On a global scale, the transition to Renewable Energy has come a long way, specifically in regard to the installation of energy generation technology. We even have massive solar plants such as the Longyangxia Dam Solar Park in China, which has a capacity of a whopping 850 MW. Or the Pavagada Solar Park in Karnataka, India, with an astounding capacity of 2.1 MW, or the Noor Abu in Abu Dhabi with a capacity of 1.2 GW. While leaders from 10 years ago would probably be proud of the progress we’ve made, advancement has also led us to some of the most complex technical challenges, such as how to make use of modern energy sources that come equipped with sensors, resulting in a wealth of data about energy use. Data management in the energy field doesn’t have a great track record. Historically, data from power sources is low quality which makes it difficult to discern what is really going on in the grid, or identify potential issues. Envelio, a company from Cologne, Germany, is one of the teams working on this problem.
Envelio Seeks Strategic Solutions
“Many processes require manual input so they are very time-consuming and inefficient, so that is where we try to help. So first, we try to create a digital grid model that can be used for simulations and then we try to automate the typical processes, so that process speed is increased but also decision-making is improved,” said Dr. Tobias Falke, VP of Global Sales and Marketing for Envelio.
Envelio’s Background in Grid Management
The team at Envelio has developed a platform that generates digital twins of regions and where the grid exists in it. Using algorithms designed from careful observation of grid managers, the platform allows users to analyse grid usage, and set up hypothetical situations for future grid planning purposes.
We met Falke at the World Energy Conference in Abu Dhabi, where he told us about Envelio’s product. “It’s basically a software where you can log in with your user account. And then you have a chance on a geographical map to plan the grid. So you can place new lines, you can place new transformers, renewable energies, charging points for electric vehicles and can directly simulate what is the impact on the grid.”
Why is the Industry Heading Towards Modeling?
Envelio is not the only company working on this. Across the industry, grid modeling technologies are popping up because they are especially useful for a few reasons. Modeling can help minimize grid losses and maximize grid transmission capacity. It can also help identify and avoid disturbances in the grid.
“It’s basically a software where you can log in with your user account. And then you have a chance on a geographical map to plan the grid. So you can place new lines, you can place new transformers, renewable energies, charging points for electric vehicles and can directly simulate what is the impact on the grid.”
For more about energy data management, check out our other feature about LeafTech.
