Technology + Energy = Energy-as-a-Service
Energy is the ability to do work. It's everywhere around us and takes all sorts of forms. It takes energy to cook food, to drive to school, and to jump in the air. Energy can take several different forms.
Renewable and Nonrenewable
As humans we use a lot of energy to drive our cars, heat and cool our houses, watch TV, and more. This energy comes from a variety of places and in several forms. Conservationists classify the energy we use into two types: renewable and nonrenewable. Nonrenewable energy uses up resources that we cannot recreate. Some examples of this are gas to run our car and coal burned in power plants. Once they are used, they are gone forever. A renewable energy source is one that can be replenished. For E.g.- Hydropower, Wind, Bio-mass, Fossil Fuel, Coal, Natural Gas and so on.
It is often said that change is the component on which survival is directly dependent and so is every tangible or intangible thing.
Specifically, when we talk about Energy – A new Business model is evolved keeping change in mind.
Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS)
In its basic form, “Energy as a Service”(EaaS) is the idea that an outside service company guarantees a building’s future energy costs. If the building uses more energy than predicted, the service company is responsible for the difference. But if the building uses less energy than contracted, the service company profits. From the building owner’s perspective, it’s a way to manage overhead electricity costs that fluctuate by time-of-day rates and demand peaks, and fossil fuel costs that fluctuate throughout the year. For the service company, it is a way to be creative in energy supply and management, and an incentive for efficiency improvement. it became clear that an EaaS provides a greater service than just cost containment. There are so many cost-effective energy sources that are ever evolving, making it impossible for a busy business owner or Facilities Manager to stay current on the optimal portfolio.
Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) is a delivery model that combines hardware, software, and services. Solutions should combine demand management and energy efficiency services, facilitate the adoption of renewables and other decentralised supply sources, and optimise the balance between demand and supply. The chief benefit for the consumer is in the simplification of an increasingly multifaceted service offering. The physical, digital and communications infrastructure required means that a range of players can participate in the Energy-as-aService market: utilities; industrial companies; tech companies; oil & gas majors; specialist renewable providers; telcos and start-ups.
From traditional to technological
Traditionally, power has been generated centrally by highly regulated vertically integrated utilities whose main mission has been safe, affordable and reliable power. Sources were mostly fossil fuels, such as coal and gas, but also hydro and nuclear. The flow has been one-way, delivered via the transmission and distribution networks to passive ratepayers. But there are likely to be more changes in the next ten years than there have been in the previous 100 as the grid is made ‘smart’. Traditional power generation, renewable generation, distribution points and users will all integrate into a system that has a high level of automation with a two-way flow of electricity and information, thanks to advanced communication and digital technologies.
EaaS usage and Ideas
An EaaS develops an energy portfolio that combines the different energy sources and the customer’s sustainability goals and guarantees the annual cost. A comprehensive approach will include a combination of saving energy, producing energy, and storing energy, in addition to the conventional buying and using of energy with such entities as:
- Solar and/or wind power procurement, onsite or remote
- Onsite generation such as combined heat and power (CHP) or fuel cells
- Microgrids and storage
- Retro-commissioning and energy retrofits
- Time-of-day demand peak shaving
- Demand response
- Fuel-switching
- Fossil fuel and electricity procurement
Global Scenario
- The Global Energy-as-a-Service Market size & share revenue is expected to grow from USD 57.6 Billion in 2020 to reach USD 106.6 Billion by 2026, at 10.8% annual CAGR growth during forecast period of 2021-2026.
- The top market companies profiles included in report with their sales, revenues and strategies are Schneider Electric, General Electric, Engie, Edison, Siemens, Wendel Energy Services, Alpiq, Honeywell, Bernhard Energy Solutions
Conclusion
All these developments may seem very ‘space-age’ and far away, but they are already happening. Smart buildings are being constructed and groupings of them are developing into smart places—automated, integrated and sustainable precincts—that manage supply and demand not just for energy, but for a range of systems in one networked whole. Over time, these will evolve into smart cities and regions. The energy infrastructure in the future will be very different from today, with new players, new products, and new customer preferences. EaaS service providers will take information on energy supply, demand and prices, and overlay it with other data points, such as weather conditions, building occupancy, and current traffic conditions, to manage smart places as a dynamic portfolio of products and services.
The same trends that have disrupted retail, transport and consumer electronics are coming to energy markets: digital technologies driving disintermediation, and the rise of many-to-many markets trading over peer-to-peer platforms. Companies should identify the opportunities they can exploit, the capabilities they will need to do this, and what market segments have the greatest potential to drive their future growth.
Sources
The Emerging Business Model of Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) (cx-associates.com)
Global Energy-as-a-Service Market Size Expected to Surpass (globenewswire.com)
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