Overcoming the challenges of the energy transition: Solutions for Power Grids

The world is undergoing an unprecedented energy transition. Climate goals are not only driving the shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources but also dramatically increasing demand, which is expected to double in less than 30 years.

Challenges often come in clusters and the energy transition introduces three interlinked challenges:

1. Increased demand driven by electrification of transportation and industry combined with growth of new energy-intensive technology. According to the latest estimates, global demand is expected to more than double by 2050 as nations work to meet climate goals set by the Paris Agreement.
2. Integration of renewable energy sources (RES) in the grid, often located far from urban load centers presenting challenges for grid integration. In addition, RES, are inherently more variable and less predictable than the centralized fossil generation they are replacing.
3. The combination of increased demand and integration of RES is driving the need of expansion of transmission and distribution grids at an unprecedented scale. This infrastructure overhaul is essential to balance the decentralized nature of renewable energy generation with the needs of consumers.

The combination of these factors introduces a level of unpredictability that makes maintaining the resilience, stability, and flexibility of power grids increasingly difficult. This challenging environment is further compounded by unforeseen changes that occur—such as the sudden rising energy demands driven by AI.

While the low cost of RES incentivizes developers to accelerate their build-out, it is the grid operators and some industry players such as large loads, that bear the burden of ensuring resilience, stability, and flexibility under increasingly challenging conditions. As if that weren’t enough, regulators are tightening grid codes for generators and consumers to ensure grid stability and power quality amidst these changes. 

The combination of the above requires navigation of these challenges with foresight to plan for a future that is inherently uncertain. The best approach is to adopt solutions that are both flexible and easily scalable, allowing for adaptation to real-world conditions without rendering existing investments obsolete.

This is where Hitachi Energy’s expertise comes into play.

Flexible solutions for a dynamic future

Hitachi Energy’s solutions, particularly those based on power electronics, embody characteristics like unparalleled flexibility and scalability, making them a powerful response to current and future grid challenges head-on. Our portfolio includes modular, highly controllable, and efficient technologies that are fully integrated with digital control systems. A fitting analogy might be comparing wired telephones to today’s smartphones or traditional petrol or diesel cars to electric vehicles. In the past, altering the functionality required significant physical changes or complete replacements. But today, with software updates and modular designs, we can adapt and upgrade these technologies more efficiently.

High voltage direct current (HVDC) systems, static frequency converters (SFC), thyristor-controlled series compensators (TCSC), static compensators (STATCOMs) - are widely relied on globally.

To further address the ever-changing energy landscape, we are continuously evolving our portfolio. In the past two years alone, we have launched an innovative enhanced version of STATCOM (Enhanced STATCOM) and two world-first hybrid solutions to help tackle emerging challenges.

While each solution has a distinct function, their applications and advantages frequently overlap. This complexity can make it challenging for energy stakeholders to pinpoint the exact technology — or blend of technologies — that best addresses their specific needs.

Local expertise, tailored solutions

One of the advantages of pioneering these technologies is that we have the biggest installed base of power electronic and advanced control solutions worldwide and an ever-growing reservoir of expertise ready to serve our customers.

What sets us apart is the accessibility of expertise. We've established the world's most extensive product management, engineering and consulting network, with localized teams in multiple countries. This ensures that we are just a call away, ready to provide support whenever needed. This allows us to work closely with customers to recommend whether a standard or customized solution is best for their immediate and future needs.

As we move forward, it’s crucial to remember that collaboration and partnership are key to successfully navigating the energy transition.

Always innovating, ever evolving

To put this into perspective, let me share some examples of how Hitachi Energy is advancing the technological evolution:

• Master plan designs for a sustainable future. We’ve played a crucial role in designing the grid of the future powered entirely by renewable energy — solar, wind, and green hydrogen. Our consultants mapped out the future energy system and the transmission backbone for the groundbreaking project NEOM in Saudi Arabia, which is set to be a blueprint for sustainable urban living with minimal environmental impact.

• Innovative Offshore Power Solutions: In Norway, we set a new benchmark by designing a 250 km power-from-shore AC connection for offshore oil and gas platforms. By integrating SVC Light®️ and TCSC, we developed a solution that delivers hydropower to these assets, significantly reducing their carbon footprint.

• Hybrid Power Quality Solutions: In Scotland, we worked with Scottish Power Transmission to develop a hybrid power quality solution that enables at least 280 more megawatts of renewable energy to flow through the existing power lines, while it also provides instantaneous voltage support and system strength for the British power grid.

• AI load integration: We are collaborating with data center (DtC) owners and utilities to evaluate the interconnection of large AI loads to the grid. Our focus is on finding solutions that minimize the impact on the grid while ensuring that the operational KPIs for the data centers are met.

All of these solutions are part of our comprehensive and ever-evolving Grid-enSure™ portfolio, which incorporate world-class power electronics and advanced control systems, supported by our Power Consulting team.

When planning for the future, it’s important to utilize technologies available today but also what is under development. As we continue to evolve, Hitachi Energy is your partner in navigating the uncertainties of the energy transition toward a more sustainable future.

More information on Hitachi Energy's Grid-enSure portfolio of solutions can be found here and more about Power Consulting here.