As long as the digitization process is involved in the integration of the energy cloud, there will be room for improvement. Given the early stage of the fourth revolution, the energy & utility industry is still immature to embrace the full potential of the energy cloud. However, we can find several practices of energy digitization from different parts of the world that can be taken and implemented in similar industrial platforms. Such two cases are:
Kaiserwetter Energy
This German energy asset management company operates 51 solar and wind parks using cloud tools. Along with its sister organizations, i.e., Blockchain startup, e Bankymoon, and Stedin, this company serves as an interactive peer-to-peer market for its produced energy and can restore power to customers within a minute of power outrage. It also examines its performance through benchmarking against similar utility operations from investment companies, banks, supranational organizations, and energy companies in their regional, national, and international endeavors and by doing so globally promote investments into renewable energy. Kaiserwetter has successfully integrated different modules of energy technologies and parameters, such as centralized generation, decentralized generation, energy trading, grid management, B2B sales, and B2C sales.
Two of its most innovative cloud-based energy platforms are:
Aristoteles: This innovative cloud-based IoT platform is using the possibilities offered by digitization and intelligent data analysis. Based on smart data analytics, predictive analytics, and machine learning, Aristoteles can achieve a decisive improvement of renewable energy assets and its entire portfolio. Aristoteles aggregates technical, meteorological, and in particular financial data transforming unstructured data into a structured database. This platform provides greater transparency, a minimized investment risk, and maximum yield for the customers ranging from energy producers to funding banks.
Zulu: Zulu is an online service configurator for the technical and commercial management of Windparks – an organization that provides market intelligence on wind energy. At present Zulu is available in Hamburg and Madrid. Other energy asset classes such as solar parks, photovoltaic plants, biomass power plants, and hydroelectric plants are subsequently integrated into Zulu. With Zulu, Kaiserwetter has successfully integrated digital innovation in the services sector.
Accenture
Accenture is already one of the growth champions of energy digitization and transformation. It provides analytics-powered performance to serve the growing customer base from all over the world. The utility company runs its data integration and numerous business disciplines of the oil and gas industry through a digitally integrated cloud system. This way, Accenture fosters an analytically astute, and insight-driven enterprise for its customers. Accenture provides four key business and technology services to its customers:
Asset Life-Cycle Management: Technology solution enabled real-time, and remote-controlled maintenance mechanism to expand the life cycle of the transmission, generation, and distribution of asset and infrastructure.
Integrated Customer Service: Innovative and digitized products and services related to power generation and energy management; bundled targeted to integrated customer satisfaction.
Grid Optimization and Aggregation: Grid optimization through optimum load distribution, network monitoring and end-to-end connected markets; activated by connected devices and advanced surveillance gears.
Beyond the Electron: Highly personalized and interconnected services beyond the energy value chain customized for the consumer; being electricity from a commodity to an experience.
