can aid in grid control, monitoring and restoration. Virtualization can effectively make maintenance and administration of the grid a largely compute-based task.
The grid is vital to energy transition
Without a bigger, smarter and more digitally resilient power grid, the transition to clean energy is bound to stall. The concerted push to promote clean energy must be underpinned by state-of-the-art power grids. Policymakers, grid operators, utilities and the markets are cognizant of this reality. The urgent action to modernize the grid along with the adoption of the latest communications solutions is imperative for renewable energy to be mainstreamed.
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