How can we advance the entire energy system?

“The close and smooth interaction of all fields of technology and expertise at Siemens results in products, solutions, and services that meet the challenges of the changing energy landscape. Siemens' comprehensive range of Smart Grid technologies emphasizes this leading role impressively”

Siemens | www.siemens.com/energy/smartgrid

To meet the growing demand for power, an intelligent and flexible grid infrastructure, smart generation, and smart buildings will be essential. In traditional power grids, power generation follows load. But in the future, power consumption will follow generation rather than vice versa. Prime examples here are electric cars that can be charged or operated at night drawing on cheap wind power. This means we are heading towards a paradigm shift. Towards leaving unidirectional energy and communications flows behind for bidirectional power flows.

As the world's only integrated energy infrastructure company covering the entire energy conversion chain, Siemens delivers intelligent, trendsetting answers to the increasingly complex challenges the energy business faces. The close and smooth interaction of all fields of technology and expertise at Siemens results in products, solutions, and services that meet the challenges of the changing energy landscape. Siemens' comprehensive range of Smart Grid technologies emphasizes this leading role impressively.

Seamless integration of vehicles into infrastructure and environment with Real Smart Grid solutions

We are on the verge of total electrification of vehicles today. The number of electric vehicles worldwide is expected to rise to 12 million by the year 2020 - a number that bears huge potential. Our answer is a selfintegrating network that guarantees individual mobility at any time and makes sure energy is available in a sustainable manner.

Distributed power generation, consumption, and management

As the Smart Grid develops into a decentralized energy network offering maximized efficiency for all participants, reliability also needs to be guaranteed at all times. This calls for an overall solution that integrates all approaches and is already perfectly suited for tomorrow's energy mix. In a nutshell: an intelligent and smart infrastructure offering increased observability and controllability, fault protection and analysis, and a flexible and proactively operating infrastructure.

The higher degree of automation and self-healing applications reduce operational and maintenance efforts and, therefore, enhance the profitability of electrical networks. Consequently, telecontrol and online monitoring of substations improve operational safety. Moreover, the standardization of protocols and interfaces makes network solutions more flexible and accessible.

Smart metering solutions from Siemens combine sophisticated metering functions, the management of distribution networks, and the integration of back-end IT systems. These solutions were specially developed to suit the new challenges the liberalized energy market poses on distribution network operators and energy retailers and ensures maximum transparency for end customers. This allows network distribution operators to optimize essential key processes and offer new services like flexible billing to their energy suppliers and customers.

Actively engaging consumers in a maximally efficient network

As a result of the demand for more transparency and increased energy efficiency in power networks, the Smart Grid of the future is designed to actively engage consumers. Consumers are actually turning into prosumers and become themselves elements of an intelligently decentralized network. Bidirectional communication between generation and consumption makes the operation of power transmission and distribution substantially more efficient. Consumers will be able to install their own micro-energy management system and thus help enable costefficient, market-driven power generation and supply.

Smart building solutions help you optimize interactivity with the Smart Grid for maximum energy savings

Siemens' smart building solutions make it possible for buildings to take advantage of automated demand response programs that immediately shift electricity demand from the least critical functions to where power is most needed.

Furthermore, they automatically store energy for later use when prices are most favorable. They even "know" the best time to use, for their own ends, distributed generation units for power generation from renewable sources like sun or wind and when to refeed energy to the grid, thus making money on energy instead of spending it.

Getting a grip on the entire system

Power infeed from different sources into previously separated power systems often calls for extraordinary power transmission and distribution solutions. Despite the challenges this poses, however, the interconnection of different regions, countries, or even continents remains a viable option for providing certain areas with economical access to power.

As a solution provider with extensive experience throughout the entire energy conversion chain, Siemens has already implemented a number of projects linking power systems or connecting decentralized generating units to the grid. In each case, conditions were unique. And because Siemens makes a point of providing the customers with the most costefficient results, the solutions, all based on various technologies, are unique as well.

The intelligent, comprehensively proactive, and highly efficient properties of a Smart Grid are based on a highly reliable power generation, transmission, and distribution infrastructure, as well as consistent data communication. The highest possible degree of proactive flexibility, as well as stringent monitoring and control, comprehensive fault protection and analysis, and maximal operational safety and security are of the utmost importance when it comes to fully bringing to bear all strengths and capabilities of the Smart Grid.

Reduction in transmission losses - increase in system security

Technologies from Siemens such as high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission and flexible AC transmission systems (FACTS) help connect large-scale wind, hydro, and solar power generation to the grid - even when generation takes place hundreds, or even thousands, of kilometres away from the centers of consumption.

However, the constitutive element of the Smart Grid is state-of-the-art communication. Siemens communications solutions enable online monitoring and control of all grid assets, which in turn means fastest possible reaction to faults and minimized downtimes. In many cases intelligent substation automation and protection solutions in combination with the Energy Management System (EMS) will even enable the Smart Grid to react autonomously. Advanced condition monitoring solutions from Siemens help optimize grid usage through continuous information about the state of the devices in operation and high-quality evaluation for minimized downtimes, reduced life cycle costs, and an extended service life of the assets. Balancing technical and economic needs, the Siemens Grid Asset Management Suite (GAMS), a modular and SOA-based solution, additionally boosts the efficiency, transparency, and flexibility of grid asset management.