• Minsait has developed some groundbreaking solutions that will help utilities transform their business models to offer services aligned with the gradual decarbonization of the economy and with energy efficiency
• The company has compared the benefits of these technologies in several projects related to distributed energy resources and energy storage, active demand management and the operation and maintenance in offshore wind farms
• One of the highlights is the micro-grid developed in conjunction with Monash University in Australia, an initiative recently awarded by the UN and expected to generate seven Gigawatts/hour of electricity by 2020, enough to supply 1,000 homes throughout the year

Leonardo Benítez, Director of Energy & Utilities at Minsait, an Indra company, said during his speech at the Smart Energy Congress organized by Enertic that "the Internet of Things and advanced analytics are key technologies to developing shared service platforms that allow for the management of distributed energy resources as the foundation to moving forward with the energy transition".

At the congress, the Minsait executive presented the main challenges of the sector in making the energy transition towards an economy aligned with decarbonization and energy efficiency, as well as the solutions and projects that the company has developed in this field, from the perspective of both the utility and the customer, and the new services they demand.

"The priorities of innovation in the energy market of Minsait are those related to the digital transformation of the core business of energy companies and, in particular, the development of solutions that can integrate and encourage the use of the great technological advances that are taking place in the field of distributed energy resources (DER), such as energy storage, distributed generation, electric mobility or active demand management, including technologies such as the Internet of Things or Big Data", he added.

The development of an open data platform based on the Onesait Platform, Minsait’s platform with Big Data and IoT capabilities, is key to connecting all prosumers and network operators in real time and making information available to multiple stakeholders so they can provide their energy services. 

On the other hand, Minsait has developed technologies that allow consumers to be integrated as active players in the management of the electricity system. Onesait Utilities, the company's solution for an integrated management of the energy business, includes tools that facilitate self-consumption and the integration of distributed energy resources.

In addition, the recent acquisition of Advanced Control Systems (ACS) has allowed Minsait to strengthen its capabilities by integrating its own production of SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) systems, and provide a comprehensive offer in the field of Operation Technology (OT) with new solutions for network automation and distributed energy resource management.

Minsait technologies have already been tested in several projects, many of them international in scope, and they are producing benefits such as a greater balance between generation, operation and demand, and the reduction of environmental impact and costs.

Among these projects is the construction and operation of a micro power grid at Monash University, the largest in Australia. The grid is managed by Active Grid Management (AGM) which is the Internet of Things Industrial solution developed by Minsait as part of its Onesait Utilities suite to facilitate dynamic, proactive, distributed and intelligent operational capabilities in medium and low voltage networks. Minsait experts predict that, by 2020, the university will already generate seven Gigawatts/hour of electricity, enough to supply 1,000 homes for an entire year.

"This initiative shows how a network powered by renewable energy sources and with a strong penetration of distributed energy resources (DERs) such as batteries, electric vehicles or photovoltaic generation can operate safely and efficiently”, Benítez added.

This micro power grid is the key piece of the "Net Zero Initiative" program from the Australian university, which has been awarded by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) with the "UN Momentum for Change Award" during COP24 (Climate Change Conference in Katowice, Poland).

On the other hand, Minsait is part of the SENSIBLE (Storage Enabled Sustainable Energy for Builders and Communities) consortium, an innovation project aimed at integrating different energy storage technologies, both in the distribution network and in homes and buildings, with the purpose of increasing self-sufficiency, supply quality and stability of the network to create sustainable business models for distributed generation and energy storage. The tests carried out within the framework of this project have shown savings of around €300 per year per household client.

About Minsait

Minsait, an Indra company (www.minsait.com), is a leading firm in Digital Transformation Consultancy and Information Technologies in Spain and Latin America. Minsait possesses a high degree of specialization and knowledge of the sector, which it backs up with its high capability to integrate the core world with the digital world, its leadership in innovation and digital transformation, and its flexibility. Thus, it focuses its offering on high-impact value propositions, based on end-to-end solutions, with a remarkable degree of segmentation, which enables it to achieve tangible impacts for its customers in each industry with a transformational focus. Its capabilities and leadership are demonstrated in its product range, under the brand Onesait, and its across-the-board range of services.

About Indra

Indra (www.indracompany.com) is one of the leading global technology and consulting companies and the technological partner for core business operations of its customers world-wide. It is a world-leader in providing proprietary solutions in specific segments in Transport and Defense markets, and the leading firm in Digital Transformation Consultancy and Information Technologies in Spain and Latin America through its affiliate, Minsait. Its business model is based on a comprehensive range of proprietary products, with an end-to-end, high-value focus and with a high innovation component. In the 2017 financial year, Indra achieved revenue of €3.011 billion, with 40,000 employees, a local presence in 46 countries and business operations in over 140 countries.