The Health Pulse

This episode is the last crusade of Electrifying AI’s first season and we’re in search of answers about the Holy Grail: energy storage. Our industry expert, Sal Gill, believes energy storage is set to transform our world. So what will the electric utility industry look like when the dust settles? We examine the possibilities that are on the horizon for the industry itself and for its customers. 

Join us again in early 2021 when Electrifying AI returns for its second season! Until then, be sure to visit sas.com/utilities to learn more about the connection between the greatest machine ever built (the electric grid) and the greatest enabler of our time (data analytics). 

Here’s a list of links to references for the topics we covered in this episode: 

• U.S. sets new record in energy storage deployment 
• The US just smashed its record for energy storage 
• “The Biden plan to build a modern, sustainable infrastructure and an equitable clean energy future” 
• Tesla begins construction of world’s largest battery storage facility 
• So, what exactly is green hydrogen? 

All presentations represent the opinions of the presenter and do not represent the position or the opinion of SAS.

While the electric utility industry is undergoing a fundamental shift, so are its customers. How they use (or in some cases produce) energy, their expectations and their preferences are all changing … quickly! Nowhere is that more evident than with the adoption of electric vehicles. At the same time, global carbon emissions have dropped more than 8% during the coronavirus pandemic. So, is a world of clean energy transportation — accelerated by COVID-19 – just around the corner? In this episode, Simon Hughes and Sal Gill discuss shifting consumer attitudes and behaviors as well as how the electric utility industry is responding to this new landscape. 

Join us in two weeks for the final episode of our inaugural season, The Holy Grail. We’ll examine how the electric utility industry will look when the dust from this current transformation settles and we’ll discuss the possibilities on the horizon. 

Here’s a list of links to references for the topics we covered in this episode: 

• GM is increasing spending to $27 billion to make 40% of its cars electric by 2025 
• California governor wants all new cars sold in the state to be zero-emissions by 2035 
• United States greenhouse gas emissions sources by sector 
• 101 companies committed to reducing their carbon footprint 
• The countries and states leading the phase out of fossil fuel cars 
• California’s Zero Emission Vehicle program 
• The true cost of powering an electric car 
• Plugging into Amazon’s fleet electrification strategy 
• A growing segment of eco-friendly work vehicles 
• Real-time pricing could help keep electric vehicles from burdening the grid 
• Electric vehicle market hits its tipping point 

All presentations represent the opinions of the presenter and do not represent the position or the opinion of SAS.

The electric utility industry, for all of its innovations over the years, has an entrenched business model. In this episode of Electrifying AI, we look at changing business models for the industry and examine what “energy independence” means.  

More to the point, we discuss: 

• Microgrids 
• “Prosumers,” peer-to-peer power trading and transactive energy 
• Energy as a service 
• Virtual power plants 

Join us in two weeks for our next episode, Your Next Greatest Investment. We’ll look at shifting consumer attitudes and behaviors, and how the electric utility industry is responding to this new consumer-driven energy landscape. 

Here’s a list of links to references for the topics we covered in this episode: 

• The evolution of power business models 
• A pathway to a carbon-free world 
• The secret to a 100% renewable energy system 
• Ten business models to accelerate utilities digital transformation 
• Energy as a service 
• Vehicle-to-grid technology 
• Virtual power plants  

All presentations represent the opinions of the presenter and do not represent the position or the opinion of SAS.

As concerns about the climate and environment become more pronounced we’ll take a look at how this is impacting the electric utility industry and how the industry is responding. Themes include changes in the industry, the brave new world of renewables, and democratizing energy.

More specifically in this episode we’ll be looking at:

• Heavyweight investors are swinging behind renewables
• Accelerating renewable adoption, including growth in offshore wind and solar PV, the arguments around utility scale renewables vs distributed renewables, and interconnection challenges for renewables in the US
• California rolling blackouts

Join us next time for our next episode which we are calling Energy Independence Anthem. The electric utility industry, for all of its innovations over the years, has an entrenched business model. We’ll look at changing business models for the industry and what “energy independence” means.

