Perspectives

COVID-19. Negative oil pricing. Wildfires. Grid instability. Rolling Blackouts. Global energy market shocks. These are just a few of the disruptive forces facing owners and operators of traditional power generation assets. For asset owners on the edge of the dispatch curve, rapidly changing regulatory requirements and consumer preferences further cloud capital planning programs as 2020 kicked off a market in transition. 

There is no denying that rapid change is afoot across the power industry. Demand for energy continues to grow, generation techniques are increasingly efficient and cost-effective, and innovative practices are becoming the norm. Solar and wind continue to be introduced at accelerating rates to satisfy burgeoning global needs.

Across the nation, the drive to electrify transportation is shifting into high gear, with further acceleration expected as market participants increasingly see electric vehicles (EVs) as a gateway to sizable business benefits.

As the world continues to shift towards decarbonization in chemical production, and strong market demand drives the transition to carbon-free energies, ammonia’s role in the green energy economy continues to expand. Best known for its traditional role in fertilizer production, ammonia is gaining attention in other applications.

The cost of solar and wind continue to fall while consumers demand more low carbon energy, driving U.S. electric utilities to broaden their portfolio of cleaner generation.

Mitesh Patel, Business Development Director & Associate Vice President, Renewable Energy, Asia, speaks to Uma Gupta of  pv magazine about the key trends driving the solar market, especially in Southeast Asia, and strategies to improve the bankability of PV projects.

There is no denying the rise of distributed energy resources (DER) as policy makers, regulators, environmentalists and the public sector press for decarbonization, resiliency, energy independence and sustainability. As this distributed market grows at an accelerating pace, both behind and in front of the meter, the electric utility industry faces questions around what a distributed grid landscape will look like and the challenges it presents in terms of their role, business model, revenue, margins and asset management as the market develops and matures.

"How" is the big question facing the electric industry across Asia as we look ahead to 2021 and a world post-COVID-19.

Over the past 20 years, considerable progress has been made towards achieving universal, reliable and affordable access to electric power. Whether the region will enable the transition to less carbon-intensive energy sources — principally through a step-change in the amount of renewable energy generation on the grid — is a question that will challenge all parties in the months ahead.

The COVID-19 pandemic threw a wrench into the power utility sector’s cybersecurity planning, leaving North American electric utility leaders facing the challenge of securing the grid against the growing threat of cyberattacks while meeting profound changes in energy use.

The global energy landscape is changing rapidly, and the shift towards a smarter, more sustainable, reliable and resilient grid is occurring at an accelerating rate. Huge changes are needed in the nation’s power distribution infrastructure to deliver a modern network that is advanced enough to meet today’s rapidly changing expectations, yet flexible enough to one day enable a range of next-gen capabilities.