What is asset intelligence in the context of the energy grid?

Asset intelligence refers to the use of real-time data, sensors, and analytics to monitor and manage distributed energy assets across the grid. It gives utilities actionable visibility into equipment status, performance, and potential failures before they cause disruptions.

Why is asset intelligence especially important as grids decentralize?

As more distributed energy resources like solar panels, wind turbines, and battery storage are added to the grid, the number of assets utilities must track grows significantly. Asset intelligence platforms help manage this complexity by aggregating and analyzing data from thousands of endpoints in near real time.

How does asset intelligence support the transition to renewable energy?

Renewable energy sources are variable and distributed, making traditional grid monitoring methods insufficient. Asset intelligence tools provide the real-time situational awareness utilities need to balance supply and demand, anticipate grid stress, and integrate renewables more reliably.

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Energy

Asset Intelligence is a Major Factor in Modernizing the Energy Grid

Real-time visibility into distributed energy assets is becoming essential for utilities navigating the shift toward renewable power and decentralization

This story was produced through MarketScale. See how Energy teams put it to work with Customer Stories & Case Studies.

By Dominique Meyer, Ph.D. · May 7, 2024, 11:11 PM UTCAsset IntelligenceCharlie NoblesDr. Dominique MeyerEnergy

Key takeaways

Real-time visibility into distributed energy assets is essential for utilities managing the shift to renewables.

Asset intelligence enables more proactive grid management, reducing outages and improving operational efficiency.

Decentralization of the energy grid increases the complexity that utilities must monitor and control.

The global energy grid is seeing increased demand as renewable energy sources, electric vehicles (EVs), and battery storage systems become increasingly integrated into our daily lives. This shift has highlighted the urgent need for modernization strategies that can accommodate such dynamic changes. With a growing trend towards a decentralized energy landscape, the complexity behind the meter has transformed the once straightforward grid into a dynamic and complex ecosystem. Enter asset intelligence and its use in modernizing the energy grid.

How can asset intelligence drive the future of grid modernization?

Addressing this question is Dr. Dominique Meyer, CEO of Looq AI, and Charlie Nobles, Vice President of Utilities Business Development at Ubicquia, Inc. During a recent Experts Talk roundtable examining what needs to be factored for modernizing the grid, both experts offered some analysis of the current state and future directions of grid modernization, emphasizing where asset intelligence comes into play.

Several of the key takeaways Meyer and Nobles spoke on were:

The integration of distributed energy systems, renewables, and EVs are contributing to unprecedented levels of demand on the grid. This scenario is described as an inflection point, necessitating a reevaluation of current grid modernization practices.
Dr. Meyer highlighted the importance of understanding the existing grid assets as a fundamental step in addressing the challenges posed by new energy demands. This involves leveraging AI to gain critical insights into the physical and informational aspects of the grid.
Nobles provided a historical perspective, noting the grid's evolution from a simple, monolithic structure to one that is highly complex and segmented. This evolution was partly driven by the need for increased safety and efficiency in the past decades.
The grid has undergone significant sectionalization to minimize impacts during outages, introducing many potential failure points. The modern grid is now characterized by a high degree of segmentation and complex interactions, particularly with the advent of behind-the-meter technologies like rooftop solar and EVs.
Utilities and telecommunications companies need to proactively manage data and use asset intelligence effectively to plan and adapt to the new energy challenges. This strategic planning is crucial for the sustainable development of the grid.

Dr. Meyer and Charlie Nobles outline the vital steps needed to navigate the complexities of today's energy grid, stressing the integration of advanced technologies and strategic foresight.

Video TranscriptExpand ↓

You know, Nick, I think you nailed it with the interconnectivity, between distributed energy systems and renewables coming into play. Battery storage systems, EVs, pulling a demand that I think the grid has never seen before. And, you know, that's, I think, kicking off a inflection point to how we gotta think about the modernization of our grid. And that comes at first point to understanding what is currently there. Right? And look, AI is a company where we're really heavily focused on that asset intelligence of those physical assets, those information pieces of the critical human infrastructure that we need to modernize our grid and then come up with a plan. Right? Right? And these utilities, and telcos need to really proactively think about that data efficiency so that they come up come up with a plan, right, how to address the energy challenges that we have never faced before. Right? And that's really where all of our focuses can and will be in the coming decades to to succeed. So I'll give you guys a perspective. I've been watching the grid evolve for many years. I used to be a utility, manager, so I've been in the in operational side side of the grid. And the grid you mentioned the term, Daniel, that the modern grid. The grid used to be very monolithic. It was from trans just, generation, transmission, distribution to the loads. And the loads are very simple loads. They were consuming only. And now, there was a push in the eighties, early nineties for improvements in safety and safety. So what did we do? We sectionalized the grid so we could minimize impact as we had outages or issues. And by sectionalizing the grid, we added a lot of moving parts, which themselves are potential failure points. And now we have behind the meter loads, distributed energy resources. We have rooftop solar, which has bidirectional flow, of course. We have EV, which is the great unplanned load. So complex things behind the meter. Much more segmentation, and sectionalization within the grid distribution side proper, a lot of moving parts. So the modern grid is a much more complex organization.

About the author

Dominique Meyer, Ph.D.

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