By 2030, nearly 40% of the world’s energy demand will be met by renewable energy. However, integrating renewable energy sources into the power grid poses many challenges due to their intermittent nature and the mismatch between peak renewable generation and demand, and weather variability makes accurate forecasting difficult.
Traditional grids, designed for centralized energy sources, require significant upgrades. Even countries with well-established power grids need to be updated with next-generation connectivity solutions to strengthen grid resilience, establish cross-border interconnections between regions, and adapt to an evolving generation mix.
but, Current energy storage solutions are not yet capable of keeping up with modern demand cycles, and innovative business solutions and technology models such as vehicle-to-grid systems and microgrids are still in their infancy.
Traditional power grids incur significant energy losses during transmission and distribution, affecting overall efficiency and increasing operational costs. These losses are due to factors such as aging infrastructure, inefficient technology, and limited monitoring capabilities.
The role of technology in the energy transition
How technology can help improve efficiency and reduce carbon emissions in the energy transition was explored at the 26th conference.Number At the World Energy Congress in Rotterdam in April, industry leaders gathered for a panel discussion on the potential of technology to drive the energy transition, focusing on automation, digitalization, AI, sustainability software and the importance of investing in these technologies.
Panel member Jason Li, President of Global Marketing & Solutions for Huawei’s Power Digitalization Business Unit, explained to Congress that Huawei believes that traditional automation technologies alone cannot solve the challenges of managing modern power grids, which require managing hundreds of millions of volatile and unpredictable objects and complex processes. To address this problem, Huawei is leveraging digital platforms and technologies such as cloud computing and AI.
“In China, installed capacity will grow from 760 gigawatts to 1,530 gigawatts between 2022 and 2025,” Li told the panel. “In just three years, that’s more than double. In parallel, distributed PV [photovoltaic] “China’s electric vehicle production will increase from 158 gigawatts to 298 gigawatts, which is a staggering number. China’s electric vehicles will grow to 45 million by 2025, and electric vehicle charging will increase from 6 million to 22 million.”
Darryl Willis of Microsoft, who was also on the panel, commented on the importance of AI in the energy sector: “AI will be a driver of all efforts to digitize and decarbonize the energy sector. It’s moving very fast. We’re having interesting conversations about the journey from prevention to predictive to what we call prescriptive maintenance. AI will enable companies to use data to see further ahead.”
Li also spoke about investment within the industry: “Digitalization of the power sector is not just a technology upgrade, but also a transformation of the entire industry. So we need to change our way of thinking. Investment in large power plants can cost billions of dollars, but up until now, investment in digitalization has accounted for less than 2% of power companies’ total revenue.”
“Only when investment in digitalization reaches 4-5% of total revenue can we attract more talent and industry players. This in turn will encourage customers to invest more in digitalization, creating a production cycle known as the compound interest effect. We should all focus on this and strive to introduce more digital technologies into the industry.”
Huawei Intelligent Distribution Solution (IDS)
As the backbone of the electricity supply system, the distribution network ensures the “last mile” of power supply to industries and homes. With the continuous construction of the future power system and the upgrading of the existing system, the distribution network faces more challenges than ever before to meet consumer demands such as load management, mixed energy generation, EV charging and digital charging meters.
To address this challenge, Huawei has worked with ecosystem partners to develop a new solution that addresses high line losses, low reliability, and the enormous pressures of new energy load management. Integrated smart terminals replace multiple electrical devices, minimize natural line losses, and automate the operation of intelligent equipment. Implementing these changes improves the overall awareness of the power distribution network and increases work efficiency.
Huawei’s Intelligent Distribution Solution (IDS) combines both digital and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies with a “cloud-pipe-edge-pipe-device” architecture to build an integrated distribution network.
Benefits of IDS include:
- Reducing line losses with real-time analytics
- Power supply reliability is improved with fast and accurate fault detection completed in just minutes.
- New energy management with data collected every minute
- Improved online and manual inspection (with remote automated inspection)
- Agile development of new services: The app allows you to roll out new services in just a few weeks.
The use of AI is helping advance grid automation technologies like remote monitoring and fault detection. Advanced data analytics and machine learning techniques help utilities analyze data, optimize maintenance schedules, integrate EV charging infrastructure, and more.
Huawei’s IDS is an innovative initiative in the power industry. It offers multiple benefits, including meeting growing energy demands, enabling the integration of renewable energy, and building a sustainable and resilient future. It helps power utilities meet these demands efficiently and sustainably, balance supply and demand, manage fluctuations, and optimize energy storage solutions. To date, initial tests in multiple countries in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa have shown promising results.
By integrating renewable energy sources, reducing line losses and optimizing grid operations, IDS contributes to a more resilient energy future and supports global efforts to fight climate change and promote clean energy.
Huawei Intelligent Distribution Solutions (IDS) click here.