Grid Edge: smart for the new normal

COVID-19 is one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century so far. Protecting people’s lives is the most pressing issue. And while we are busy flattening the curve for COVID-19, we should not lose sight of the other curve that risks even more – the climate curve.

2020 is yet again expected to be the hottest year since records began. Yet, with any crisis comes opportunities. Let’s dial up our sense of urgency, particularly having seen what can be done when the choice is taken out of our hands. Business, government and individuals need to work together to foster clean energy or we risk irreparable damage to our beautiful planet. Solutions at the grid edge can be game changers in this mission.

New business models are developing

So, what is the grid edge? Another buzzword? Absolutely not… It has big potential. In an evolving, increasingly decentralized energy ecosystem, the grid edge is the point of interaction between consumer, prosumer, the energy market and the intelligent grid. This is the place where new business models, technologies, markets and players are developing – all in an effort to create efficient and sustainable energy solutions that will enable buildings, infrastructures and industries to optimize their energy performance intelligently. Customers can therefore integrate more renewables efficiently, while ensuring stable energy supply and becoming prosumers of energy.

More EV charging points are necessary

The grid edge brings together so many elements - energy trading, storage, grid-interactive buildings, sector coupling, EV charging, renewable integration, load balancing… just as a warmup.

Let me go deeper in one area: Ever thought about switching to an e-car? Here in Germany you might be more tempted than ever with the government’s COVID-19 stimulus package including a buyer’s premium for e-cars. But all of that quickly becomes irrelevant if you feel that charging your new vehicle is going to be a big hassle. Figures unveiled by UK government’s Department for Transport (DFT) indicate consumers appear to have got the message to go all-in on e-mobility by opting for battery EVS rather than battery and petrol or diesel or hybrids.

Charge your car right outside your front door

And the challenge can be greater in big cities often with space at a premium and little or no space to implement additional e-charging meters. That is why Siemens has partnered up with ubitricity and London’s Westminster City Council to convert the first street in the UK for the purpose of EV charging. 24 streetlamps in this new Electric Avenue and over 1,300 lamp posts in all of London have been transformed into charging stations for electric vehicles using the existing urban infrastructure, giving residents the opportunity to charge their e-car right outside their front door. ‘Electric Avenue, W9’ showcases how innovations at the grid edge can foster the use of sustainable drive systems and create environments that care – for better air quality and the protection of our planet.

There are many more examples where solutions at the grid edge are enabling the integration of renewables while creating greater grid flexibility. If you are still not convinced that this is more than just buzzword bingo, please join our virtual Grid Edge Summit next week. Together with Dr. Karsten Wildberger, Member of Board and COO at E.ON, and Haitze Siemers, Head of Unit “New energy technologies, innovation and clean coal”, DG Energy, European Commission, I will be discussing the vision, regulatory frameworks and energy concepts at the grid edge.