Energy Management for Decarbonization

Source: · ELECTRICAL INDUSTRY NEWS WEEK · | June 27, 2021

Source: Schneider Electric

Earlier this year, Schneider Electric released its Microgrid Solution focused on small and medium sized buildings to the Canadian market. The solution integrates distributed energy resources for commercial, industrial, healthcare, and educational facilities. The solution can also be applied to small, remote communities where energy resiliency is an issue.

When it comes to lowering carbon emissions and hitting climate change targets, “Ultimately, we need to think of how we can do it,” said Revuru, “that’s where we want to help our customers.” The aim for Schneider Electric is to make a complex process like turning a facility into a microgrid, into something that is simple and turn-key.

“The building codes are changing, buildings are being taxed to go net-zero or even net-positives,” said Revuru. He added that a main focus for Schneider Electric was to deliver the solution in a simple, complete package to make it a more realistic investment. “Microgrid in a box.”

“We want to design and integrate a Microgrid solution in one box and that box can be drop shipped wherever we want to bring the sustainability and resiliency.”

Schneider Electric uses data analytics to optimize energy usage, managing connection to the grid and DERs to reduce power consumption during peak periods, as well as when to produce, store, and sell back to the utility.

Even at the residential level, Revuru explained, builders are looking at how they can implement these types of technologies.

“Most of the systems that need to be integrated, we build into this box. If you think of a sustainable solution for a community or a building, you need think of how you can bring the renewable energy to the building, you also have energy storage, and any other distributed energy source we need to bring into the picture.”

Essentially, the various energy resources – the grid, solar, generators etc., can be brought into one picture and actively managed and optimized through data and analytics.

“Something needs to orchestrate what energy needs to be consumed, what energy needs to be stored, which energy needs to be sold – if the utility is ready to take the energy, we can actually sell energy back to the grid.”

There is a demand response program that allows buildings to supply energy back to the grid when there is demand, “you actually flag it, saying I can give you 500 KW from my building,” he said for example.