The United Nations (UN) has confirmed it’s “now or never” to work towards limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and mitigate the consequences of climate change. Renewable energy will be vital to this, but conventional energy network monitoring systems are ill-equipped to manage these unpredictable energy sources. Here, Matthew Hawkridge, chief technology officer at Ovarro, the remote telemetry specialist, explains how operators can get renewables under control. Greenpeace reports that reducing the impact of fossil fuels in favour of renewable energy will be integral to halving global carbon pollution by 2030.
Another factor that will accelerate the transition towards renewable energy is the Ukraine crisis as the European Union seeks to phase-out Russia as its main supplier of petroleum oils and natural gas. Francesco La Camera, director general of IRENA, told Reuters : "Governments finally realize that going for renewables is not only good for the environment, jobs, gross domestic product (GDP), but also good for ensuring higher energy independency.”However, individual renewable energy sources are less predictable with smaller management demands, because they rely on low- or medium-voltages. Take solar panels, for instance. Because the sun shines at certain times, solar energy feeds energy back into the grid periodically rather than continually.
This makes renewable energy sources more unpredictable.Renewable energy systems also entail managing a wider portfolio of assets like wind, wave, marine, hydro, biomass and solar—compared with the relatively-few traditional sources like coal, gas or nuclear. Lastly, renewable energy sources are more complex because they feed energy back into the grid through microgeneration sites, which gives a back-and-forth supply of energy. For example, more than three million rooftops in Australia generated 17 gigawatts of electricity in 2021.
However, traditional grids weren’t designed for this and are instead equipped to facilitate a traditional top-down structure, where one producer supplies energy to many customers.This is why smart grids are essential to managing renewable energy, particularly gathering data. In the case of windfarms, multiple sensors can be affixed to mechanical gears in the wind turbines and used to monitor the climate and environmental conditions in real-time. However, given all the unpredictable factors mentioned above, it can be difficult to choose the right control technology.Furthermore, and aside from being expensive, conventional remote monitoring systems are ill-suited to the task of properly interpreting fluctuating generation data.
Diversified supply
Instead, as a solution, Ovarro recommends the use of remote telemetry units (RTUs). RTUs are already relied-upon within supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems around the world. They are used to monitor connections between conventional energy-powered facilities and the power grid, and are the best way to connect supervisory systems and connected objects within energy networks. However, RTUs used in gigawatt-generating conventional power plants are not suitable for the vast assortment of smaller, renewable options. Solar, biomass and wind are measured in kilowatts—and that is why, in these cases, smaller RTUs should instead be used.
Examples include Ovarro’s Kingfisher RTU , which supports multiple power supplies so that parallel connections to AC and DC supply systems can be used. This diversifies the supply and minimizes the risk of total failure. Each Ovarro RTU only draws a few watts, so can run easily off a solar power system or a small feed from the site generator. In addition, Ovarro RTUs also incorporate a battery management system and can run off a small rechargeable battery for extended periods, which removes the need for an uninterruptable power source. Smaller RTUs are the solution grid operators need to effectively monitor and control smaller, more varied and unpredictable renewable energy sources.
With these systems, nations around the world can realize the environmental benefits of renewables and higher energy independency—now, rather than never. To find out more about how smaller RTUs from Ovarro like the Kingfisher can help manage renewable energy, visit its website .
