Increasing penetration of renewable energy has had a major impact on power grids all over the world, necessitating the need for digital technologies to handle factors such as variability, ABB power grids division president Claudio Facchin said at the ABB Customer World Africa Conference 2018 on Tuesday.

On the supply side, grids are now more complex and on the demand side, new loads like electric vehicles and data centers have to be factored in.

“The grid needs to become more flexible, and adapt quickly across the value chain, while ensuring reliability and efficiency,” he said.

Citing the International Energy Agency, Facchin said renewables were expected to capture two-thirds of global investment in power plants by 2040 as they become the least-cost source of new generation. Renewables are increasingly cost-effective, having reached grid parity in many cases and even beyond.

“Bulk solar is a good example and countries like India and parts of the Middle East are deploying these at an increasing pace. As far as the grid is concerned, we already see a strong trend addressing the challenges on the transmission side in trying to create a more interconnected grid,” he said.

Facchin further noted that there was growth in distributed power generation by individuals, like solar photovoltaic (PV) panels on house rooftops.

“We see both trends growing and are constantly developing advanced technology solutions to deal with the complexity of the evolving grid.”

Facchin pointed out that digitisation played a pivotal role in supporting the transformation of the grid, leveraging the increasing amount of data that can be collected from the field.

This, he said, enabled grid operators to make informed decisions on the right investments and how best to use assets in a faster and more reliable way.

From an Africa perspective, access to electricity is a key priority and a key facilitator for economic and social development. Facchin pointed out that for those who have a grid connection today, supply was often unreliable, necessitating widespread and costly use of back-up generators running on diesel or petrol.

A key challenge Africa faces is supplying reliable electricity around the clock, especially to remote communities and off-grid communities and industrial establishments.

“By integrating renewable energy resources like sun and wind ABB Ability-based microgrid solutions with advanced controls and storage capability can enable reliable electricity supply and substantially reduce fossil fuel costs and carbon emissions,” he said.

Microgrids consist of distributed energy resources and loads that operate in a controlled, coordinated way and are typically located at, or near, the place where energy is used. They have the advantage of being quick to build and can operate either as standalone grids or be connected to the main power grid. In sunny or windy places, microgrids can be powered by renewable energy, such as a small-scale solar farm or local wind turbines.

“While bulk power will certainly be needed given the scale of demand, the geographic expanse and growth ambition of Africa, microgrid technology can help bridge the power demand-supply gap with speed and in a cost-effective way.”

He added that microgrid technology could be a way to bring electricity to remote or isolated areas, and that the automation technology for managing the integration of renewables was becoming much more affordable, which meant that opportunities to harness the power of these sources of energy could be tapped across Africa.

“A microgrid solution has full on- and off-grid functionalities and can prioritse renewable energy before using possible existing diesel generation based back-up solution. This environmentally friendly solution also often reduces the operational cost, and the battery can store excess PV power that is not consumed,” he said.