News scan: The role of information technology in renewable energy

Summary1) From this coverage, it seems as though big data plays less of a role in actually

generating energy than it does in helping utilities companies monitor usage for marketing purposes. However, most articles made it sound as though sizable amounts of data can be leveraged to generate insight into renewable energy in general and therefore will better match renewable energy up against traditional energy.

2) Additionally, much of the available technology focuses on reducing costs of renewable energy and will help maximize the demand for lower-cost energy and revolutionize the way people think of it. One large issue that proprietors and engineers of renewable energy still face is the slow rate of adoption surrounding renewable energy versus traditional energy, possibly because of a generational reluctance to adopt it.

3) 3) The current focus of big data as it is pertinent to renewable energy, at least in the United States, is helping give people data-driven insights about their energy consumption therefore providing an impetus to help them conserve energy. It also increases awareness of climate change and gives developers the opportunity to utilize data to better the distribution of renewable energy.

“How big data can reduce our carbon footprint” (BigData-Startup – May 2, 2013)http://www.bigdata-startups.com/how-big-data-can-reduce-our-carbon-footprint/

According to this blog, “big data can turn th existing old energy network into smart networks that understand individual energy consumption,” in turn increasing efficiencies, lowering prices and lowering our carbon footprint.

“Made in IBM Labs: IBM Drives the Future of Renewable Energy with New Wind and Solar Forecasting System” (IBM – Aug. 12, 2013)http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/41310.wss

IBM engineered an advanced power and weather modeling technology that will “help utilities increase the reliability of renewable energy resources.” The solution, called “Hybrid Renewable Energy Forecasting” (HyRef) combines weather prediction and analytics to accurately forecast the availability of wind power and solar energy. This will enable utilities to integrate more renewable energy inth the power grid, in turn helping reduce carbon emissions and improving clean energy output.

President and CEO of ACORE said: “Utilities around the world are employing a host of strategies to integrate new renewable energy resources into their operating systems in order to reach a baseline goal of a 25 percent renewable energy mix globally by 2025.”

Other articles about IBM’s renewable energy focus can be found here: http://earthtechling.com/2013/08/ibm-forecasts-more-renewables-with-big-data

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2013/08/ibm-20130812.html

Utilities switch to big data for renewable energy (GEReports – Sept. 19, 2013)http://gereports.com.au/post/19-09-2013/utilities-switch-to-big-data-for-renewable-energy#.U0wudVVdXTo

This article is about General Electric’s recognition of Greensync, an Australian company, for providing a software that reduces energy consumption by 3 percent. According to the article, Greensync’s approach is to use big data analytics, an approach to computing that “identifies complex and previously undetectable relationships between large clusters of information.”

Can Crowdfunding Help Cleantech Ride the Big Data Wave? (The Energy Collective – Jan. 25, 2014)http://theenergycollective.com/greenskeptic/330391/can-crowdfunding-help-cleantech-ride-big-data-wave

Agrion, the self-identified “global network for energy, cleantech and corporate sustainability”, convened a roundtable at the Markle Foundation in New York to discuss advances in funding new ideas and “uncovering innovation” for energy and sustainability.

Clean Data Project’s Jon Roberts said, “energy is where the most data is.”

Another panelist claimed that the biggest obstacle in the integration of big data in renewable energy is that the “older generation” isn’t uncomfortable with it.

How utilities are profiting from Big Data analytics (Engineering and Technology Magazine – January 20, 2014)http://eandt.theiet.org/magazine/2014/01/data-on-demand.cfm

This article focuses on electric/gas/water companies’ analyses of data that their systems generate to gain insight into customer trends and operational efficiencies. “Market analyst GTM Research predicts global utility company expenditure on data analytics will grow from $700m in 2012 to $3.8bn in 2020, with gas, electricity, and water suppliers in all regions of the world increasing their investment.”

Big Data Projects on Solar Technology Evolution and Diffusion: Kickoff Meeting (Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy)http://energy.gov/eere/sunshot/big-data-projects-solar-technology-evolution-and-diffusion-kickoff-meeting

Seven projects are investigating strategies to accelerate the pace of change for solar energy technology through the Solar Energy Evolution and Diffusion Studies (SEEDS) program). This project focuses more on market consumption and competition with traditional energy that it does on the actual generation of renewable energy.

NEC commissions largest renewable energy storage system in Italy (Renewable Energy Focus – April 4, 2014)

http://www.renewableenergyfocus.com/view/37824/nec-commissions-largest-renewable-energy-storage-system-in-italy/

NEC Corporation commissioned ESS (Energy Storage System) for Enel Distribuzione, Italy’s largest distribution system operator. The system “can help nations meet globally agreed targets to decarbonizes their economies by integrating renewable energy into their grids in a cost-effective way.”

This system enables 100 percent of the power generated by renewable energy sources to be used.

“NEC’s ESS will eventually be integrated with Enel’s smart grid infrastructure which is based on an automated meter management system with smart meters installed at homes, offices and factories, in addition to new innovative big data analytics and IT systems to provide a two-way, real-time information exchange of electricity demand.”

White House Brings Together Big Data and Climate Change (Climate Central – March 19, 2014)http://www.climatecentral.org/news/white-house-brings-together-big-data-and-climate-change-17194

The White House released climate.data.gov, part of the Climate Data Initiative, to make climate data readily available to the public as well as private companies and developers.

Google, Facebook and Apple lead on green data centers (The Guardian – April 2, 2014)http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/greenpeace-report-google-facebook-apple-green-data-centers

This article is about the adoption of renewable energy resources in major companies.

One important point: According to The Guardian, the U.S. lacks the policy mandate that makes renewable energy use and emission reductions priorities for the information technology service providers and their customers. Therefore, there is a lack of pressure to use renewable energy.

Hawaiian Electric wins renewable energy grant (WRAL – April 9. 2014)http://www.wral.com/hawaiian-electric-wins-renewable-energy-grant/13552852/

Another project stemming from a federal grant to develop ways for utilities to manage increased amounts of solar power and other renewable energy on their electric grids.

Wind Power is a Win for Americans and the Environment (Roll Call – April 14, 2014)http://www.rollcall.com/news/wind_power_is_a_win_for_americans_and_the_environment-232166-1.html?zkPrintable=true

“Wind energy — and its benefits — are expanding rapidly thanks to continuing cost declines. Wind energy’s costs have fallen 43 percent in the past four years, driven by technological advances and the creation of a domestic manufacturing supply chain that produced more than 70 percent of wind turbine value in America as of 2013. Because of those cost declines, U.S. wind energy use has more than tripled over the last five years, accounting for more than 35 percent of all new electricity-generating capacity over that time period.”

Big Data Transforms Wind Power (EMC)http://www.emc.com/microsites/bigdata/bigdata-transforms-wind-power.htm Not much of an article, but there is a great infographic here about the relationship between Big Data and renewable energy.

###