Energy Systems Digitization ICT Joshua D. Mosshart

The use of information and communication technologies (ICT) across sectors has been boosted by the declining costs of sensors and data storage, by faster and cheaper data transmission and by advances in artificial intelligence. Digital technologies have been used in the energy sector for decades, but in recent years their application has expanded rapidly.

The ongoing digital transformation of energy has the potential to bring more efficiency, flexibility and co-ordination to the management of energy end-use sectors and across the entire system, with the added benefit of advancing the integration and further deployment of renewable energy.

Digitalization is rapidly and fundamentally changing the way in which energy is produced and consumed. On the supply side, the use of sensors and analytics is helping to reduce operation and maintenance costs and plant outages, and is improving power plant and network efficiencies. On the demand side, vehicles are becoming smarter and more connected, energy efficiency in buildings is increasing, and process controls, smart sensors and data analytics are contributing to cost-effective energy savings in industry.

Digitalization has further potential to transform energy systems by integrating energy sectors across supply and demand (sector coupling) and by improving overall system flexibility. The electricity sector is expected to be central to this transformation, by facilitating: the integration of VRE; efficient demand response for energy balancing and security; time- managed charging of EVs; and the efficient deployment of distributed energy resources such as rooftop micro wind turbines and solar PV systems.

With more than 50 million kilometres of power lines deployed worldwide (enough to cover the distance to Mars), the electricity grid is one of the most complex infrastructures in existence. Traditionally, electricity flows in the grid have been managed in a unidirectional manner, with electricity generated in large-scale production plants and with limited participation from the demand side. Digitalization is helping to change this paradigm. I

Investment in smart and digital technologies grew to reach in the hundreds of billions in 2019 spent in retrofitting, upgrading and expanding grids.

New digitally enabled business models are set to reshape the experience of energy consumers as digitalization redefines their interaction with energy suppliers. Some of these models enable peer-to-peer trading, and others are based on aggregation platforms that allow for higher degrees of customer participation in ancillary services.Traditional utilities, network operators and third parties are developing joint platforms for decentralized energy that include installing rooftop solar PV and batteries behind the meter and operating them as “virtual power plants”. The number of projects that are testing blockchain in the energy sector has increased rapidly. 

Many of these projects focus on customer markets and enabling micro-trading among solar power prosumers. Peer-to-peer trading or virtual marketplaces are already being tested in several pilot projects at varying scales in Australia, Denmark, France, Japan, the Republic of Korea and the United States. In the United States, for example, New York’s LO3 Energy is using blockchain and a micro grid to enable a Brooklyn community to buy and sell locally generated renewable electricity peer-to-peer within a small neighborhood.

As energy systems become increasingly digitalized, a series of risks come to the forefront, including the security, privacy and ownership of the vast volume of data generated. Numerous questions remain to be addressed, including: 

Which data will be critical and prioritized, and for which stakeholders or sectors? 

Who should own data from meters and sensors, and who should have access to these data?

How best to reconcile such risks and concerns against the presumed benefits of facilitating new business models and solutions that require the development of these new data sources?

A smarter, digitalized energy system is emerging; however, maximizing its potential, accelerating the transition and mitigating the risks of the transition require increased awareness and action across a range of sectors and stakeholders. 

Smarter energy systems depend on the deployment of new infrastructure across end-use sectors, across distribution grids (electric, gas and thermal) and on the centralized supply side. In parallel, smarter energy systems require interconnection via high-speed communications networks that use standardized protocols to effectively integrate ICT with the world’s energy systems.

Finally, some cultural and institutional challenges to the transition may arise as traditional utilities, regulators and consumers strive to stay abreast of new ICT. Policies will play a key role in steering developments towards a more secure, sustainable and smarter energy future.

Source: IEA.

Joshua D. Mosshart MSFS, CHFC, CLU 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/energydevelopmentpartners/

Renewable Energy Benefits Joshua Mosshart

The development of renewable energy provides a range of benefits. It can create significant economic and employment opportunities and help secure new investments in a wide range of industries, both at local and national level. 

Renewable energy technologies also provide a unique opportunity to curb carbon emissions without compromising access to energy, which has important implications for slowing climate change. 

Thirdly, developing a country’s national renewable resources will create access to energy that is inexhaustible, thereby reducing a country’s reliance on foreign resources and strengthening its energy security. 

