Ever wondered what about other standards like Energy Star and how they co-exist with OpenADR and CTA-2045/EcoPort? Following our recent webinar on connected appliances, we talk to Spencer Borison, Head of US at contributing member Codibly, about how these standards can work together to drive smart energy management.
Across the globe there has been the increasing number of electric vehicles, batteries and smart devices in the home and the need to find ways to achieve greater flexibility in how demand resources are managed.
Specifically, New Zealand has committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 and a goal of reaching 100 percent renewable electricity generation by 2030. As the country embarks on an ambitious energy transition, it has many natural advantages, including a strong renewable resource base.
Earlier this month we had the pleasure of attending Power+Utilites in Melbourne. It was a great opportunity to learn more about energy efficiency efforts in Australia and to educate attendees on the importance of the OpenADR protocol. Rolf Bienert presented a Knowledge Hub session on ‘CER flexibility with the customer in charge – The OpenADR Approach.'
Terry Paddy, Managing Director from member company Cortexo was also there to highlight the New Zealand FlexTalk project that used OpenADR to dispatch flexibility. Here Terry shares more about his company and his thoughts on the impact the OpenADR standard in this region.
Reaching a new milestone is always an exciting moment. The OpenADR Alliance recently announced reaching 200 members, something we are particularly proud of as a global industry organization that started out supporting technical communications standards over a decade ago.
Our goal remains the same, with the OpenADR standard going from strength to strength with the launch of OpenADR 3.0 last year. But like other industry bodies, we need to evolve and adapt as the industry – and our members – change.
We are hearing mixed messages right now about the success – or otherwise – of electric vehicles (EVs). We know that EVs will happen one way or another, but on the one hand, we’re seeing headlines about falling sales and car makers slashing forecasts, while on the other, the news that sales have got off to a record start this year. The growth seeming to come from premium brands like BMW and Audi.
We know it will come, but the transition to EVs is not without its challenges.
The OpenADR Alliance talks with Joachim Lohse, CEO and Founder of Ampcontrol, a leading AI-powered software company for electric fleets, about the important role the OpenADR standard has played in the company’s EV fleet software.
Last week the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL was the place to be for DistribuTECH 2024. This year’s conference in the ‘sunshine state’ did not disappoint with over 400 speakers, 17,000+ attendees, 600+ exhibitors and 3,500+ utilities all under one roof.
As promised for those who attended, it was an inspirational event to be among organizations and industry leaders empowering progress and sharing ideas that will transform the way we live.
The OpenADR Alliance learned a lot representing the EcoPort/CTA-2045 interface and testing program at the AHR Expo in Chicago last week. The AHR Expo brings together manufacturers and suppliers of all sizes and specialties to share ideas and showcase the future of HVACR technology. We shared a booth with LonMark International, a partner focused on building management interfaces who introduced a new building interoperability architecture that encompasses both EcoPort and OpenADR.
The most encouraging part of the show was seeing several EcoPortTM–certified products on the show floor.
This week is particularly exciting one for us at the OpenADR Alliance. As we gather at Enlit Europe (November 28-30th) with industry leaders and several of our members, all part of the growing community of companies looking to solve the most important energy transition issues, we are delighted to announce the new version of the OpenADR communications standard.
OpenADR 3.0 is an important milestone for us as the industry body responsible for driving the development, adoption, and compliance of OpenADR. It’s also a significant step in the development of communications standard for utilities, operators, and aggregators, as they look to manage the growing range of distributed energy resources.
Putting renewables and energy storage at the heart of Enlit Europe 2023
Recent estimates by the European Environment Agency (EEA) indicate that we are consuming more of our energy from renewable sources like solar power. Last year in Europe, nearly a quarter (22.5%) was generated by renewables. While this is on the rise, the EEA warns that to meet the new target of 42.5% for 2030 it will “require a deep transformation of the European energy system”.
EVs and e-mobility set to take centre stage at Enlit Europe 2023
Recap of RE+: Could Virtual Power Plants be the Next Big Thing in the Renewable Energy Sector?
This year’s RE+ was a success and to contradict the cliché ‘what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas’, here is a summary of the highlights.
Transactive energy is an intelligent, multi-layer communications process that organizes energy generation, consumption, and delivery. During a transactive energy occurrence, power suppliers, energy markets and distributed energy resources (DERs), including electric vehicles and batteries, exchange to negotiate energy requirements and pricing.
Today security concerns, the economy, and daily life choices require a flexible and durable electricity system. Transactive energy is designed to improve energy efficiency, which results in a more resilient and reliable power grid.
With its V2X Innovation Programme, the UK Government is backing the idea of V2X – or vehicle to everything – to help address barriers to enabling energy flexibility from bi-directional electric vehicle (EV) charging.
As part of this, the Government announced £16m in funding this year for V2X and Demand Side Response (DSR) projects. The funding is for technologies that harness the potential of smart charging and activated through the Innovation Programme and the Government’s Interoperable Demand Side Response Programme, designed to support the innovation and design of IDSR systems.
In the electricity power industry, ranging from petroleum, gas, coal and nuclear power, balancing supply and demand is crucial to maintaining a reliable electric grid. As the world increasingly focuses on renewable energy, Distributed Energy Resources, and electrification, Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) are garnering more attention, especially in the US. These VPPs present an innovative solution, enabling local grid operators to use energy flexibility to ensure a more stable electricity supply, improved energy efficiency, and enhanced grid capacity.
Swell Energy and SunPower, members of OpenADR, are important players in the transformative shift, having established VPPs that offer new value to utilities and their customers. A VPP is defined as a cloud-based network with a decentralized multi-asset ecosystem consisting of Distributed Energy Resource (DERs)—such as batteries, EVs, smart plugs and thermostats. Controlled by grid operators or third party aggregators, these resources can be monitored, forecasted and optimized with bi-directional communications between components for a more efficient and resilient power grid. VPPs are proving to be a key resource capable of providing resource adequacy and other grid services at a negative net cost to the utility.
The OpenADR Alliance held our first European OpenADR++ Users Conference from 6-7 June in London. It was two days packed full of keynotes, use cases, workshops, networking and more. (All presentation links may be found in the agenda here.) The more than 100 attendees came from all over the U.K. and Europe, with guests coming from as far as China and New Zealand. This conference is the latest in series of activities signaling the expansion of interest in OpenADR in the European market and new Alliance membership among European companies.
The conference was significant not only as the first such major conference in Europe, but also that it was hosted by the U.K. Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). DESNZ led the development of PAS 1878, incorporating OpenADR as one of the requirements and criteria that an electrical appliance needs to meet in order to perform and be classified as an energy smart appliance (ESA). This DESNZ action not only lowers costs and promotes innovation in the U.K., but also demonstrates U.K. leadership in promoting published standards for international adoption.
Don Dulchinos, Director, Market Facilitation and Rolf Bienert, Managing & Technical Director, OpenADR Alliance
The Biden Administration has recently proposed ambitious plans to meet the country’s climate goals, with proposals to ensure that two-thirds of new passenger cars and a quarter of new heavy trucks sold in the U.S. are all-electric by 2032. This presents a big challenge for automotive manufacturers. Just 5.8% of new cars and less than 2% of new trucks sold last year were all-electric.
EV growth driving OpenADR Alliance membership in Europe
Last year sales of electric vehicles (EVs) hit a major milestone, with around 10% of the market for the first time. This is being driven mainly by strong growth in the EU – second only to China – where sales of electric cars broke a new record, according to figures released by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA).
