Energy companies and manufacturers should take "intelligent risks" on emerging technologies to remain competitive, a Siemens official said, explaining how that strategy has saved the company time and money.
Companies in the energy space can benefit greatly from technologies involving automation, machine learning, advanced system warning programs and 3-D printing, Tim Holt, CEO of Siemens' Power Generation Services, said March 14 at the Energy Innovation Summit of the U.S. Department of Energy held just outside of Washington, D.C.
Early stage technologies have the potential to alert companies when turbines and other energy infrastructure parts are about to break down. And technologies can improve the overall performance of power projects, shorten the time needed to replace parts, and reduce the amount of back up inventory companies keep on hand, Holt said.
For example, Siemens has begun using 3-D printing for the burners on natural gas turbines, which he said takes about 24 hours. It used to take 43 weeks to replace those burners but now it can be done in a week, Holt said. "This is really a technology that can change the way we do business," Holt said.
Technologies that can monitor equipment can also play an important role, Sen. Michael Bennett, D-Colo., said at the conference. "If we get these monitoring technologies right it's a win for business, for public health, for climate, and for America's leadership in clean energy," Bennett said.
On the renewables front, Siemens has tested machine learning on some wind turbines in California. It used machines to determine in real time why some turbines were performing better than others and adjust the operations of the rest of the units to improve their output. The technology increased wind turbine power output from the turbines by 4% to 7%, Holt said. He also asserted that adding the technology to all wind turbines around the world could add 35 GW of wind power.
Holt acknowledged "not all the technologies might get to the stage where we commercialize them." But at the same time, companies "need to be competitive in this uncertain market space."
Utilities are like big ice cubes in the desert, Holt said. Companies "have to continuously reinvent ourselves as an industry at a faster pace," he said. "If we don't do that as a company ... we'll just be a puddle in the sand."
Siemens Power Generation Services is a unit of Siemens AG.
