Why The Energy Transition is Grid’s Greatest Challenge

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GE Vernova

Proficy® Software

GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE: GEV) is a purpose-built global energy company that includes Power, Wind, and Electrification segments and is supported by its accelerator businesses. Building on over 130 years of experience tackling the world’s challenges, GE Vernova is uniquely positioned to help lead the energy transition by continuing to electrify the world while simultaneously working to decarbonize it. GE Vernova helps customers power economies and deliver electricity that is vital to health, safety, security, and improved quality of life. GE Vernova is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., with approximately 75,000 employees across 100+ countries around the world. Supported by the Company’s purpose, The Energy to Change the World, GE Vernova technology helps deliver a more affordable, reliable, sustainable, and secure energy future.

GE Vernova’s Electrification Software business is focused on delivering the intelligent applications and insights needed to accelerate electrification and decarbonization across the entire energy ecosystem – from how it’s created, how it’s orchestrated, to how it’s consumed.

Dec 20, 2024 Last Updated
3 Minute Read

Here’s how AEMS provides a foundation for change.  
 
Renewable energy production looks set to accelerate this year. Emerging technologies, public concern around climate change, and new sustainability incentives are all driving the push towards a clean energy future.
 
At the heart of this transition, grid operators are bracing for both opportunity and disruption. The switch to renewables will open up new revenue streams, but it will also create an energy environment that’s less predictable and more complex to manage.
 
To make this transition successful, modernization is essential. Which is where GE Vernova’s Advanced Energy Management System (AEMS) come in. AEMS can help you transform how you collect, analyze, and extract value from your data — so you can successfully navigate the electric grid’s greatest challenge. 
 
Throwing unpredictability into the mix: the great renewables challenge
 
As the modern grid integrates with a growing network of renewable energy sources, complexity increases in a number of ways:
  • Supply and demand: Intermittent renewable energy sources make it harder to balance supply and demand in real time. This can lead to introducing overly conservative limits, and a general trend of operating reactively instead of proactively.
  • Accurate forecasting: The unpredictable nature of renewables also makes it tougher to plan, anticipate risk, and maintain grid stability.
  • Detecting anomalies: A lack of real-time data on renewable energy sources means that anomalies can be missed, potentially leading to sudden and highly disruptive blackouts.
  • Extreme weather events: In recent years, transmission utilities are facing more and more disruption caused by extreme weather conditions leading to increased wildfires, and new records for low and high temperatures across the globe
Against this backdrop of complexity, you need a clear and comprehensive view of your data. Only then can you work with greater agility, forecast with increasing accuracy, and minimize the potential for disruption.
 
Rise to the renewables challenge with AEMS
 
With GE Vernova’s AEMS, you can overcome the challenges outlined above and master how you manage renewables. Specifically, AEMS integrates a powerful set of Grid Software applications into a single solution (including EMS, WAMS, Renewables and Analytics), and gives you complete control and visibility of your network.
GE Vernova
GE Digital's Advanced Energy Management System (AEMS)
Image credit: GE Vernova
Balance generation, storage and load

Renewable energy production is inherently unpredictable. AEMS puts you back in control by helping you anticipate energy balance requirements. In turn, this gives you the freedom to plan and manage network capacity far more effectively.
GE Vernova
GE Digital’s SCADA display showing current Wind Farm production and Energy Storage Resource Status.
Image credit: GE Vernova
Gain increased visibility across your grid

AEMS provides a real-time and look-ahead view of the grid, all in one place. In the context of renewable integration, this gives you the ability to constantly optimize your assets and systems within a complex energy environment.
GE Vernova
GE’s Load, Renewables & DER Forecasting is designed to augment the capabilities of existing control rooms helping to cope with the intermittency of renewable generation and devices connecting to the grid.
Image credit: GE Vernova
Prevent potential blackouts

An increasing reliance on renewables means less system inertia to support the grid during generation losses. AEMS Inertia Monitoring and Forecasting’s advanced monitoring capabilities allows you to detect potential blackouts before they happen, so major disruptions can be safely mitigated.
GE Vernova
Renewable generation has led to a massive displacement of system inertia, requiring enhanced system visibility, and understanding to deliver fast-acting response services.
Image credit: GE Vernova
Dealing with extreme weather events

AEMS Realtime Shutdown & Restoration Manager (RTSRM) has been conceived to minimize the impacts of planned & un-planned outages and accelerate the restoration time of disconnected assets. With RTSRM, transmission utilities can quickly assess, react and reduce the impacts caused by weather events increasing grid resiliency and electricity continuity.
GE Vernova
Autopilot Plan Validation dashboard presenting the real-time performance of RTSRM
Image credit: GE Vernova
Increase your visibility with new sensors

Many utilities have deployed PMUs as part of incentive plans and R&D initiatives. AEMS now comes integrated with Linear State Estimation that can provide real-time grid awareness using synchrophasors. With Linear State Estimator, utilities now have a powerful solution for grid awareness that can provide an extra layer of resilience to traditional RTU based State Estimator.
GE Vernova
Real-time Linear State Estimator (RT-LSE) Summary Tab and Single Line Display
Image credit: GE Vernova
Ready to accelerate your renewables journey?

GE Vernova’s AEMS has arrived to assist grid operators successfully navigate their renewables journey and become more agile, fast-moving organizations. AEMS is designed to help the modern grid overcome multiple challenges, including complex digital transformation efforts.

Author Section

Author

GE Vernova

Proficy® Software

GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE: GEV) is a purpose-built global energy company that includes Power, Wind, and Electrification segments and is supported by its accelerator businesses. Building on over 130 years of experience tackling the world’s challenges, GE Vernova is uniquely positioned to help lead the energy transition by continuing to electrify the world while simultaneously working to decarbonize it. GE Vernova helps customers power economies and deliver electricity that is vital to health, safety, security, and improved quality of life. GE Vernova is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., with approximately 75,000 employees across 100+ countries around the world. Supported by the Company’s purpose, The Energy to Change the World, GE Vernova technology helps deliver a more affordable, reliable, sustainable, and secure energy future.

GE Vernova’s Electrification Software business is focused on delivering the intelligent applications and insights needed to accelerate electrification and decarbonization across the entire energy ecosystem – from how it’s created, how it’s orchestrated, to how it’s consumed.