Here is a listing of links to references for the topics we covered in this episode:

• Costs of energy storage
• ESG investment analysis
• Global decarbonization investment
• California rolling blackouts
• Offshore wind
• US Solar PV data
• US solar and wind growth
• Solar and wind growth:
  • https://www.pv-magazine.com/2020/09/09/us-interconnection-queues-loaded-with-solar-wind-storage/
  • https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2020/09/08/big-solar-in-indiana-and-tx-big-ass-solar-issue-7/
  • https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=43815

All presentations represent the opinions of the presenter and do not represent the position or the opinion of SAS.

In this, our second episode we're going to cover the Covid-19 pandemic and its affect upon the power industry.

Clearly, the Covid-19 pandemic has involved personal tragedy for some people, and significant economic and lifestyle impacts for all. In terms of the Power Industry, effects have included:

• Effect on individuals
  • Job losses mounting / furlough People not paying bills - rents ...etc.
  • Banks, Insurance and power companies allowing customers to defer payments
• Effect on Power Companies
  • How to fund/support large-scale, expensive infrastructures?
  • Will prices have to rise / write-off bad debts?
  • Power companies will be forced to look at operational efficiencies: Cash flow forecasting
  • Fraud identification - corporations & companies; supply-chain for utilities Procurement Integrity - Revenue Assurance?
• Changing patterns of:
  • Electricity Generation Electricity Consumption…Introducing the Duck Curve! The Duck Curve (generation)
  • More and more solar installations - middle of day is peak generating for solar When the sun goes down, where's the power gone?
  • Generator's Response Base load may not be enough?
    • Huge ramp up required from traditional generators. Demand ≠consumption - because people can generate their own power
    • Conventional generation cannot switch on & off Not agile enough: Also - oil/coal are high polluters Many are being retired - to help countries achieve clean-energy goals
    • New Paradigm for Generators Reduced need for conventionally generated power? Renewables increasingly in the mix alongside regular capacity but need to plug gaps in energy provision quickly?
    • Demand-forecasting
    • Accurate weather forecasting - affects solar & wind effectiveness
    • Impacts of - storms/hurricanes/fires SAS concepts of analytics, forecasting & constraint-based optimization

In our next episode, Change is in the air! We’ll discuss how climate change is no longer a millennial, Gen Z, save the world topic or some poster with a polar bear. It has moved up the agenda and is now getting significant backing from the largest private equity funders, to the tech industry, and even major oil and gas players. We will explore what the future holds for green and uncover how we can turn a song into a modern-day miracle.
Here is a listing of links to references for the topics we covered in this episode:

• Electric utility bills moratorium
• Duck curve going to the gym
• Renewables consumption increasing thanks to Pandemic - World Economic Forum

All presentations represent the opinions of the presenter and do not represent the position or the opinion of SAS.

When we were thinking about the huge changes that we see in the Electric Power industry, and how we could communicate these, we realized that podcasting was the only way to go. That way, we can keep it brief & informal, but at the same time keep things candid, honest and only loosely scripted. The hope is to deliver insightful & informed commentary that demystifies energy industry transformations (the what) and decodes them (the now what).

This, our inaugural episode, looks at:

• People and places for energy AI
  • Recognition today is stronger with IT or back-office related domains, but is this the best place to start?
  • The core people, those that actually design and operate the grid find themselves trying to sort the AI hype from reality.
• Consumer involvement: Not just where they buy their power, but can even generate their own - solar, wind, micro-grids sell back.
• Demystifying the connection between the greatest machine ever built and the greatest enabler of our time, data analytics.

Over the coming weeks, we’ll explore a range of issues, including:

• The political landscape
• How businesses are changing their own energy profiles
• Operationalize Analytics
• Scale & size
• Supernatural powers
• Complexities of managing and operating these physical estates
• Infrastructures are huge and organizations seek to optimize
• Optimizing costs /resources
• Intelligent sensors machines

Join us next time for our next episode which we are calling Electricity Pandemified, where we will explore how Covid-19 has shaped and will go on to shape the Power Industry Electricity Pandemified - in amongst all the gloom and concerns about jobs, recessions, there are opportunities.

Here is a listing of links to references for the topics we covered in this episode:

• Reduction in Carbon emissions
• Reduction in Carbon emissions
• 10 year treasury yield curve rates
• 90% clean grid by 2035 not just feasible but also cheaper, UC Berkeley study
• Britain to ban new petrol and hybrid cars from 2035
• LYFT example switching to electric vehicles

All presentations represent the opinions of the presenter and do not represent the position or the opinion of SAS.