Hitachi Energy collaborates with customers on scalable grid solutions and power quality

Most recently, Hitachi Energy announced the availability of Nostradamus AI, an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered energy forecasting solution designed to help energy sector stakeholders improve forecasting and decision-making, including where it might be optimal or necessary to add new substations.

Power substations play a crucial role in integrating renewable energy sources into the national grid, managing generation fluctuations, and maintaining grid stability. By leveraging advanced technologies like IoT, AI, and digital solutions, companies like Hitachi Energy are enhancing efficiency, reliability, and sustainability, supporting the transition to a carbon-neutral energy future. Ramkumar shares more insights into the industry.

What role do power substations play in integrating renewable energy sources into the national grid, and how can Hitachi Energy’s solutions address challenges in this respect?

Power substations (Grid connections) are critical electrical components that serve as the backbone for integrating renewable energy sources like solar, wind, and hydroelectric power into the national grid and transforming to match the transmission network’s voltage. They act as connection points, helping address the intermittent nature of renewable energy.

The grid connections regulate the flow of electricity and balance supply and demand, ensuring the grid remains stable even when renewable generation fluctuates due to weather conditions. Additionally, it contributes to grid resiliency by providing redundancy and backup capabilities. In power outages or equipment failures, grid connections can reroute electricity and isolate affected areas to minimise disruptions and restore power quickly.

The increased power flow from renewable energy generation often strains existing grid infrastructure, necessitating costly upgrades or expansions of grid connections. Many renewable projects are also located in remote areas, demanding the construction of new grid connections and transmission lines, which can significantly increase costs and extend project timelines.

The increasing penetration of renewables, the decentralisation of power generation, and the electrification and decarbonisation of traditional fossil-based industries create challenging operating environments for power systems. Due to more variable power flows, lower inertia, and predictability, the need for increasingly controlled interconnection capacity, green energy corridors, and directly feeding cities is required to support remote sustainable generation. Inertia is crucial to ensure overall grid stability.

To address the challenges and the needs of a fast-evolving power system, Hitachi Energy recently launched Grid-enSure™, a fully integrated portfolio that comprises Hitachi Energy’s top-end solutions, present and future, based on Power Electronics and Advanced Control Systems. Designed to enhance the grid’s flexibility, resilience and stability, a portfolio of fully integrated solutions that help enhance grid flexibility, resilience, and stability to accelerate the sustainable energy transition.

Hitachi Energy partners with customers to deliver scalable grid connections and power quality solutions. Our solutions tackle integration challenges with today’s evolving renewable energy sources and transmission and distribution networks to ensure power quality, reliability and availability.

We have advanced and proven solutions and digital platforms to help our customers overcome complexity, increase efficiency and accelerate the shift toward a carbon-neutral energy future. With new and high-tech solutions, agile business models and an ever-evolving portfolio of flexible plug-and-play integrated product modules, our experienced people deliver the right solutions, effectively and efficiently, configured for each customer’s unique needs.

We have exceptional system design, project management, and domain execution expertise in brownfield and greenfield projects and across key growth segments such as data centres, industries, renewables, transportation, and utilities.

An energy system based on electricity means that more grid connections are needed to connect generation to the grid. Hitachi Energy’s Grid-eXpand™ is a range of modular and prefabricated grid connection solutions that make the grid expansion faster, simpler and more efficient to integrate utility-scale renewable energy sources and expand power grid capacity to accelerate the transition to a more sustainable energy system.

How do Hitachi Energy’s Nostradamus AI and SAM600 enhance forecasting accuracy and support grid stability with renewables?

Hitachi Energy has engineered digital substation solutions to enable utilities to meet the demands of the modern electricity network, address potential challenges, and deliver better visibility for protection, control, and monitoring. Earlier this year, we launched the SAM600 , which connects analogue to digital, digitally distributing current and voltage information through the substation and control centre. This allows utilities on all voltage levels to gain enhanced flexibility and security.

Most recently, we announced the availability of Nostradamus AI, an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered energy forecasting solution designed to help energy sector stakeholders improve forecasting and decision-making, including where it might be optimal or necessary to add new substations. The demand for more precise forecasting grows as the global energy landscape evolves. Renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, contribute to grid volatility while expanding electricity demand and decarbonisation goals add further complexity. Nostradamus AI helps to bridge the gap between traditional forecasting models and the modern energy market by processing vast, disparate data sets to help provide more reliable predictions.

Through innovative solutions like these, Hitachi Energy improves substation performance and supports the broader goals of the National Smart Grid Mission by creating a more reliable, efficient, and sustainable power network. 

How does your company ensure sustainability while utilising digitalisation to expedite project execution and coordination?

At our company, we are embracing digitalisation and leveraging advanced technologies to enhance the speed and efficiency of project execution. One key advancement is the implementation of Building Information Modelling (BIM).

BIM serves as a cornerstone for our digital transformation. It integrates structured, multi-disciplinary data into a cloud-based platform, enabling accelerated interdisciplinary clarifications and approvals, improved site activity coordination, and faster visualisation and execution of project designs.

Data-driven decision-making is one of the steps by which data is harnessed as a strategic asset. We ensure accurate tendering, budgeting, and real-time monitoring, reducing delays and improving alignment with project goals. Through integrated collaboration platforms, we connect all stakeholders across the value chain, breaking down silos between disciplines and enhancing communication and coordination with customers and partners.

Additionally, through optimised engineering practises, we reduce lead times and minimise inefficiencies. Our projects focus on sustainability and incorporate detailed resource optimisation and environmental impact evaluations, leading to sustainable practices without compromising execution speed. By adopting these advancements, we aim to expedite project execution and ensure high-quality outcomes, enhanced safety, and long-term sustainability.

How can government-private sector partnerships accelerate grid modernisation and ensure sustainable energy transition through innovation?

Collaboration between the government and private sector stakeholders is crucial for efficient financing and implementing upgrades to existing grid connections. Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) serve as an effective framework for this collaboration. The private sector can bring innovative financing mechanisms, advanced project management expertise, and cutting-edge technological solutions, complementing government efforts and accelerating project execution. Such partnerships also attract private investment, supplement public funds, and ensure timely project completion.

A clear and stable regulatory framework is vital for fostering this collaboration. Predictable policies reduce uncertainties, encouraging private entities to invest confidently. Additionally, government-provided tax incentives, such as accelerated depreciation or subsidies, enhance the financial viability of projects. Streamlining approval processes and reducing bureaucratic hurdles further improve efficiency, reducing project timelines and costs. Capacity building is another critical area where collaboration can yield significant benefits. Joint initiatives can focus on developing training programs for engineers and technicians, equipping them with grid connection design, operation, and maintenance skills. Skill development initiatives ensure a steady pipeline of talent for the power sector, addressing workforce challenges and supporting long-term operational excellence.

By fostering partnerships, streamlining policies, and prioritising skill development, the government and private sector can collectively modernise grid connections, enhancing grid reliability and supporting the nation’s energy transition.