Hydroelectric Power. Wind Power. Bioenergy. Solar Energy. Geothermal. Residential, Commercial and Industrial energy. Open Source Software (OSS) and Open Source Hardware (OSH) are turning these possibilities into reality.
In the next 30 years, rapid innovations will change how we create, distribute and use energy with software-defined infrastructure as a critical tool for decarbonization. BloombergNEF estimates that for the energy sector to achieve net-zero CO2 emissions it will require infrastructure investments between $92-$173 trillion dollars by 2050. Even small gains in flexibility, efficiency and capacity in the clean energy and low-carbon industry will deliver
value and savings.
Renewable energy is the fastest-growing global energy source, according to the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions. Allied Market Research reports this market alone is set to grow from $880 billion to nearly $2 trillion by 2030. Distributing renewable energy to decarbonize the globally expanding power grid will take more power supplied by intermittent sources — such as solar and wind —and increase the demand for forecasting, coordination and flexible consumption to ensure safe and reliable energy operations.
Artificial Intelligence (AI), The Internet of Things (IoT) and the Internet of Energy (IoE) — which involves edge and cloud architecture with sensors and scanners processing information at the point where the power is generated or used through remote data centers — as well other emerging digital technologies such as blockchain, will also play essential roles in power generation and distribution, The U.S. Department Office of Energy, Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s (EERE) is dedicated to moving America towards clean, affordable and secure energy. To accomplish its mission, EERE relies, in part, on Open Source projects.
The organization’s documented “Open Source Strategy” is indicative of the energy sector’s reliance on OSS solutions. In addition, LF Energy — a Linux Foundation initiative focused on the power systems sector— will transform the world’s relationship to energy as it seeks to
apply Open Source principles.
Here’s how 5 OIN members are contributing to the future of energy.
Hitachi Energy is co-creating global and local solutions to solve the global challenge of an inclusive and equitable carbon-neutral future. The company serves utility, industry and infrastructure customers across the value chain, as well as in up-and-coming areas like sustainable mobility, smart cities, energy storage and data centers. Hitachi Energy promotes and supports the use of OSS.
Johnson Controls offers a portfolio of industry-leading technology energy solutions, including HVAC equipment, residential and smart home devices, oil and gas products and distributed energy storage, among other energy-related products and services. As one of its Open Source initiatives, the company introduced and is using an Open Source Energy Analysis Software for targeting building efficiency retrofits.
Pepperl+Fuchs is known worldwide as a pioneer and innovator in electrical explosion protection and sensor technology. Its sensors are used in renewable energy applications, including speed sensors on wind turbines, industrial sensors for photovoltaic solar arrays and solar trackers, as well as position sensors for Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) and Concentrating Photovoltaic (CPV) applications. Pepperl+Fuchs continues building solutions, which rely on Open source tools to optimize its operations and reduce costs.
SMA Solar Technology, a global energy equipment supplier headquartered in Germany, produces and manufactures new technologies — many of which use Open Source technologies — to help clients save on energy costs by relying on solar power.
Yaskawa Electric Corporation — a Japanese manufacturer of servomechanisms, motion controllers, air conditioning motor drives, switches and industrial robots — was one of the 1st major robot makers to support the Robot Operating System (ROS), a combination of Open
Source algorithms, software, drivers and functions. Yaskawa also offers a variety of OSS and programming options for Yaskawa Motoman robots and uses OSS software solutions for its VIPA Controls.
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