Climate change due to increasing Green House Gases (GHG) in the atmosphere is the biggest threat to survival of our specie on this planet. Our energy systems account for two third of the total GHG emissions as it’s dominated by coal, oil and natural gas based sources that not only release Green House gases such as CO2 and Ammonia into the upper atmosphere but also cause significant environmental pollution through emission of SOX, NOX and Particulate matter.

At Reon we believe in the following simple equation:

Electrification of energy use + Decarbonization of power generation = 90% reduction in GHG emissions

As we can see from above equation that electrification of global economy alone won’t solve the climate problem and has to be accompanied by decarbonization of power generation globally. Otherwise, if new demand is addressed through carbon heavy sources such as Coal and Gas then it won’t move the needle on GHG emissions.

Apart from the positive impact on climate change, decarbonization of energy will also have a positive economic impact in the form of increased health and lifespans of people and structures. According to a World Bank report, cost air and water pollution in China is roughly 5.8% of the GDP or 100B USD. Another report puts this cost at 36.8B USD annually for India.

Energy transition towards a decarbonized system is necessary if we have to fulfill our commitments towards the Paris agreement and preserve future of our coming generations.

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A decentralized energy system is where source is located closer to the demand center. At Reon, we believe that decentralized energy systems offer a range of financial, technological and societal benefits.

Decentralization in energy isn’t a new concept. The founders of electrical systems including Thomas Edison started with Decentralized systems in late 19th century.

1900 onwards was the age of private power companies using DC microgrids to deliver power to their customers as can be seen in the picture below
Move towards a centralized grid start in 1930s when Hoover dam was built as part of a large public works program to counter the great depression. The centralized power systems served our needs well in an environment where the world had to build large coal, oil, hydel, nuclear and gas-based power plants costing trillions of dollars. However, this system is expensive, technologically obsolete, heavily powered by polluting fuel sources and has failed to serve the last billion in developing countries who remain without access to reliable energy source.
Hence, the founders of modern power system had invented a decentralized system. At Reon, we believe that the world’s return to a decentralized system offers several advantages. A 2018 Integrated Energy Report published by Pakistan Business Council (PBC) stated that the centralized energy system in Pakistan results in 89% loss of primary energy compared to 65% for developed countries. This delta represents a significant economic loss to the national economy. A decentralized power system can hence benefit us in the following ways: 1) Financial: It costs a lot less to build and operate a decentralized system. Moreover, a decentralized system reduces the overall Transmission and Distribution (T&D) losses. 2) Technological: A decentralized system tends to have more technological agility, it’s easier to introduce new technologies compared a larger system. Moreover, distributed systems can use improvements in battery technology to integrate a higher percentage of renewable power such as solar, wind, biogas etc. which are not just cleaner but also cheaper compared to fossil fuel-based sources. 3) Social: Distributed energy systems based on clean energy sources such as solar and biogas generate local employment and skill development opportunities, thus improving financial sustainability of the communities it serves. Due to the inherent advantages of the decentralized systems, Reon aims to accelerate the transition towards decentralization through extensive use of advanced technologies such as blockchain, machine learning, and storage etc. as we believe this will lead to a more efficient, reliable, cleaner and economically efficient future for all.

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There’s no doubt that our energy system needs to change and is undergoing a big transition.
Digitization is an essential partner of a decarbonized and decentralized energy system whether it’s for more renewable integration to add much needed flexibility to the system , for consumers to become prosumers and or to give better real time monitoring capability to utilities so they can keep this highly complex system running 24/7.

We know that renewable energy from sources such as solar and wind is intermittent and without agility in the grid, can cause instability. Reon’s Energy Management System SPARK has been designed to help industries integrate high-levels of on-site renewable sources such as a rooftop solar into their energy mix while improving operational stability through smart use of Lithium Ion based storage.

Digitization can also help reduce Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of energy systems. This is primarily achieved through better load management, reduction of breakdowns and leakages, proactive maintenance and through smart economic order dispatch functionality that ensures lowest LCOE.

SPARK’s intelligent features offer;
– Economic order dispatch ensures the cheapest source of power is always being used in a multisource environment.
– Load optimization function for telecom towers ensures that any demand / supply mismatches are managed through internal re allocation thus deferring CAPEX.
– Proactive maintenance function ensures that reduces unplanned downtime, equipment failure, and risks associated with operating faulty equipment.

Finally, digitization offers real time monitoring of energy assets and improved transparency through technologies such as Advanced Computer Vision and Machine Learning and Block Chain.

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