DTECH 2024: Siemens’ Distributed Energy Resources Insights and Network Modeling Are Set to Pave the Way for a Smarter, Greener Grid

As the digital age accelerates, the burgeoning demand for data centers has propelled the industry toward integrating distributed energy resources (DERs) to ensure a sustainable, green energy supply. Companies like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are leading the charge, leveraging green energy solutions such as wind, solar, and innovative hydrogen fuel cells to meet their carbon neutrality goals. These efforts not only reflect a profound industry-wide commitment to decarbonizing the grid but also underscore the critical need for innovative solutions to support this transformation.

On the show floor of DISTRIBUTECH 2024, MarketScale captured an insightful interview with Marcus McCarthy, Senior Vice President at Siemens. McCarthy delves deep into the importance of integrating distributed energy resources and the role of standardized network modeling in facilitating the next generation of green-powered data centers.

Marcus' Thoughts

"The interesting thing with data centers is that all of them want to use green energy. So they fit into the paradigm of needing to double the capacity of the grid really, really quickly while decarbonizing how we create and distribute electricity. So they fit perfectly into that paradigm and we need to upgrade the network, upgrade the software and create a next-generation grid to meet their needs.

Understanding what's happening on the grid today, so understanding where renewables are, where DERs are, that's distributed energy resources, is the first step because if you don't understand where they are, if you don't have data about them, you can't plan. And so we're launching a product this week called DER Insights, which provides the utility with that information and also provides them with that information in the context of what's happening on their network or the stresses that might be on the network. Understanding that information gives them an opportunity to use those resources to manage their network better.

The things that excite me most are around standardized network modeling. It's a particular issue in the industry and that standardized network modeling then allows faster simulation of different scenarios or contingencies on the network. I'm particularly interested in that. Again, as I said, DER Insights, where we're providing data on where DERs are on the network. And I think if you went back a year ago and spoke to a lot of utilities, they wouldn't have understood the challenge that was ahead with regard to doubling capacity while decarbonizing. Today, everybody is on message and understands the challenge ahead."