How digital tools can support the renewable energy transition

 

Lisa Wee, Vice-President of Sustainability, AVEVA

 

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Global appetites for renewable energy are on the rise as more companies pursue net zero targets and pressure from consumers and regulators increases.

 

However, delivering on our ambitious goals of keeping global average temperature increases to under 1.5°C requires embracing every available method. Industrial software solutions can help deliver the goods.

 

Renewable energy producers face several major challenges in scaling up to deliver the comprehensive gains required to effect widescale change. Renewable sources such as wind and solar are intermittent and unpredictable compared to fossil fuels, requiring advanced capabilities to manage supply and demand. These sources are widely dispersed across broad geographical areas, often in remote locations. Energy producers consequently face a data challenge, with the need to collate data from many more sources – often hundreds or thousands of wind farms and solar panel systems. Finally, producers face the problem of cost: although the price of renewables has gone down, building new facilities or retrofitting existing units requires significant investment, both to build the physical units and to connect the digital solutions to manage this data in real-time and visualise and contextualise it for effective action.

 

The transition to low carbon energy not only requires the use of new technologies but also means that energy firms will have to operate in an entirely new way to deliver energy to their customers. AVEVA has a proven track record of creating and delivering bespoke digital tools that enable energy organisations to address key sustainability challenges while improving value chain efficiencies.

 

AVEVA’s suite of industrial solutions offers a way to measure and monitor carbon emissions metrics across assets and operations and collate this information into one convenient single-window view for secure and comprehensive visibility at any time.

 

Layering this integrated data with artificial intelligence-infused analytics can help predict asset performance over time. The software helps strengthen grid reliability by preventing blackouts while simultaneously offering insight into consumption patterns. Overall, stakeholders are empowered to make better decisions, optimise the value chain and thrive in a fast-moving world.

 

The renewable energy sector has adopted digital technologies at an accelerated pace since the coronavirus outbreak. According to the International Energy Agency, renewables are forecast to account for almost 95 per cent of the increase in global power capacity through 2026, with solar photovoltaics alone providing more than half.

 

Businesses are beginning to realise that profitability and responsible business go hand in hand.

 

When industrial businesses cut waste from the system and improve operational efficiency, they can reduce their costs and cut carbon emissions, in turn helping limit global warming. The tools to support that transition are available to us today.

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For more information please visit www.aveva.com/en/about/sustainability