Q&A with Schneider Electric’s CINO Nadège Petit
A new energy landscape is emerging in the form of prosumer or bidirectional renewable energy from behind-the-meter resources. This shift to a new energy landscape requires a new paradigm of instrumentation and technology to manage a system that relies much more on sources of power from the edge, Nadège Petit believes.
Schneider Electric’s Chief Innovation Officer says that for utilities and power suppliers, this can be done through creating alternative solutions like Virtual Power Plants (VPP). This means encouraging new prosumers, then bringing them together, versus building more power plants to meet surge capacity needs – helping reduce costs since loads can be eased during peak times.
In this sit down with Energy Digital, Nadège leverages her tenure and experience in external innovation at Schneider Electric to explore how utilities and technology leaders will play a pivotal role in ushering in the technology and infrastructure to expand this market, moving along the path to net zero, building grid resiliency and, most importantly, how this can be achieved.
Q. How does Schneider Electric envision leveraging innovative technologies to effectively integrate and manage the increasing prosumer participation in the renewable energy market, particularly through solutions like VPPs?
A major headache for utility companies and grid operators is creating and managing a bidirectional grid which has a rapidly growing number of prosumers connected to it. Every new node tests the resilience of the grid.
Through our portfolio companies, Uplight and Autogrid — who have now combined forces — we offer integrated solutions for the management of these distributed energy resources (DERs), providing grid operators with greater visibility and data. This in turn improves grid efficiency and resiliency, helping to accelerate the energy transition.
Innovative technologies such as VPPs, networks of small or medium-sized energy producing or storage devices are integral to this evolution. Through VPPs, we can aggregate multiple resources, including renewable energy sources, energy storage systems and demand response reduction to form a virtual resource capable of providing grid services traditionally supplied by fossil fuel-based power plants.
Moreover, by incorporating AI and innovative business models, we can optimise buildings and grid networks further to meet sustainability and economic objectives. VPPs can, for example, enable end-users to participate in energy markets and access new revenue streams without significant upfront investment.
Q. What specific challenges do utilities and power suppliers face in transitioning towards a more decentralised energy system reliant on behind-the-metre resources, and how can strategic partnerships and technological advancements address these challenges?
Many utility leaders remain hesitant to embark on their digitisation journeys, largely due to perceived distant paybacks. This is at a time when cost-efficiency is a top priority. However, it isn't a binary choice between all or nothing.
By taking an incremental, stepwise approach to the digitalisation of assets, suppliers can see immediate results while laying the foundation for long-term decarbonisation gains.
Strategic partnerships are key to making this stepwise approach possible. Through an open, integrated and comprehensive end-to-end portfolio, we create efficiencies along the entire energy value chain.
For instance, we integrate our internal offers and solutions in the digital grid space — EcoStruxure suite of solutions — with the capabilities of our portfolio companies I already mentioned to provide a holistic solution from grid to prosumer.
EcoStruxure Advanced Distribution Management System (ADMS) and Distributed Energy Resource Management System (DERMS) help utilities with improved planning, monitoring and control. EcoStruxure Asset Advisor and Grid Metering enable device, data and asset management.
Uplight engages energy customers and orchestrates enrolled devices in energy programmes, while AutoGrid's Flex platform enhances this orchestration with additional device classes and solutions like Virtual Power Plants and energy storage management.
When they come together, you have a singular view of demand side capacity, starting from the control room up to the energy customer.
This seamless integration benefits utilities, device manufacturers, energy retailers and energy customers as prosumers, making the connected journey much more compelling.
Q. In what ways do you envision the role of utilities and technology leaders evolving to support the expansion of the prosumer-driven renewable energy market while simultaneously enhancing grid resiliency and progressing towards net-zero emissions goals?
The legacy utility business model of producing power in one place and transmitting it unidirectionally is no longer fit for purpose. Now, prosumers are engaging in the system, making their own energy and contributing excess power back into the grid.
Utility companies need to develop and offer services that help prosumers manage this energy. This involves developing demand response programmes and integrating distributed energy resources (DERs) to keep the grid robust and dependable.
By doing so, utilities can mitigate peak usage stress and prevent grid overload. It’s all about keeping the grid steady while maximising the autonomy of renewable energy prosumers.
By welcoming the prosumer movement and adapting to the new energy landscape, utilities can both empower their customers to become active participants in energy markets and play a critical role in creating a cleaner, more sustainable future.
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