(Credit: Siemens)Siemens Smart Infrastructure announced an open, modular suite of grid software to address the increasingly critical energy transition. The suite enables stakeholders to be fast, agile and flexible when coping with existing and future energy challenges, the company says.
The new grid software offering enables energy companies to easily and quickly implement smart technology for their grid planning and management. These IT upgrades will be faster and less costly than investments in hardware, according to Siemens. Through the modular approach, the parts will fit together and can be tailored to meet the individual needs of grid operators. Customers can synchronize data easily across their IT and OT systems, including their grid planning software, meter data management systems, Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Advanced Distribution Management Systems (ADMS), and then optimize workflows. Insights from analytics and AI will be directly transferred into actions, which lead to a significant improvement in grid operations. Additionally, across its power grid portfolio, Siemens meets strict cyber security requirements, security standards, and regular security updates, the company says.
Siemens’ software enables customers to run grid protection simulations up to six times faster than the current speed of execution, supporting utilities to better plan, operate and maintain power networks. All upcoming modules of the software suite from Siemens will be developed to interact seamlessly and enable agility. At the same time, they will keep the power grid cyber-resilient while also creating a digital twin of the grid throughout planning, simulation, real-time operations and maintenance of power grids.
Knowledge Sourcing Intelligence states that the smart grid software market was evaluated at $6 billion in 2019 and is expected to grow 21% annually to reach a market size of $23 billion by 2026.
Other advancements in grid software include Swell Energy, an energy and smart grid solutions company, which recently announced the roll out of GridAmp, its Distributed Energy Resource Management System (DERMS). The enhanced DERMS platform aggregates Distributed Energy Resources (DERs), including solar and battery storage devices, into virtual power plants (VPPs) to provide advanced grid capabilities to utilities.
