Category: Tech Talk

If tech powers the future, who powers the tech?

If tech powers the future, who powers the tech?

Jun 14, 2021 |

For the power and utilities (P&U) sector, the long-imagined future of energy is becoming the present: governments are aggressively planning to decarbonize, the prices of renewables and electric vehicles (EVs) are falling, and both customer and investor expectations are becoming more aligned with sustainability. EV adoption will soar, creating a vast replacement market, new fuel opportunities and a new ecosystem tapping into new value pools, but the market is highly competitive.

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How cybersecurity can accelerate innovation in power and utilities

How cybersecurity can accelerate innovation in power and utilities

May 26, 2021 |

Reliable electricity supply directly impacts the functioning of society, so no wonder why this sector is an extremely attractive target for a range of cybersecurity adversaries. In the EMEA region alone, the energy industry is one of the top sectors prone to a cyberattack, with rising numbers of daily reported incidents. Not only are attacks increasing, but EY’s recent survey also suggests that detecting many of these attacks is getting harder.

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Nordic TSO’s focus on sector integration and wind power development

Nordic TSO’s focus on sector integration and wind power development

May 3, 2021 |

The Nordic transmission system operators (TSOs) face the challenges of the transition to a cleaner energy system and are preparing to act as enablers. In this context, the four TSOs – Energinet.dk (Denmark), Fingrid Ojy (Finland), Statnett SF (Norway) and Svenska Kraftnät AB (Sweden) – are in the process of formulating a common strategy for the next 10 years (up to 2030) to meet the developments in wind power and sector integration.

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Cleaning techniques for floating solar systems

Cleaning techniques for floating solar systems

Apr 29, 2021 |

Dust and soils have negative impacts on the efficiency of PV panels. Therefore, the importance of cleaning PV panels is considerable from both economic and performance points of view. A key factor to maximizing the economic advantage is the determination of cleaning times. There is no specified cleaning cycle for PV panels, and the soiling rate of the region mostly determines the cleaning frequency.

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Eco-design and energy labelling for solar PV in the EU

Eco-design and energy labelling for solar PV in the EU

Mar 31, 2021 |

The European Commission’s policy scenario evaluation concluded that the best way to further regulate PV panels was via a combination of mandatory and voluntary policy instruments. This scenario evaluation considered mandatory instruments such as eco-design measures for photovoltaic panels and inverters, augmented by the use of the Energy Label for residential PV systems, and voluntary instruments such as Green Public Procurement Criteria.

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Indonesia’s Biomass Cofiring Bet: Beware of the Implementation Risks

Indonesia’s Biomass Cofiring Bet: Beware of the Implementation Risks

Mar 1, 2021 |

IEEFA believes that a focused effort to prioritize particular regions could be more viable than chasing the dream of an ambitious nation-wide deployment plan. A targeted deployment plan focused on demonstrating commercial viability and PLN’s willingness to support long-term purchase agreements would send a stronger positive signal to attract major investments for the biomass industry. Indonesia has the potential to become a powerhouse for the biomass industry, and the cofiring ambition could be a starting point to spark its development.

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Transitioning towards renewable methanol to reduce carbon emissions

Transitioning towards renewable methanol to reduce carbon emissions

Feb 4, 2021 |

A transition to renewable methanol could expand methanol’s use as a chemical feedstock and fuel while moving industrial and transport sectors toward net carbon neutral goals. The cost of renewable methanol production is currently high and production volumes are low. But with the right policies, renewable methanol could be cost competitive by 2050 or earlier.

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How charging in buildings can power up the electric-vehicle industry

How charging in buildings can power up the electric-vehicle industry

Jan 11, 2021 |

While EV charging stations in private residences are quite common today, on-site commercial charging will need to become a standard building feature in the next ten years to meet consumer demand. Across the three most advanced EV markets—China, the EU-27 plus the United Kingdom, and the United States—charging in residential and commercial buildings is the dominant place for the foreseeable future and will remain key to scaling the industry.

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Strategies for cost reduction of green hydrogen

Strategies for cost reduction of green hydrogen

Jan 5, 2021 |

Gaps in cost and performance are expected to narrow over time as innovation and mass deployment of different electrolysis technologies drive convergence towards similar costs. The wide range in system costs is expected to remain, however, as this is very much dependent on the scale, application and scope of delivery.

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Virtual power plants to become a key driver for renewables adoption and integration

Virtual power plants to become a key driver for renewables adoption and integration

Dec 17, 2020 |

A VPP is essentially a network that aggregates multiple smaller-scale generation sources, alongside energy storage systems and flexible power consumers. These VPPs relieve grid load with smart software applications that will enable the balancing and management of power sources to support both the integration of intermittent renewable sources and the adoption of more distributed energy resources (DERs), largely in rooftop solar.

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How PV-plus- storage will compete with gas generation in the U.S.

How PV-plus- storage will compete with gas generation in the U.S.

Dec 3, 2020 |

The combination of ever-cheaper energy storage systems and state and federal policy support has heightened utilities’ interest in hybrid projects combining solar photovoltaics and storage (known as PVS for short). There are now over 19 GW of PVS projects in the pipeline in the U.S and expected to come online by 2023, and an additional 80 GW of projects in the interconnection queue.

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Why artificial intelligence is a game-changer for renewable energy

Why artificial intelligence is a game-changer for renewable energy

Nov 29, 2020 |

AI is revolutionizing the renewables industry, with improved demand forecasting, superior asset management, and operational excellence through automation. As the low-carbon transition gains pace, AI’s ability to seamlessly integrate an enormous increase of intermittent renewable energy will be needed to ensure a stable and reliable grid.

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Unlocking South Africa’s hydrogen potential

Unlocking South Africa’s hydrogen potential

Oct 26, 2020 |

There is little doubt that hydrogen will be a major force in achieving the 2°C scenario and that South Africa stands in an unprecedented position to partake in the global hydrogen economy — both through direct use of hydrogen technology and through supplying the raw materials that enable it.

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Data exchange via virtual assistants is key to unlocking the full potential of the future energy system

Data exchange via virtual assistants is key to unlocking the full potential of the future energy system

Oct 2, 2020 |

Connecting buildings to a cross-sectoral, decentralized energy system is a proven means of integrating more renewable energy sources and further increasing energy efficiency. However, the operation of such highly interconnected energy systems is becoming painstaking. Data and algorithms will be the key to overcome these pains and to unlock the innovative systems’ full potential.

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Solar Power Finds Ripe New Market in Crop Protection, says BNEF

Solar Power Finds Ripe New Market in Crop Protection, says BNEF

Sep 2, 2020 |

The fusion of agriculture and solar – where elevated panels shelter crops beneath – can be seen in two ways: it makes the same piece of land doubly productive, or it slices away performance from both. There is something to be said for both arguments, as more and more so-called agroPV projects are being rolled out globally.

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