Society’s endless demand for energy is not going to change in the future, but the way that energy is produced will. The new forms of energy generation must be integrated into a grid in a way that will create new efficiencies rather than threaten the sustainability of a sometimes overloaded system.
‘Smart grids’ will be an essential ingredient in the energy mix, allowing energy from various sources to be fed through the system. ‘Smart meters’ will create a window into the grid, offering good information, access and an accurate measurement of demand and supply.
“These developments, in the future, will offer us access to different forms of energy and will allow us to use our energy in a much smarter and more efficient way,” says Dr Bronwyn Evans (pictured above), CEO of Standards Australia.
Dr Evans is presenting on this topic at the Australian Engineering Conference 2016. She boasts over 30 years of experience in engineering, with much of that spent in senior positions connected to innovation and power generation. Dr Evans was awarded the Engineers Australia President’s Award in 2014 and was recognised as one of Australia’s 100 most influential engineers in 2014 and 2015.
In her presentation, Dr Evans says, she will provide a great deal of relevant information, as well as food for thought, for any individual or organisation interested in playing a role in designing, building, maintaining and managing the energy grid of the future.
“I'll be offering some of the context and scenarios that we're thinking about when it comes to the future of power and the future of the grid,” she says. “I’ll be discussing the role of Standards in developing the potential for interoperability and the framework for making good use of energy on the future grid. Plus I’ll discuss the future systems and devices that may hang off the grid.”
Standards Australia is currently conducting some research aimed at building a road map to understand the 2050 scenario. Dr Evans and her team are developing an image of what the future should look like, then figuring out what needs to be done in order to successfully achieve that vision.
“Those road maps allow us to prioritise what should be done right now,” she says. “It’s about getting started on the overall portfolio of Standards we need for Australia to be integrated internationally, and to be successful as innovators in this area.”
“The role of engineers, together with other key stakeholders in our community, in our governments and in our regulators, will be key to making sure this is technically viable and technically successful.”
“Engineers are critical for the development of the standards and in envisioning the future, in defining what that future will look like from a technical and a systems point of view. They will need to understand the impact of consumer choice and of new technologies. Then it will all need to be translated into frameworks for Standards.”
The conference will present an exciting opportunity for organisations, industry leaders and technical experts to come together and think about the future, not just in terms of their competitive advantage but also the society and systems they will help to build. “I’m on a dual mission to inform and also to recruit the minds of leaders at all levels of engineering,” Dr Evans says.
Standards are vital for the future vision to become a reality. They create a framework within which an idea can be developed, tested and sent to market. Standards create an environment in which innovation can thrive.
“When you think about the role of innovation in our economy and for our technology, you need to know what are the rules of the game to then be creative,” Dr Evans says. “You want to be creative on the things that give you a competitive advantage and you want to be standard on the things that you need to give you the interoperability to then have your innovation be successful. Standards and innovation are absolutely hand-in-hand. Innovators must be working with us so that Standards become an acceleration for innovation.”
To learn more, secure your spot at the Australian Engineering Conference where Dr Bronwyn Evans, CEO Standards Australia will talk about the challenges and opportunities for deploying Smart Metering and Smart Grids in Australia.