At the grid edge

The increasing influence of digitalisation creates new possibilities for the energy sector as power generation becomes increasingly decentralised and automated. Sabine Dall’Omo, CEO, Siemens Southern and East Africa, speaks to IMIESA about trends shaping the future.

Sabine Dall’Omo, CEO, Siemens Southern and East Africa A t the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) held in 2021, member countries reaffirmed their commitment to greenhouse gas emissions reductions and a net-zero carbon future. Since this requires major shifts away from fossil fuel reliance, the so-called Just Energy Transition (JET) movement presents an argument for a progressive change that balances the environment with socio-economic realities. To this end, COP26 mapped out funding and investment programmes that help developed and developing nations achieve an equitable transition. South Africa, which relies heavily on coal for its energy, is a prime candidate and will receive ongoing support in terms of the

Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) concluded in 2021 with the governments of France, Germany, the UK, USA, and EU. As a technology provider, Siemens is well placed to lead the transition to reduce carbon emissions across industries.

Siemens Xcelerator

Further innovation will now be supported by the recent launch of Siemens Xcelerator. “An open digital business platform, Siemens Xcelerator is designed to assist customers in their digital transformation journey,” Dall’Omo explains.

Xcelerator offerings include Building X – an end-to-end data and analytics suite for key categories like energy management, security and building maintenance. An allied solution, known as Industrial Operations X, will bridge the virtual and physical world in similar ways in optimising processes for specific industries.

“These and other developments within Siemens drive our understanding of how we’ll generate electricity in the future, use it and consume it,” Dall’Omo continues. “Examples include the evolution of domestic and industrial

solar installations and the opportunities for independent power producers (IPPs) to wheel their electricity surplus back into the grid. What this means in practice is that we’ll need a far more intelligent grid to maintain constant baseloads.”

Connected and intelligent

Siemens refers to the new digital frontier as the ‘grid edge’, where smart infrastructure and energy intelligence come together. Here, connected technologies create the interface between the energy supply side (grid) and the energy demand side from industry, municipalities, buildings and general consumers.

Digital intelligence is the key to management, monitoring and control, with artificial intelligence there to interpret and process the massive data communication traffic produced in the 5G environment. Examples from within Siemens include PowerLink for secure and efficient communication, and SIPROTEC and SICAM for energy automation and protection, as well as power quality analytics.

“The boundaries between consumers, producers and distributors will become increasingly blurred as grids become more localised at the source of current and future demand within towns and cities. South African municipalities will also lead the change,” Dall’Omo explains.

Renewable energy

Wind and solar are the preferred solutions for Africa and other developing countries, as they provide the lowest cost of energy. Other alternative options like carbon fuels, in many countries, come at an additional foreign-currency-dependent cost, whereas the sun and wind are free, but of course there are still expensive battery storage requirements. Inevitably, some type of hybrid approach is needed. To date, South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme has been a great success since the initial launch of Bid Window 1 in 2012. More recently, the preferred bidders for Window 5 were announced in 2021, with Window 6 now open. Each project has crowded in much-needed local and foreign investment, empowered communities, and taken South Africa further down the JET road.

Without exception, the offtake agreements so far have been concluded with Eskom. Going forward, that framework is destined to shift into new territory as an increasing number of IPPs enter the market with the intention of going direct to municipalities and industries.

Digital intelligence is the key to management, monitoring and control, with artificial intelligence there to interpret and process the massive data communication traffic produced in the 5G environment

Energy balance

“For a sustainable energy transition to be possible in South Africa, we need to create the right balance so that there’s benefit for both advantaged and disadvantaged communities,” says Dall’Omo. “Part of that process includes using this energy to create new opportunities within segments, like agriculture, that help communities dependent on the mining sector find new career paths as coal-fired power stations progressively shut down.”

An example is a research project currently under way at North-West University’s Potchefstroom campus. Here, an experimental project is studying the potential of using solar power for growing commercial-scale vegetables in greenhouses, with drip irrigation regulated automatically via digitalisation.

A joint effort

As COP26 has highlighted, achieving measurable targets requires cooperation and teamwork. “In South Africa, industry and government need to come up with ideas that haven’t been tested yet in other countries as the JETP gains traction, so that creates exciting opportunities,” Dall’Omo continues.

Siemens globally has set a goal of being net-zero by 2030. Many of its customers also have the same or similar objectives, namely to decarbonise their full value chain. This means that their suppliers and logistics solutions providers also need to be carbon neutral.

Ecolabels on products are becoming increasingly common, confirming that goods and services comply with strict environmental criteria. This has implications for all counties where ‘green’ multinational companies operate and, increasingly, digitalisation will be used to evaluate and refine every process, and to provide a clear audit trail of compliance. “Those governments or companies that try to greenwash will be caught out,” Dall’Omo stresses.

Clean energy

“Now and in the future, every element of industry and society will be influenced by clean energy. It’s the only way to deliver carbon-neutral solutions. We’re already seeing this change in the electric car industry globally, with demand now outstripping supply, and it will be interesting to see how this trend plays out in South Africa.

“The important point to emphasise is that there are no quick fixes and there are always going to be events that place a bump in the JET road,” she adds.

“However, collectively, we remain on the right and only path if we want to halt and reverse climate change before it’s too late. Investment in green technologies is the future and we must embrace it,” Dall’Omo concludes.