Moreover, whether used on a mass scale to power a city, or on a small scale to run a village mini-grid, renewables bring considerable health benefits by providing clean, safe energy without the negative impacts of fossil fuels.

Beyond these broader benefits, renewable energy is an important catalyst for rural electrification. Many rural communities in the developing world have access to at least one form of sustainable energy, be it strong sunshine for solar, a river for micro-hydro or reliable wind for a wind turbine. 

These resources can be harnessed to provide clean electricity even in communities far from the national grid. This illustrates how, in the coming years, renewable energy has the potential to transform economies throughout the world.

There are important barriers to overcome in the development of renewable energy, however. 

Technical barriers, once a major challen, are being lowered as considerable breakthroughs continue to be made. Renewable energy technologies are swiftly becoming more efficient, cost-effective and accessible. 

Economic barriers relate mainly to the cost of electricity generation and the persistence of subsidies for fossil fuels. Parliamentarians can act on both issues by ensuring that renewable energy development can compete on a level playing field, allowing it to attract the necessary investments to launch large-scale projects. The cost to produce renewable energy has fallen dramatically in recent years thanks to technological breakthroughs and economies of scale, and continues to do so.

The greatest barrier to renewable energy development in many countries is the policy framework that regulates electricity, heating and transport fuel markets. It is common for an electricity market to be operated by a monopoly, often a state-owned utility, which is in full control of generation, distribution and the sale of electricity to consumers. 

This provides very little incentive for the development of alternative technologies. A related challenge is the bureaucracy that must regulate and approve the development of electricity generation (or heating or transport fuel). The development of on-grid renewable energy can be substantially accelerated by ensuring the policy and legal framework is fully coherent and the decision process transparent.

Another barrier is a lack of community support, which may slow the build of renewable energy projects. Even a parliamentarian who is fully committed to the benefits of renewable energy will have those convictions challenged when faced with political opposition from constituents who do not expect to enjoy the benefits of such investments. 

Finally, counter-lobbying remains an issue in many countries. Parliamentarians who decide to push for the adoption of renewable energy policies in their countries will likely encounter significant opposition from fossil fuels interests and their lobbyists.

The building of renewable energy projects involves significant upfront investments. A country will need to make a major investment in generation and transmission infrastructure, the cost of which may run into billions of dollars, if it is to significantly reduce its reliance on energy from non-renewable sources. 

Governments typically turn to three sources of financing to fund renewable energy development: private financing, public financing and consumer financing. In order to build renewable energy capacity on a mass scale, private sector investment is a necessity. 

Historically, private financiers have been hesitant to invest in renewable energy projects because they were seen as high risk, meaning they thought there was a strong likelihood that they might not obtain a return (or profit) from their investment. 

Parliament can help to reduce the risk of such investments by promoting a legal framework that facilitates secure, transparent investments and offers the necessary guarantees to investors. Public financing alone will never be sufficient to ensure that renewable energy is developed on the mass scale required to significantly reduce dependence on fossil fuels. 

If used properly, however, public funds can leverage considerable private investment. 

Finally, consumer financing is an accepted but complex source of financing. As policymakers are directly accountable to consumers, parliamentarians need to find a set of policies that encourage the development of renewable energy while ensuring the burden imposed on the average citizen is minimized.

In addition to securing the required financial investments, building a robust policy framework is an important prerequisite for the successful domestic development of renewable energy. 

Here, too, a wide range of options is available.

Governments can choose to employ some immediate policy changes that allow for swift deliveries (short-term actions) such as setting national targets, simplifying regulations and awarding subsidies. This will serve to send clear signals on the government’s commitment to renewable energy development, which is an important first step in securing investments and building an overarching regulatory framework. 

Some of the most prevalent policy options in place today require a more extensive and therefore time-consuming review of the legal framework (long-term actions) such as feed-in tariffs, quota mechanisms and tenders. These options can be adopted to further strengthen the regulatory framework as the renewable energy sector grows.

The development of renewable energy cannot be achieved without political leadership. 

Parliamentarians have all the levers they need in order to act: they vote on laws, impose taxes and approve state budgets; they oversee the operations of government and have direct access to Ministers, Prime Ministers and Presidents; they can influence national policy, build strong legal frameworks, direct spending in new directions, and establish stronger policies and targets for action on renewable energy. 

In short, the transition to a post-fossil fuels world will benefit considerably from the support of parliamentarians ready to use their political capital for the promotion of renewable energy.

