Whether due to environmental concerns, government incentives and regulations or rising gas prices; the electrification of transportation is gaining momentum around the world. According to Arthur D. Little’sreport, by 2030 there will be more than 40 million passenger electric vehicles on European roads. As exciting as this news sounds from the environmental perspective, it is alarming for grid operators. Due to the sudden demand for electricity, local distribution systems might suffer from temporary overloads, leading to power outages and other grid stability issues, such as voltage spikes and frequency fluctuations that can affect the performance of other equipment connected to the grid.
For several years, the combination of system integration, the smart grid and the legacy of outdated industrial control systems have been presenting new cyber security challenges for energy infrastructures. These problems are reflected in the 10 most common anomalies identified in energy companies' operational technology (OT) networks in 2022.
Various energy supply companies are currently in the decision-making process to replace traditional ripple control. Aargau's AEW Energie AG recommends acting proactively and is convinced that the realization of smart metering and load management on the same technology offers a lot of synergy potential in the introduction and operation.
2022 was a record year for renewable capacity at 340GW and electricity generated by photovoltaics alone is expected to grow 15% per year until 2030 according to the International Energy Agency. However, integrating PV plants comes with challenges for both grid operators and plant operators. Grid edge intelligence and remote DER control can help protect, automate and balance our increasingly dynamic networks.
Providing clean and safe drinking water day in, day out isn’t as easy as it sounds. To get the tap water you really want – clean, safe, and drinkable – there’s an entire chain of drinking water and wastewater treatment processes behind. And that has its price. Complex plants and pipe networks need to be built, operated, and maintained to provide a reliable municipal water supply. And the high investment, operational, and lifecycle costs are the reason why every drop is valuable. Treated water that is lost within the system and can’t be billed – non-revenue water (NRW) – is therefore an economical issue for water utilities and has to be minimized as fast as possible. The clock is ticking. And not just because of the financial loss but also because of potential ecological and humanitarian reasons.
Aging pipe networks, difficult temperature conditions, vibration caused by construction work – there are many causes for leaks in water infrastructure. Unfortunately, leaks often appear beneath the surface where nobody can see them until it’s too late. Billions of drops, millions of cubic meters of drinking water are lost by many water utilities due to leaks every year. How can you minimize these losses? Not just to prevent the lost revenue, but also to conserve the vital resource, to keep drinking water clean, and to prevent buildings and infrastructure from dangerous undercutting. There’s a smart way for water utilities to ensure constant leakage detection with minimal effort. And we’re going to explore it.
