The role of GIS in the energy transition

In this Era of Energy transition, one of the main challenges that the project planner encounter is to find specific locations with both characteristics:

– A place with a high potential of production of renewable Energy (high enough wind speeds and sun penetration)

– And so closest enough to large populations and distribution centers to reduce the cost of delivery of energy.

GIS technology helps us solve this kind of problem, This is because it allows for deep analysis of wind potential, solar potential, distance to cities, population size, and type of land cover. GIS can even tell project planners the social and environmental impact, like if habitats or migratory patterns would be harmed from the building of a renewable energy plant in that area. All this information offers a clear picture of which locations would be best to implement renewable energy resources. 

In the management of electrical network

GIS technologies allow us to model geographic maps, locate installations or even manage intelligent and predictive connected networks. They are not, however, new. Already well implemented, they have enabled many advances for network managers: reduction of intervention time on the network, the number of trips for technicians, or even the optimization of equipment life cycle management.

Today, the role of GIS is growing within companies and is interwoven with other IS (Information Systems). With the contribution of new technologies and advances in geomatics, the role of GIS has evolved. These can now interface with many systems used in industry, such as asset management systems (AMS) or remote monitoring (SCADA). Take the example of DIGSILENT’s Powerfactory solution, an engine integrated into GIS, operated by network managers. This solution allows modeling different types of data, such as consumption, production, GPS coordinates and the topography of substations in the electricity network. From this data, PowerFactory thus offers calculation functions such as the evaluation of the production of renewable energy connected to the low voltage grid. While Linky meters and their benefits on network flexibility abound in the press, we can wonder about the role of GIS in the energy transition.