In Part 2 of our Energy Transition Talks podcast series, CGI experts Rita Burnay and Peter Warren explore the trends in renewables management, including the growing importance of data, green hydrogen and cloud to support the evolving energy economy. This article provides a summary of the discussion.
From a niche market, the renewables sector is evolving into a global industry with a pivotal role in the energy transition and the quest for a more responsible and sustainable future. Today, the major renewable energy sources are hydro, wind and solar. Wind and solar currently account for 700,000 gigawatts of installed capacity; yet, they represent only 50% of the hydro energy produced. "There is a lot of space to grow. As portfolios become larger and wider, and the footprint of renewables gets bigger, it's [becoming] a totally different world from the niche market a few years ago," says Rita Burnay.
Importance of interconnectivity
Accelerating digitization and enhanced interconnectivity are key driving forces of the evolving energy value chain. The focus is on owners, owner-operators, and grid operators in renewables management. "For these three market players, there is a lot more of a need to build effective management systems that require digitizing operations and more interconnectivity between all systems," says Rita.
The benefits of interconnected systems are manifold. Grid operators gain complete visibility of the portfolio and production, while operators and owner-operators can forecast production and conversely align production based on forecasts. In addition, better connectivity supports workforce management for asset maintenance and insight-led market decisions, including what and how to produce, how much to store and sell, etc.
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