By WP Creative Group

February 20, 2024

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When most people think about a net-zero future, they think of wind turbines, solar panels, hydroelectric dams or other examples of clean energy generation. But as the technology behind renewable generation improves, the world’s attention is shifting to the challenges of delivering that clean energy at scale to cities, industries and homes around the globe.

These challenges might seem daunting, but two things about tomorrow’s energy infrastructure are virtually certain: It will be heavily electrified and highly digitized.

The future of energy will be electrified, as electricity is the main conduit for transmitting renewable energy sources like solar and wind. Moreover, electrical systems, such as electric motors and heat pumps, are more efficient than those that burn fossil fuels. Additionally, the future of energy will be digitized, as digital technologies enhance the efficiency, resilience and accessibility of renewable energy delivery.

“Electricity is by far the most efficient form of energy and the best vector of decarbonization,” says James Potach, senior vice president of the sustainability business at Schneider Electric, a leading provider of energy and sustainability solutions. “And digital innovation allows us to quantify what we couldn’t see before; the enormous potential for efficiency and the elimination of energy waste.”

Founded in 1836 in Paris, France, Schneider takes both a historical and future-facing perspective on the massive transformation in energy delivery infrastructure occurring behind the scenes. While “Industry 4.0” describes how artificial intelligence and connected sensors are multiplying the impact of electronics on industrial processes, the concept of “Electricity 4.0” describes how these technologies—when combined with electricity—can help the world through the energy transition.

Schneider Electric is shepherding organizations toward their decarbonization goals using Electricity 4.0, improving their energy resiliency and efficiency—often with minimal capital investment.

Local grids get supercharged

The hallmark example of Electricity 4.0 is a smart grid: a fully digitized electrical grid that has the flexibility and control to incorporate intermittent power sources like solar and wind and to closely balance energy supply and demand, maximizing system resilience. Smart grids enable individuals and organizations to become “prosumers,” producing energy for the grid as well as consuming it.

The world’s energy grids are in varying states of digitization, and most are still powered mainly by fossil fuels. Meanwhile, many organizations are seeking a large, stable and clean energy supply now. They’re turning to microgrids—self-sufficient grids that supply customers with electricity through sources such as solar, wind or batteries. One consultancy estimates that the U.S. microgrid market will grow at an average 19 percent annual rate through 2027.

Most microgrids can take energy from the centralized grid or supply energy to it. They’re powered by an intelligent controller that adjusts this energy flow based on weather forecasts or other factors, to minimize costs or maximize green energy use. Just as importantly, microgrids can disconnect from the centralized grid and provide power independently when the larger grid is under strain.

“Historically, the main benefit of microgrids has been their resiliency and reliability,” says Jana Gerber, North America microgrid president for Schneider Electric. First adopters of microgrids have included manufacturers and military bases, for whom energy supply continuity has been mission-critical. “But as microgrids have become more repeatable, more standardized, cost effective and easier to deploy, there are now wider applications for customers from all industries to increase cost savings, supply predictability and decarbonization.”

Across the country, Schneider Electric has partnered with numerous organizations to build microgrids. In one such partnership, Schneider is designing a microgrid for a community of more than 200 Southern California homes located in a wildfire-prone area where there is a high risk of grid shutdowns. After suffering through Hurricane Sandy, Jersey City, New Jersey, installed the nation’s first self-sustaining municipal microgrid to power critical city services and buildings even if the grid goes down. And Montgomery County, Maryland, needed a large and resilient energy source for 70 new EV buses. They commissioned a 6.5 megawatt microgrid with battery backup that will save 160,000 tons of carbon emissions over the project lifespan.

How digitization makes the invisible visible

Energy efficiency has moved to the top of the agenda for most organizations, and here again Electricity 4.0 can help. Interconnected sensors and digitization have made it possible to understand exactly how energy is being used throughout the organization in real time.

“For a long time, hitting sustainability targets was largely operating off of hunches and guesses,” says Lachlan Coffey, director of EcoStruxure™ Acceleration at Schneider Electric. “Now we can digitize every asset of a facility to pinpoint our gas guzzlers, our carbon emitters. We know what’s going on inside the factory rather than just reading from the outside meter.”

Schneider’s EcoStruxure™ platform employs sensors to monitor not just stationary assets but mobile ones as well—like people moving from office to office. “For example, the platform could detect which offices are unoccupied and darken the room, close the blinds and slow down the air exchange,” Coffey continues.

“The energy use information that EcoStruxure collects becomes part of an AI-driven solution which helps managers decide which energy and efficiency investments produce the greatest returns for their specific locations and assets,” adds Potach.

Taking the first step

Modernizing an organization’s energy portfolio can seem insurmountable, especially when it involves changing energy sources or suppliers, or updating assets for efficiency or digitization.

Fortunately, Electricity 4.0 is also facilitating financial innovation, helping organizations make the transition with minimal capital expenditure. With the energy-as-a-service model, customers receive energy and other services such as design, installation, monitoring and repair of energy-related assets on a subscription basis. Energy-as-a-service allows organizations to roll capital costs into the ongoing operating cost of energy delivery.

For one major automotive technology supplier, Schneider inked a 15-year service agreement to fully electrify its R&D center, reducing 85 percent of its Scope 1 greenhouse gas emissions with no upfront capital expenditures required. For a medical device maker, Schneider is delivering a comprehensive decarbonization strategy under an energy-as-a-service agreement. Schneider is also delivering microgrids via energy-as-a-service agreements; designing, building, operating and maintaining microgrids in return for manageable regular payments, much like a utility.

Digitization can also “lower the barrier for entry into renewable energy” for smaller and medium-sized enterprises, says Potach. Recently, Schneider enhanced its growing portfolio of digital solutions by acquiring sustainability software brand, Zeigo. The software suite is largely self-service, enabling companies of all sizes to simplify and accelerate climate action. Zeigo Power, for example, allows companies in Europe and the U.K. to buy renewable energy directly from developers. Zeigo Activate allows users with 10 sites or less to calculate their carbon footprint, track energy-related emissions and get a customized decarbonization roadmap with projects to implement.

Electricity and digitization are powerful forces to enable companies to achieve their sustainability and resiliency objectives. Combining them can help humanity through the urgent energy transition.