SUSTAINABILITY SOLUTIONS
TRANSITIONING TO A GREENER GLOBAL ENERGY INDUSTRY
With growing pressure for utilities to go greener, at scale, and quicker than ever before, Antonio Martinez Reina, global utility and renewable leader for ABB, explores the innovations in power distribution that are making it possible and the factors that are accelerating transformation
T
he Earth’s climate is rapidly changing. July saw the Earth’s average temperature reach record
highs, while other areas suffered wildfires, heavy rainfall and landslides which caused yet more devastation. There can be no clearer indication that climate change is a most pressing issue. If we continue to burn fossil fuels at the current
rate, we will exceed the 1.5˚C limit set out in the Paris Agreement. If we want to hit it, we must half our emissions every decade until 20501 Establishing a decisive shift from fossil fuels
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to clean energy is high on the agenda for progressive utilities looking to implement low- carbon strategies and help meet Net Zero targets. While the move to renewables will not be simple, it is the only way forward.
THE TECHNOLOGIES TRANSFORMING UTILITIES The rapid transformation of the electrical distribution infrastructure requires us to think about the network in a different way. We are no longer working with a centralised power plant generating electricity 24/7. To enable the transition to decentralised power generation, we need new systems and technologies. But, the good news is that these solutions are already here. Two of the main enabling technologies are energy storage and digitalisation. Balancing the grid is more challenging
without synchronous generation and inertia to smooth the peaks and troughs in demand, but it can be achieved using renewable energy in conjunction with battery energy storage systems (BESS). Batteries capture and store excess energy generated by solar or wind, and these energy reserves can be called upon to meet grid demand when the wind isn’t blowing, or the sun isn’t shining. Digitalisation is also key to managing a
decentralised generation network. It can control and monitor the BESS – deciding what to store and what can be sent back to the grid and when; it can help with asset management and the forecasting of renewable energy generation; and it can even offer remote monitoring. This last point is useful if your wind turbines or solar farms are installed in very remote locations, helping to operate and maintain the network more safely and reducing the cost of ownership of those assets. For example, the virtualisation of protection and control in distribution networks offers new possibilities to optimise the supply of renewable generation and achieve flexibility and scale. ABB’s SSC600 SW, the world’s very first virtualised protection and control solution for substations, enables operators to enhance automation by
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simply installing standalone software on the hardware of their choice. Also under the
digitalisation umbrella are advanced AI programs such as our Optimax product, which can predict energy generation based on weather forecasting, ensuring a renewable-based network runs as efficiently and effectively as possible. Balancing supply and demand could be almost as seamless as it is with synchronous generators.
ACCELERATING THE SCALE AND PACE OF CHANGE Plans to transition to a Net Zero utility network have been on the table for most organisations in the industry for many years, but it is the rollout of those ideas and plans which now need to step up a gear. The transition to a renewable energy-driven
Antonio Martinez Reina
network will require the installation of a lot of new equipment. To ensure this equipment slots into the network and power supplies are maintained, it is prudent to create a digital twin to simulate how the grid will behave. Such a model can be used to maximise assets and the flow and availability of energy, and it can help with the integration of renewable assets with existing equipment to prolong the working life of these assets. While it is not in the hands of utilities, the speed of transformation can be further propelled forward by local Government policy. There have been regulatory restrictions in the past that have hampered development, so we would like to see regulations evolve to support and invest in the building of new renewable energy infrastructure and, at the scale and speed required.
THE ROLE OF ENERGY SECURITY IN THE TRANSFORMATION OF UTILITIES Reaching the ‘point of no return’ for our planet should be enough to trigger a global response to climate change akin to the way countries rallied
to control the recent pandemic, but the pressure to achieve a more sustainable future has more recently come in response to the shockwaves in the global energy markets created by the geopolitical climate. Geopolitical instability sparked what the International Energy Agency (IEA) referred to as a ‘truly global energy crisis2
dramatic increases in energy prices, supply shortages, rising inflation and economic uncertainty, security issues, and even changes to government policy3
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While there was a scramble in the short term to source new resources to replace Russian gas, oil, and coal – including the reopening of coal power stations – there were many that could see the bigger picture, and this is accelerating the move to more sustainable fuels and renewable energy projects. In Europe, where many countries previously supplied Russian gas via the Nord Stream, there have been unprecedented levels of change already. Research suggests that 19 EU member states hit records in 2022 for the percentage of electricity generated by wind and solar power, saving eight billion m3 of gas4
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demonstrates that real progress can be achieved very quickly with the right impetus.
THINKING OF THE FUTURE There has been a growing appetite in the utility industry for green transformation for some time, but there is now a growing urgency for it. While fossil fuels represent a safety net for
utilities, they will not deliver the long-term energy security the world needs or halt climate change. We are at the tipping point, and there can be no way back. Now is the time to take action to create a low carbon and sustainable utility industry for future generations.
ABB
https://new.abb.com/uk
1
https://www.reuters.com/business/cop/how-close-are-we-passing-15-degrees-celsius-global-warming-2022-11-14/ 2
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-63400384
3
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/11/russia-ukraine-invasion-global-energy-crisis/ 4
https://www.euronews.com/green/2022/10/18/ukraine-war-pivot-to-wind-and-solar-power-saved-the-eu-11bn-new-research-shows ENERGY & SUSTAINABILITY SOLUTIONS - Autumn 2023
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www.essmag.co.uk
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