What is distributed power generation?
Companies looking at their energy use in the modern world are faced with a bewildering variety of requirements, ranging from the need to reduce carbon emissions to the necessity of improving sustainability and saving costs. Our distributed power generation services help clear up some of the confusion about how to untangle the knot facing clients. The distributed power generation model is an approach that uses small-scale technologies and renewable energy sources to produce electricity where it is most useful – close to the end user. This ticks a series of boxes by reducing costs and boosting reliability with lower environmental impact than traditional methods of power generation.
The centralized grid is becoming obsolete
The way it used to work, giant coal, gas, or hydroelectric power stations generated electricity that was then distributed by a centralized grid.
While that worked well enough when demand was limited and predictable, reliability of supply has now emerged as an issue even in many major developed economies because of the demands that an ever-more electrified world places on the grid.
Finding new power sources
Technology is changing the shape of that system, supplementing, or replacing it with new power sources that draw on the energy of the sun or the wind. These are positive developments in themselves, particularly from the point of view of the environment, but they leave the system more subject to the vagaries of the weather and the cycle of night and day. That means business is more vulnerable than ever to the stresses placed on the grid.
The smart grid’s importance
The key to keeping the lights on in this new world is what is called a smart grid. This is defined by a two-way flow of electricity and data, using digital communications technology to anticipate, detect and react to changes in usage and demand.
In short, the smart grid enables distributed energy management.
Enel X’s distributed energy services
By bringing clean, reliable power to commercial and industrial clients, distributed generation in the power system reduces the risks inherent in relying on the grid for energy. We help our clients make the leap to a more reliable, sustainable future with a distributed energy offering that covers multiple types of distributed generation.
This includes the sale, installation and maintenance of combined heat and power generation plants, solar panel arrays, as well as the necessary infrastructure.
Our tailored financial solutions
We can also offer a variety of financial solutions, tailored to meet clients’ needs. These include Cogenio, our joint venture with Infracapital, the infrastructure equity investment arm of M&G, one of Europe’s biggest fund managers.
This designs, implements and manages distributed energy solutions for commercial and industrial clients, using a turnkey, no upfront payment model.
Changing the grid’s working
The effect of distributed generation on power system operation is to change the grid itself, channeling two-way power flows as clients who once merely drew from the network also act as suppliers to it. This opens up a path to profit for our clients, who can sell the surplus energy they produce back to the grid, offsetting energy costs.
They can also get compensated for allowing their storage systems to help stabilize the grid, particularly during peak hours.
For the customer, this adds up to lower costs, reduced environmental impact and an improved supply of green energy.
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