FEATURE Smart factories & AI
BALANCING GROWTH, ENERGY AND DECARBONISATION
BALANCING GROWTH, ENERGY AND DECARBONISATION
Olivier Blum has recently been appointed Chief Executive Officer, and is Acting EVP Energy Management
T
he recent equinox brought an equal split of day and night, it also served as an important reminder of the balance we must seek in
our journey toward Net Zero by 2050. The world’s population is projected to surge by two billion by mid-century, with an additional one billion people still lacking access to energy today. On top of this, our energy needs are not just increasing — they’re transforming. Digital advancements like AI, quantum shopping demand more power than ever, with energy representing over 80% of the world’s carbon emissions, making the need for clean, scalable energy solutions more urgent.
AI holds great promise for humankind, but is expected to contribute about 200 terawatt-hours per year to data centre power consumption between 2023 and 2030, placing unprecedented demands on our energy infrastructure. To address these challenges, we must embrace the three pillars of ‘replace, electrify, and reduce’. By prioritising digitisation – what we call Electricity 4.0 - we can ensure that technology and buildings, industry, and transportation cleanest possible energy mix.
is the relationship between supply and demand. On the supply side, the focus is on replacing fossil fuels with clean energy sources. On the demand side, it’s about electrifying energy use and improving Replace and Electrify are key long-term
26 November 2024 | Automation
strategies, and although these solutions need to accelerate, it will take time to implement – transitioning to renewable energy, electric vehicles, heat pumps and industrial processes need sustained investment. Reducing energy consumption and improving circularity, however, can be a shorter-term goal delivering more Switching to clean energy sources is an obvious way to cut carbon emissions, but that of course needs more clean energy supply (the energy transition) which, in turn, needs time. So, we have to consider many options to maintain the right balance. Data centers, for example, face their own equilibrium challenge: they must scale up their energy consumption to meet the increasing demand for data, all while keeping carbon emissions in check. Consequently, we are seeing data centre owners turning to consultancy services to tackle their ESG goals not just through green power procurement, but also monitoring, reporting and design. Solutions include switching from energy intensive air cooling to liquid cooling, replacing existing supply agreements with clean power purchasing agreements, and replacing diesel gensets with battery storage solutions for back-up (which can have impacts far beyond data centers, to hospitals and other critical infrastructure). Microgrids also play a vital role in the energy transition, enabling users to generate their own clean energy, become energy autonomous and avoid the risk of energy price volatility. Alongside Citizens Energy Corporation, we deployed a microgrid to serve four critical facilities on the campus of The Daughters of Mary of
the Immaculate Conception. The solution will provide approximately 545 thousand kilowatt hours of additional solar energy each year. To achieve balance with energy supply, we need to electrify energy demand. From steel works, to transport and to heating, in many sectors today to carbon emissions. However, making this a reality will require infrastructure, and with over 701 GW of projects in the connections queue – more than four times the predicted electricity needs by 2050 – progress is urgent. The grid is becoming smarter, more digital, and more resilient. But as the energy landscape transitions to cleaner supply to reduce pressure on the infrastructure (and also reduce volatile energy costs). Finding ways to cut energy usage through smarter solutions has never been more crucial, especially with global resource consumption projected to rise by 60% by 2060. From intelligent home systems that automatically adjust temperatures, considers everything from weather patterns to occupancy levels, the tools to reduce For example, simply optimising thermostat We also need to consider reducing the materials we use. Adding insulation to homes and businesses, for instance, can minimising energy waste. Following the energy crisis of 2022-2023, a staggering 75% of households actively worked to lower their energy usage, primarily to cut costs. top home improvement priority.
Schneider Electric
www.se.com
automationmagazine.co.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48
