The rapid rise of renewables points towards a future of decentralised energy, especially when the scalability of solar is considered. However, the increased penetration of renewables in the energy supply and eventual adoption of microgrids can only be made possible through storage solutions and the related digital energy management systems. Energy storage technologies face challenges similar to what solar photovoltaics (PV) had to overcome in order to achieve bankability and thus large scale deployment. Track records need to be established, and investors and customers need proper means of technical evaluation for the technology. Standardisation for components and systems needs to be adopted, and supportive regulatory frameworks and viable business models need to be established.
Furthermore, the digitalisation trend will see artificial intelligence, Internet-of-Things and Industry 4.0 turn homes and buildings into active parts of our electricity networks. The smart utility will empower demand-side management and other new, innovative services for its prosumers. On the other hand, the high volume of sensitive customer data to be handled calls for stringent cybersecurity protocols, and the large variation of systems interacting throughout the grid require interoperability standards to make sure they can work together seamlessly.
These opportunities and challenges are the focus of the Asia Clean Energy Summit’s (ACES) twin conference tracks: the Financial Summit and the Digital Transformation of Energy, which are held today. These tracks are organised by VDE Renewables in partnership with the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore (SEAS), which is the main organiser of ACES. The event brings together key industry stakeholders to discuss concrete solutions for the clean energy sector’s burning issues.
“We are very happy to be organising our knowledge platform this year for the 7th time in Singapore, which is the place to be for the regional cleantech sector. We are proud to have hosted thousands of attendees and hundreds of speakers from the financial sector, project developers, manufacturers, research institutions and more, over the years. VDE strives to support the clean energy industry in tackling its contemporary challenges, and the Financial Summit and Digital Transformation Energy events help us obtain the feedback we need from industry stakeholders. Thanks to these dialogues, we were very successful in developing our bankability solutions for solar and wind. We look forward to expanding our proven approach to new areas in the cleantech field,” said Burkhard Holder, Managing Director of VDE Renewables.
A concrete result of these dialogues is the VDE Global Energy Storage Competence Cluster (GECC) and its energy storage testing laboratory in Singapore, which was launched earlier today at the opening of the ACES together with VDE’s partners, the Energy Research Institute @ Nanyang Technological University and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems. The VDE Prime Lab in Singapore, which forms part of the GECC initiative, is the first in the world to offer bankability and insurability certification for energy storage solutions at the systems level, which will plug a critical gap in the global energy landscape
“The GECC is another milestone in our track record of offering tailored solutions to support the bankability, investability and insurability of clean energy suppliers and projects. As a globally active technical and scientific association focused on electrical, electronic and information technologies, we are honored to expand our presence even further in an important regional hub like Singapore. VDE invites the industry to join us as we create new standards and evaluation criteria for renewables and energy storage technologies, cybersecurity and interoperability in this new era built upon the megatrends of clean energy and Internet-of-Things,” said Ansgar Hinz, CEO of the VDE Association.
ACES website: www.asiacleanenergysummit.com
