Grid Edge Technologies take Centre Stage as South Africa Moves to Avert an Electricity Crisis

Siemens South Africa and EE Business intelligence collaborate to host a virtual Grid Edge Symposium that will introduce the power of Grid Edge technologies; discover how Grid Edge solutions could revolutionize the South African energy landscape; Grid Edge technologies will play an instrumental role in decarbonizing the global energy system.

The global energy system is being transformed, becoming more decentralised, utilising more renewables and turning electricity consumers into prosumers (consumers and producers) of electricity; but this change creates challenges at the interface between the grid and consumers – the grid edge.

These developments are highlighting a change of perspective in the global energy landscape. In the past, companies have mainly focused on the grid – the regulated side of the medal; however, the rising need for sustainability as well as new technologies is shifting focus to the other side of the coin: to buildings, prosumers and consumers.

To explore grid edge technologies and solutions, Siemens South Africa, in collaboration with EE Business Intelligence, is hosting a Grid Edge Virtual Symposium on Thursday 14 October 2021 from 09h30 to 11h30 SAST (GMT+2).

The virtual symposium will be moderated by Chris Yelland, MD at EE Business Intelligence, and the opening keynote presentation will be made by Sabine Dall’Omo, CEO of Siemens Southern and Eastern Africa, and President of Siemens Smart Infrastructure.

The interlinking of existing smart technologies for grids, buildings and industrial automation, is creating a new dimension in the sustainable energy landscape; this is what we at Siemens call the ‘grid edge’. The major building blocks for grid edge include decentralized energy solutions, renewable integration, grid-interactive buildings, energy storage and eMobility charging infrastructure, these are topics that have become fundamental to addressing South Africa’s energy crisis and transition” said Sabine Dall’Omo CEO of Siemens Southern and Eastern Africa.

Solutions at the grid edge could enable domestic, commercial, industrial, mining, agricultural and transportation entities to optimise their energy efficiency and consumption. They empower customers and prosumers to intelligently integrate renewables, and to take control of their energy supply.

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Grid edge technologies also support infrastructure for eMobility expansion, where electric vehicles (EVs) may be connected to the grid as distributed energy storage entities. When connected at the grid edge, EVs may be charged from the grid as a consumer and generate electricity back into the grid as a producer when so required.

As delays and gaps in public procurement processes for new generation capacity in South Africa in terms of the country’s Integrated Resource Plan for electricity IRP 2019 become clearer, grid edge technologies are beginning to take center stage. Customers are realising that they need to take control and responsibility for their own energy future, and become part of the solution”, said Chris Yelland, managing director at EE Business Intelligence.

By working at the grid edge, the relationships between consumption, production and storage are redefined. Digitalization and new business models are helping manage complex energy flows and the interplay between production and consumption –increase the energy system’s flexibility and reliability.

Grid edge solutions are therefore accelerating the transition towards a lower-carbon future and transforming today’s energy landscape to create a more caring environment.

Additional Information

Presenters at the Grid Edge Virtual Symposium include:

• Guenther Fleischer, Siemens Business Developer, and global expert for Smart Infrastructure.
• Deon Henriksen, Siemens Smart Infrastructure Vice President for Digital Grid and Distribution Systems.
• Marco Rahner, Siemens South Africa Smart Infrastructure Sales Director and technical portfolio expert.
• Christian Pohl, Siemens global Business Development Manager – Sustainability and Decarbonisation.

Topics that will be covered at the Grid Edge Virtual Symposium include:

• The role and future of Grid Edge in the South African market.
• Smart integration of renewable energy resources.
• Distributed energy solutions for local energy supply.
• Enabling Grid Edge technologies through Power Electronics.
• eMobility charging infrastructure.
• Smart Infrastructure for Industry and Independent Power Producers.
• Software Solutions at the Grid Edge.

Attendance at the at the Grid Edge Virtual Symposium is free-of-charge, register to attend online here (https://sie.ag/3FEj9AM).