Utilities Tech Outlook Weekly Brief
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IT services and utilities are joining forces to deliver safer and cleaner energy and drive significant transformations.
FREMONT, CA: Renewable sources of energy are finding more takers than ever before. A combination of factors like growing awareness about the environmental impact of non-renewable sources of energy, advancement in production and distribution technologies and reduction in costs is promoting increased use of wind and solar energy across the globe. Utility companies are rising to the occasion and looking to set up facilities to generate power using renewable sources. Supporting the companies in their efforts are IT service providers by creating relevant solutions. Using IT solutions, utility firms can undertake faster development, increase capacity, and make processes efficient. Some of the key areas in which software companies offer impactful solutions are listed in this article.
• Optimizing Wind Power Generation
Wind farms are rising across the globe rapidly. With a large number of turbines deployed to convert winds into usable forms of energy, the sector has created demands for digital solutions that can improve control, coordination, and maintenance. IT companies are pioneering the development of software suites that have the potential to help producers get the maximum efficiency and productivity along with cost reductions. Today, there are products that can allow one to create a connected network of turbines, assisting in comprehensive monitoring and management. From one platform, technicians can coordinate and control the functioning of the turbines.
• Data Collection and Analytics for Wind Farms
Data analytics is as crucial to wind energy facilities as it is to the rest of the utility sector. The proliferation of smart sensors and the improvement in network architecture is making the Internet of Things (IoT) highly valuable. IT service providers recognize the potential of IoT in wind energy production facilities and are thus creating platforms through which various types of relevant data can be collected and utilized. Sensors can accumulate weather-related data and performance indicators in real-time, enabling the creation of detailed reports which help visualization and analysis of energy production. The sensors and analytics solutions together, assist in predicting the energy output, and thus enable better planning in operations well in advance.
• Predictive and Real-time Maintenance
Maintaining the assets in energy generation facilities can be a challenge. Traditional maintenance practices left many things to be desired, but in the era of digitalization, the process is becoming proactive and smart. IT services provide deep expertise in remote monitoring and maintenance with the help of technologies like IoT, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. Predictive maintenance is allowing swift diagnosis and remediation resulting in longer life cycles for equipment and machines. Transforming from legacy to digital models creates a scope for enhanced reliability and technical prowess.
• Tools for Design and Analysis of Wind Turbine
The use of IT services is not limited to the management and maintenance of wind farms but is also used for analyzing and designing efficient components, including turbines. Optimal design is central to the functionality of turbines as it directly determines the output capacities of windmills. Service providers have developed dedicated sets of solutions to aid the design and planning of renewable energy installations and parks. These smart applications take various parameters into consideration and combine them to help engineers model the structures accurately. Modern 3D graphics allow visual representation of designed elements and simulation technologies enable designers to check resilience against potentially damaging forces and loads. Many service providers have been able to integrate physical devices with software solutions which are used to analyze existing structures to check for safety and chances of optimization.
Wind energy is a viable and environment-friendly option that can help avert the imminent energy crisis in the near future. IT services are catapulting the utility industry with relevant solutions to help achieve faster growth and higher efficiency.
