Microgrids face a practical challenge in managing the complexity of hybridisation. Decarbonisation requires a dynamic mix of renewables, flexible grid balancing engines, and energy storage, all governed by diverse variables such as battery state-of-charge, renewable generation forecasts, load predictions, and maintenance schedules.
The goal of hybridisation? Efficient cost, emissions reductions, and reliability.
The risks? Potential downtime, grid instability, curtailment of renewables, and suboptimal engine dispatching.
GEMS Digital Energy Platform is the sophisticated solution built to manage this complexity. GEMS is a mature software platform that monitors, controls, and optimises energy assets on both site and portfolio levels. Using historic and real-time data analytics to optimise the asset mix—spanning everything from thermal assets to renewables—GEMS enables you to remotely monitor, operate, identify, and diagnose equipment with unrivalled safety, reliability and flexibility.
What does this mean in technical terms? Continuous optimisation. GEMS captures 100,000 data points per second, ensuring the fine-tuned operation of all power generation assets. GEMS minimises costs, reduces emissions, and maximises reliability.
Picture your microgrid as a finely tuned orchestra, with GEMS ensuring each instrument operates seamlessly. As you progress towards a 100% renewable energy future, GEMS serves as your conductor, orchestrating every step with precision.
Remote island grids face the challenge of maintaining stability and reliability while integrating a diverse mix of renewables. Graciosa, an island in the Azores, navigated this challenge by deploying a hybrid renewable power plant, powered by Wärtsilä’s GEMS energy management system.
Previously reliant on expensive liquid fuel imports, Graciosa harnessed the capabilities of GEMS to enhance its renewable energy integration and establish a balance between energy sources.
Through GEMS, we integrated a hybrid solution that combined wind, solar, energy storage, and thermal power generation assets. The robust analytics and automation tools embedded in GEMS ensure an uninterrupted energy supply – a seamless transition from one energy source to another.
With GEMS, Graciosa was able to drastically reduce its dependence on imported fossil fuels and shift from 15% to 63% renewable energy consumption.
On the island of Graciosa, GEMS is a transformation driver; it demonstrates the real-world potential of intelligent energy management to seamlessly meet a community's decarbonisation needs no matter its grid size or energy mix.
