Across Europe, information and communication technologies are optimizing clean-energy systems by making them more connected, intelligent, efficient, reliable, and cheaper. Germany and France lead the pack. When most people think of clean energy systems, they usually conjure up images of soaring wind turbines, solar panels, or electric-vehicle fleets. Yet a key element of the systems of the future, and reality right now in Europe, is not apparent to the naked eye: the energy management technology that collects and then feeds clean-energy bundles into smart power grids. These systems direct electricity to where it’s needed, when it’s needed, by aggregating data and communicating at nano speed between energy sources, prosumers (actors who both consume and produce energy), flexumers (subjects active in the energy system), and grid operators. In a very short time, they’ve become ever more involved in the balancing of highly complex, weather-dependent transmission grids. Information and communication technologies (ICT) are key to an increasingly energy-efficient, decentralized, and flexible energy infrastructure. This kind of digital energy management can help cut GHG emissions, save consumers money, … Continue reading Beyond Copper: How Virtual Power Plants Make the Smart Grid Smarter