Alstom and the smart way to energise

The global appetite for sustainable energy continues to grow, and with it the need to develop more distributed renewables to allow this new type of energy to enter national grids in efficient ways. For all the benefits that renewable energy brings, there are also many challenges. Renewable energy sources, like wind and solar generators, frequently produce energy intermittently and at varying rates, so today, more than ever, it has become imperative to dispatch that energy in an intelligent and efficient way. Alstom is one of the world leaders in energy grid management and is developing grid solutions to help overcome some of these challenges and optimise energy consumption towards a more sustainable, effectual system.

Alstom has been investing not only in grid technology but also in renewable energy production. Electrical grid systems are extremely complex systems delivering electricity to millions of homes and business in any given city. Technology is limited when it comes to storing energy in large amounts, so managing the flow of electricity around an urban area grid is vital to keep energy consumption and costs down. “What we see, is that the energy grid in cities is much more exposed to intermittent usage,” explains Laurent Schmitt, Vice President of Smart Grid Solutions at Alstom Grid. “In order for the grid not to be oversized, there needs to be new mechanisms to interconnect energy users and energy infrastructures, so that they may moderate their consumption depending on the grid conditions, the pricing of the electrical energy as well as the energy carbon footprint.”

According to Schmitt, significant constraints have been plaguing urban grids, stemming from the ever changing energy consumption patterns. “We see the generation of energy in cities is changing with the introduction of significant amount of renewable at building level, for instance, buildings turning to zero-net or energy-positive buildings,” he explains. In order to avoid oversized grids, urban areas must redefine how grids are operated and combine all elements in a dynamic way. “The demand side of the equation must converse with the renewable and electric vehicles charging systems in an efficient way.”

Interactive energy
The other aspect of the changing grid dynamics revolves around new usage of energy progressively entering the city environment. Electrical vehicles and car-charging facilities are going to put significant new constraints, in terms of capacity, on the size of energy grid which is required to distribute – especially if charging is made during the peak period of consumption. “What we see, is that the grid in cities is much more exposed to intermittent usage – electrical vehicles on the one side and renewable energy sources on the other – the consumers will need incentives to moderate their consumption depending on the energy availability in the grid system,” explains Schmitt.

Alstom supplies much of this technology for grid energy management. “We supply technology to utility companies to help them control their grids and interact with end user and generation portfolio operators” says Schmitt. “Our software for energy management has been historically developed from the transmission side of the grid, but we are seeing  our historical applications become relevant for distribution typically to better integrate renewable models, and be able to predict the intermittency of wind or solar production.”

Alstom is also investing in new concepts to deploy new energy management concepts to the consumer level. “Three years ago, we acquired a company in the US that is the leader in demand response system so that we can interconnect both the influx of renewable energy and demand response, and change the way we control the grid to include a much more active participation from energy users.”

One of the most important components in urban grid evolution is the smart grid technology, already being rolled out in parts of Europe and the US. “A smart grid is a grid that can, in real time, balance the amount of intermittent renewable energy with the existing energy generation portfolio, that means the traditional energy sources: hydro, gas and coal, which are used as ‘baseload’ generation,” explains Schmitt. In effect, a smart grid uses a complex IT infrastructure to gather and act on information like consumption and production patterns. To be simple, smart grids can help maximise the usage of renewable energy, and make sure energy consumption is maximised during periods of the day when renewables are available. “Given the amount of intermittency that is introduced into grid infrastructures, this technology will increase the grid flexibility through end-users’ interactions with the grid.”

Fuelling front-line services
Many cities around the world have set goals to increase the amount of renewable energy entering the grid. Those goals can be as high as 30 to 80 percent by 2050, according to Schmitt, and will require a significant reinvestment in grid infrastructure, such as wires and copper line. The parallel roll out of smart grid technologies will ensure cities do not overinvest in grids. “Overall, for the citizen, it will be a more efficient way to develop urban infrastructures as compared to the alternative,” says Schmitt.

During this period, consumers will be faced with recurrent energy price increases. Schmitt attributes this to the “choice to bring more renewable energy into the European grid as well as to the fact the cost of base load generation assets is increasing, and that will imply rate increases. We are already observing that in several European countries, and it is a trend that for sure will continue to grow in the coming years. I would say that the smart grid technology should be used as a way to mitigate this increase and to avoid overinvestment in the energy system overall.”

For Schmitt, smart grids should make up an integral part of the energy networks in the future. He says: “Germany, for instance, invested significantly in adding renewable energy to the grid, but they did not really deploy smart grid technology, and as a result, they have to curtail some of their renewables during low load periods,  precisely because their distribution grid is not smart enough and cannot absorb renewable energy through grid conditions as before.

“Denmark, on the other hand, has started to deploy new generation control centres for several years already, so they are able to more accurately model the amount of renewable generation injection into their grids. They are also investing in what we call ‘new step,’ combining the demand response side and renewable into virtual power plants.”

Alstom has also been on the forefront of developing technology to integrate microgrids into the wider urban or national grids. These are no more than miniature versions of any energy grid. The key difference is that these can disconnect from the main grid and still remain operational. Microgrids have become fundamental parts of the city landscape, and ensure energy is delivered reliably to hospitals, military bases and data centres, for instance.

Schmitt says: “Smart grids will end up as constellations of microgrids. Microgrids are appearing within cities in a way that is facilitating the directional exchange of information and energy from the transmission down to the consumers. One building can exchange energy with its neighbour and vice-versa.

“This new microgrid concept is very important because it is describing the need to better coordinate the distribution of energy at the low-voltage tail of the network.” Schmitt also points out that in emerging countries microgrids have become invaluable investments. He says: “In countries like India, China or Brazil, you very often have cases of urban development where the grid is behind the property development. In which case, you see cases where microgrids are isolated from the national or city grid.”

Future technology
Alstom has also been committed to developing renewable energy generation and the company holds many investments in wind, tidal solar, biomass and other new technologies. Schmitt says: “We have a strategy to continue developing conventional forms of energy production, but we are committed to making them more efficient. In city environments, it is important to combine heat and power, using turbines or other mechanisms to supply heat and electricity in the same way. For urban areas, this is by far the most efficient way of producing energy today. It is not totally renewable, but it is healthier than the historical use of coal plants and other plants like that.”

The company has also risen to become one of the market leaders in the development of hydropower. “We are looking at expanding our hydro-portfolio to smaller scale turbines, which could be connected to rivers flowing through cities, for example. We also invest heavily in wind energy and have launched one of the largest offshore wind turbines – the Haliade 150 with 6 mega-watts – which is currently being tested around the Belgian cost.

“Alstom has also invested quite a lot in thermo-solar technology, by far the most efficient way of generating energy from solar panels. Today, we are building the largest thermo-solar plant in the US in partnership with Bright Source, which will produce 50-100 megawatts. And, of course, in terms of new and future technology, we do have many investments in tidal wave energy and we do have various prototype projects on that technology.”