Viasat Q&A: How Satellite IoT Can Support Grid Balancing

The energy industry is at a turning point. With thousands of different sources of energy generation — from legacy large-scale power stations to single households with solar panels and even plug-in electric vehicles — the democratisation of energy is making it increasingly complex to balance the grid.

This is the view of Damian Lewis, Market Development Manager at global communications company Viasat, a provider of high-speed satellite broadband services and secure networking systems covering military and commercial markets.

Viasat provides satellite reliability, capacity and flexibility to enterprises across the energy, utilities, agriculture, mining and transport industries. Its mission critical connectivity helps organisations meet some of the most pressing industrial challenges today by powering devices that remotely maintain, monitor and meter critical infrastructure around the world, from power grids to oil rigs. 

Within energy specifically, Viasat connectivity powers advanced metering infrastructure and smart grid technology, environmental and weather monitoring tools, emergency workforce communications solutions and provides vital back-up connectivity in conjunction with land-based networks, to name a few. Data provided by satellite-enabled IoT solutions, Damian believes, will be critical to the successful transition to renewable energy over the coming years. 

Damian has held various roles across the leading satellite communications, with his current focus lying in satellite and hybrid connectivity, industrial IoT and critical infrastructure solutions.

Now, he leverages his skills in technology tracking and security management to provide strategic insights and tactical support as Viasat supplies energy firms with robust, reliable connectivity through its ecosystem of satellites.

Here, Damian explains how integral satellite communication is to the energy transition and how it enhances and secures robust connectivity. 

Q. What specific challenges do grid operators face when trying to balance the electricity grid with the increasing mix of renewable energy sources? How does satellite IoT technology provide a solution to these challenges?

Almost half of the UK’s energy production, 40.6%, is powered by renewable energy sources with thousands of sources of generation, ranging from legacy large-scale power stations to single households with solar panels and even plug-in electric vehicles. 

While our renewable transition is evidently blossoming, the increasing volume of energy sources brings new challenges for grid operators. The democratisation of energy makes it increasingly complex to balance supply and demand across the grid, creating headaches for grid operators responsible for ensuring the nation’s energy needs are met. To showcase the challenges, in some cases we’ve even seen penalties being imposed by regulators for providers for not meeting balancing requirements.

This complexity is happening at the distribution level too now. Many Distributed Network Operators (DNOs) are turning to satellite IoT to better balance the increasing mix of renewable energy sources across the grid. Satellite-powered IoT can provide enhanced data collection through remote monitoring of key assets in real time. In turn, this monitoring offers increased visibility over upstream production, allowing grid operators to react faster and more exactly to imbalances in supply and demand levels. 

Using smart grid technology like this helps unlock additional electrical capacity and addresses the intermittency of renewable energy generation curves: ultimately enabling the energy needs of the nation to be met more effectively and cost efficiently. 

Q: How critical is data collection and analysis in the transition to renewable energy? How does industrial IoT monitoring contribute to better network modelling and prediction of energy generation?

While the democratisation of energy generation is on the rise, we’re also seeing an increase in upstream renewable energy production in more remote parts of the world, with countries such as Wales and France looking to open up deeper parts of the sea for renewable production to help meet net zero targets.

But businesses can’t manage what they can’t measure and satellite-powered IoT will play a significant role in reliably monitoring remote assets to equip producers with better forecasting systems to accurately regulate supply and demand patterns. Ultimately, this will enable a smoother overall transition to renewable energy. 

We must also remember that it’s not just important to monitor how much energy is being generated, but also power quality too. By integrating IoT technology into energy utilisation systems, DNOs can more easily collect data to identify power quality issues.

Power quality issues can reduce efficiency, increase energy costs and damage machinery. Information about the quality of power can be also used to enable predictive and preventive maintenance, helping to ensure that energy systems remain efficient and sustainable over time. 

Q: What role does satellite connectivity play in enhancing the reliability and robustness of IoT solutions for grid balancing, especially when it comes to managing and integrating renewable energy sources to achieve net zero goals? 

Satellite connectivity is critical to ensuring the reliability and robustness of industrial IoT solutions being used to help balance the grid and ease the broader transition to renewable energy. From ensuring constant connectivity in remote environments to being prepared for natural disasters and extreme weather, satellite connectivity provides a consistency that other modes of terrestrial connectivity cannot provide on their own. 

In our experience, satellite connectivity is the great facilitator — and it seems the energy industry agrees. Seventy six per cent of senior electrical utilities professionals believe satellite-enabled IoT will play a key role in improving network reliability, while 57% expect such solutions to improve overall business performance through effective cost reduction and risk mitigation. More broadly, 70% feel such tools are already helping to mitigate climate change and natural disaster-related threats through sustainability-focused innovations.

Robust, reliable satellite connectivity is central to the effectiveness of IoT solutions employed across the energy industry, enabling providers and grid operators alike to operate more safely, sustainably, and efficiently.

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