Taking advantage of the summer break, at ZGR Corporación we would like to invite you to read this selection of five articles which, when integrated, provide a broad view of what is happening in the electricity sector. Month after month, in the articles that we publish in this blog, we provide our vision and give some keys, the result of the experience and know-how of our highly qualified and specialized team. In this article, we encourage you to take a closer look at five topics that we believe will set the trends in the sector in the future.
1. Energy efficiency, a rising value
In 2022 we already sensed it and this year it is consolidated: Energy efficiency is a geostrategic value and a differential factor for business management in all industrial sectors. Against a backdrop of record energy consumption bills and a growing concern for energy security, actions to contain the economic impact of the crisis and inflationary energy prices are accelerating. Energy accounts for more than 24% of industrial costs on average, and investments in energy efficiency increased in the electro-intensive sectors.
The need to ensure a reliable energy supply and the urgency to reduce emissions to fight climate change and respond to an increasingly demanding regulatory framework have made energy efficiency a crucial element. Microgrid systems stand out as solutions that increase energy efficiency by generating electricity on a small scale, while industrial self-consumption with renewable energy is becoming an increasingly viable option for industry, both on an individual level and as part of the generation of energy communities.
In this context, ZGR is positioned as a key player, working on diverse projects in all aspects that contribute to energy efficiency in the industrial sector, the electricity sector (large energy distributors and markets) and others such as health, logistics or energy, with cooperation as a basis and as a strategic partner of its customers, providing solid, robust and highly productive equipment and systems to meet the challenges and make progress in energy efficiency, in a context of accelerating energy transition.
If you are interested in the subject, you can read the article 2022, the year of energy effieciy, in which we provide information and our approach to this important subject, providing keys and some solutions that are marking the evolution of our sector.
Power electronics is one of the key technologies for making progress in energy efficiency. This is a discipline in which ZGR Corporación is a specialist. The improvement of electronic systems to optimise energy efficiency is achieved through the switching of power semiconductor devices. The evolution of these devices has reduced energy losses and improved the efficient use of resources, contributing to more sustainable energy systems. Therefore, we invite you to learn more about this topic below.
2. Power Electronics: the technology that converts, controls and optimizes energy
Power electronics is an essential technology for energy conversion, control and optimization in a variety of applications, from electronic devices to smart grids, renewable energy sources and electric vehicles. This technology plays a key role in the transition towards more efficient, sustainable and competitive energy. The three pillars of this discipline are control, power and electronics, ranging from system control to electrical energy management.
Modularity and power electronics
Modularity plays an important role in the development of power electronics, as it not only offers advantages such as lower closed-state loss or better switching characteristics, but also improves the protection against disturbances and the productivity of the equipment.
ZGR Corporation, which has developed a highly efficient modularity system in its equipment, focuses on improving the quality of electricity supply through power electronics, contributing to innovation and technological progress. Its vision of the future is to achieve an uninterrupted, efficient and robust electricity supply for a freer and more competitive society.
Here you can learn more about Power Electronics: the technology that converts, controls and optimizes energy, así as well as its history and the future of this discipline.
One of the applications that must be optimised to achieve maximum energy efficiency is battery energy storage. In the following article, as specialists in the design and manufacture of energy storage devices, we provide insights into the development of energy storage and how it is shaping the future of the energy transition.
3. Storage, the key to optimizing the energy system
Energy storage is crucial in optimizing the energy system as we move to the transition to renewable sources. As we move away from reliance on fossil fuels to a more diversified and distributed system, renewables become vital. However, their intermittent nature presents challenges. This is where energy storage comes into play as a key solution.
Energy storage is therefore a vector that offers greater flexibility and efficiency in electricity infrastructures. It enables the lifetime of assets to be extended, the available energy to be optimized and the quality of supply to be improved. According to the European Association for Energy Storage (EASE), a significant increase in energy storage is expected to meet energy targets.
Aware of the need to promote and support energy storage, the Spanish Government has launched this July a call for grants for innovative energy storage projects that contribute to improving the stability of the electricity system and security of supply.
At ZGR Corporation we offer customized energy storage solutions, participating in projects that vary in size and scope, both in stand-alone storage solutions and hybrid generation storage. Thus, for example, the new ZGR PCS 3300 offers high efficiency and flexibility for BESS projects (Battery Energy Storage Systems) and becomes one of the most complete systems in its price-quality ratio in the market.
We invite you to read more about energy storage, the key to optimizing the energy system so that you can draw your own conclusions about the strategic importance of energy storage in the coming years. Power electronics also play a key role in the development of energy storage.
4. Agrovoltaic solar energy is a trend: the keys to maximising its performance
Much has been said about the promotion of renewables, especially the clear commitment to photovoltaics. But perhaps little has been said about some of the clearest trends for a country like ours, with an important agri-food industry in need of improving its energy sustainability.
Agrovoltaic solar energy is an innovative solution that combines agriculture and solar energy generation. Although there are challenges in its implementation and effects on crops, its advantages can be significant. Careful planning and the use of advanced technologies contribute to a cleaner energy system that allows the use of agricultural land for photovoltaic energy production and crops.
The advantages of agrovoltaic include efficient land use, reduced carbon footprint, reduced water footprint and improved resilience in the electricity system. In addition, the dual use of land for agricultural and energy production increases the economic value of PV farms by more than 30%, which translates into increased income for farmers.
This technology can be used in greenhouses, non-cultivable areas and coast areas with the aim of producing electricity, crops and optimizing the use of water. ZGR Corporación, as experts in power electronics and in the development of integral solutions for the management of electrical energy, has different equipment specially prepared for this type of projects, such as the ZGR STR 120 and 200, the ZGR STR 250, or the ZGR SOLAR STS 2500 / 3500 / 5000.
In the article about Agrovoltaic solar energy is a trend: the keys to maximising its performance conocerás you will learn about the advantages of this practice and the different uses that can be given to dual-use agricultural land.
5. New business models will boost the electricity sector
As a result of the above, we are seeing the emergence of new business models in the heat of innovation and technology that will determine the growth of our sector. These new business models are mainly based on distributed energy generation; they require a high degree of investment and provide opportunities to involve multiple actors along the entire value chain.
Smart grids allow real-time monitoring of changes in the electricity grid, facilitating the anticipation and management of problems and improving service quality. This streamlining and flexibility provided by new technologies make possible to resolve many aspects automatically and enables the integration of third-party equipment within the instruments for grid management and regulation, which is driving these new business models, in which the user of the grid management assets does not always have to be the owner of them.
Other emerging models include “Energy as a Service”, which provides customised solutions, such as the installation of solar panels with no upfront investment, paying only for the energy they consume, and transforming energy companies into allies of customers. Digital technology is driving the development of advanced solutions for decentralized renewable energy production. In this sense, the “Virtual/Power Plant” idea integrates diverse energy sources and manages collective demand through technology and the Internet of Things.
ZGR Corporation adapts to these new approaches, offering flexible, robust and productive equipment to maximize profitability under these innovative models.
In the article New business models will drive the electricity sector you can learn more about the new models that are emerging and the challenges that this enviroment presents.
We are experiencing a disruption. Every day that passes, the electricity industry and the energy sector increases its strategic nature for progress and sustainable development. If you want to keep up to date with trends, innovations, technologies and new systems and equipment, follow our blog because we love to share and we will be telling you about them. Join us and subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn
If you have a project in mind and you think that ZGR Corporación can help you, contact us and our team of experts will offer you the personalised a solution that best suits your project. At ZGR, your energy is our challenge.