#Joshua D. Mosshar t#Joshua Mosshart #Joshua Daniel Mosshart

Source: UNDP

Energy Policy & Sustainable Development Joshua Mosshart

Modern forms of energy empower human beings in countless ways: by reducing drudgery, increasing productivity, transforming food, providing illumination, transporting water, fuelling transportation, powering industrial and agricultural processes, cooling or heating rooms, and facilitating electronic communications and computer operations, to name just some of them. 

Given that they can so dramatically increase human capabilities and opportunities, adequate energy services are integral to poverty alleviation and environmentally sound social and economic development.

Conventional sources of and approaches to providing and using energy are not sustainable by this definition. They are linked to significant environmental, social, and health problems for people alive today and, in many cases, pose even greater threats to future generations.

While it is imperative to find ways to greatly expand energy services, especially to the two billion people who currently rely on traditional forms of energy as well as for generations to come, this expansion must be achieved in ways that are environmentally sound, as well as safe, affordable, convenient, reliable, and equitable.

This, in essence, is the challenge of energy-related policies for sustainable development.

It is an enormous challenge. Over the next 50 years, sustained economic growth will require energy services an order of magnitude larger than today, with most of the expansion in the parts of the developing world that are presently underserved. During this half century, protecting human health and the environment demands that energy systems generate much less pollution. 

Taking the climate change threat seriously would require that carbon dioxide emissions be reduced by perhaps two-thirds compared to current levels. Furthermore, humanitarian and moral concerns dictate that modern forms of energy be made available to the one third of the world’s people who are struggling today to improve their lives without this advantage.

Yet accomplishing energy systems supporting sustainable development in this century is in fact possible, according to comprehensive research on the subject by leading energy and development experts. It can be achieved through improvements in the efficiency with which modern energy carriers are produced and used, coupled with a greater reliance on modern forms of renewable energy and cleaner utilization of fossil fuels using technologies now available or in the development stage.

However, these approaches are not being implemented widely enough to meet the needs of billions of people living today, nor are they taking hold quickly enough to safeguard the prospects for future generations. Without significant changes in policies that guide energy developments, the window of opportunity that is now open may well close down, and prospects for future generations will be dimmed.

Policy makers are struggling to understand how to intervene most effectively to widen access, stimulate technological innovation, attract private investment, and refocus regulation to advance the economic, social, and environmental objectives of sustainability. Regrettably, there are no simple blueprints that will work in all situations.

Increasing Globalization

Trade barriers are transformed and world trade is growing. The global economy is becoming more integrated through mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and the expansion of multinational companies. Multinational companies are playing an increasing role in fossil fuel production and distribution, gas and electric systems, and manufacturing of energy end-use technologies. As companies and markets become increasingly international, policy interventions will require coordinated action and harmonisation in order to be more effective.

Shifting Responsibilities for Governments. 

The fact that market forces extend beyond national borders has made it more difficult for governments to raise taxes and still stay competitive globally. Government activities are increasingly moving toward rulemaking and monitoring the application of rules to ensure that markets work efficiently and advance social benefits.

Restructuring and Liberalization of Energy Markets. 

All over the world, the allocation of materials and human and financial resources, as well as the selection of products and technologies, is increasingly done by private actors, and partially a function of market conditions. Many nations are corporatizing or privatizing formerly government-owned utilities and petroleum and natural gas companies, and introducing competition and new regulatory frameworks, in part to increase efficiency and attract private capital to the energy sector.

The Emerging Information Technology Revolution

The microelectronics revolution and its various ramifications are well known. The economic and structural transformations from the information age are likely to have far-reaching and difficult- to-predict structural consequences, including a more rapid decoupling of primary energy use from economic growth than we have witnessed to date. The Internet and related information technologies also offer tremendous potential in terms of transfer of technology, building capacity and raising awareness.

Greater Public Participation in Decision-Making

The freer flow of information and increasing globalization have been accompanied by a wave of democratization. Throughout the world large numbers of people without economic power are gaining political power. Local groups are becoming more involved in the decision-making processes and affecting public policy formulation. 

Women are becoming more active in the political process. The growing inequities among and within countries are increasing potential for social disruptions and conflicts.

All these trends are likely to provide a growing impetus to keep sustainable development high on the political agenda. They also form an important part of the context for implementation of energy for sustainable development.

Source: United Nations Development Program

Joshua D. Mosshart
Joshua Mosshart
Joshua Daniel Mosshart