Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2019. Read them in this 11th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
Contributed by Sudip Singh, SVP and Head Energy, Utilities, Resources & Services, Infosys
The Role and Challenges of Technology in Renewable Energy
Fossil Fuels (Coal, Oil, Gas) currently account for close to 80% of global energy consumption. It will remain a dominant force and is forecasted to grab a large share of global energy consumption even into 2040. However, renewable energy has made rapid strides. It currently accounts for 12% of global energy consumption (Source EIA) and is slated to grow rapidly. According to predictions, it will be close to 20% of global energy consumption by 2040. However, it is important to mention that global energy consumption includes transportation, industrial, commercial & household energy consumption. Adoption of renewables in transportation is slower than that of power. Today, a fifth of the world’s electricity is produced by renewable energy. Out of this, solar and wind power provided the biggest boost to new capacity. Surely, renewables have become an important source of power for industrial corporations. It is important that technology companies like ours support this growth by leveraging technology to accelerate generation, storage and distribution of renewables; and finding ways of committing to renewable energy generation and storage within large campuses.
Several countries have recently witnessed rapid growth in adopting renewable energy as a major source of power. For instance, according to EIA, India is slated to double its renewable electricity capacity by 2022. In the US, more than half of net new power capacity is by renewables (Source EIA). Clearly, the pendulum has shifted. What this proves is that the costs of production, storage and distribution are reducing, and the economic viability of leveraging renewables has improved significantly. Consequently, renewable energy is becoming a realistic source of power. However, significant effort is required to further improve production and storage at scale. In this context, wind and Solar are the fastest growing. In 2017, global solar power consumption increased by 35% (source: 2018 BP Statistical Review of World Energy). Both these sources of power (solar and wind) have undergone an annual average percentage drop in cost of production in the mid to high teens (Source WEF). Significant strides have also been made in Hydro and Biomass based power.
Universal energy access continues to be an elusive goal. However, significant strides have been made in the past few years. To make it a reality, there needs to be a combination of factors that need to be focused on – government and local policies, financial and industrial infrastructure, technology partnerships and, most importantly, strong leadership. Technology is the biggest enabler. Among other things, technology enables smart grid management at scale, better grid reliability, improved and viable storage solutions and developing solutions for increased resilience in extreme conditions. It is important to note that more than 70% of people who do not have access to electricity lives in rural areas. Here, traditional grid-based technology has been found wanting. A possible alternative could be localized, solutions based on renewable sources. In addition to the problem of access, renewable energy can also help universal access by reducing the cost of power. There are already initiatives underway to address the alternate energy demands leveraging blockchain, mobility and deep digital technologies.
To make renewable energy a significant and viable source of power requires reducing the economic costs of generation, storage and distribution. In addition, the other important factor to be considered is “consistency”. i.e. to provide good energy generation conditions on a consistent basis. All of this requires significant advances and interventions on the technology side. The advancements in Digital Technologies – specifically Big Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, IOT (Internet of Things) and Virtual / Augmented Reality can support the growth of viable options for renewables – whether it be in terms of increased reliability, optimizing plants for increased output or removing inconsistencies in generation and storage. Advanced engineering techniques can help develop better turbines, improved solar panels and proficient batteries that can store at scale. Big Data Analytics can help optimize pricing, allow better grid management and provide improved insights into energy storage. Further, Block Chain technology has the potential to accelerate adoption and management of renewables on the grid. We need increased investments in these Digital technologies with an appetite for long term payback for renewables to become more mainstream – this remains the biggest challenge.
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