Under the Paris Agreement, governments and companies across the energy sector face mounting pressure to transition rapidly away from carbon-intensive power sources and achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
However, the prohibitive upfront costs of building large-scale renewable energy projects present a major hurdle. Constructing a new solar or wind farm requires intensive capital investment, while retiring or retrofitting existing coal plants is also hugely expensive. Despite renewables like solar and wind becoming more cost-competitive over time, these high initial costs can deter energy companies from making the leap.
This urgent need to accelerate the adoption of clean energy solutions is the driving force behind Hitachi Energy’s new strategic partnership with Google Cloud.
Hitachi Energy makes equipment that helps move electricity around on the power grid. Google Cloud has huge computers that can store and organize lots of data. Together, the companies will collaborate and co-create cloud software products and services that support the global energy transition.
The partnership’s first joint offering, Hitachi Energy’s Velocity Suite Power Prices, is now available on the Google Cloud Marketplace.
Right now, energy companies have a hard time deciding whether or where to build new power plants that use renewable energy, like wind and solar. One reason is they don’t have high-quality information about how much renewable energy costs, compared to traditional energy like coal or natural gas.
Having this type of crucial data is important, considering that renewables will account for over 90% of global electricity expansion over the next five years, according to insights from the International Energy Agency.
With Power Prices, energy companies can easily see up-to-date costs for renewable energy versus old energy in different areas. These companies can use the tool to manage risk and understand why prices change.
Massimo Danieli, Managing Director of Grid Automation for Hitachi Energy, stressed the pivotal role of data and analytics in driving the energy transition.
“Our customers worldwide are seeking solutions that help them achieve their sustainability goals and business outcomes swiftly and comprehensively,” he said.
“Through our partnership with Google Cloud and the introduction of Velocity Suite Power Prices, we are empowering global customers to expedite decision-making, optimize investments, and digitally transform their businesses.”
This tool runs in the cloud, making it easy for energy companies to access from wherever they are. People who build solar and wind power can see prices to help decide where to build. And they can estimate how much money they’ll make selling their renewable power.
Having better price information helps energy companies make the decision to invest in new renewable power plants, with the goal of helping defeat climate change.
The collaboration between Google Cloud and Hitachi Energy goes beyond the launch of Velocity Suite Power Prices. The companies are working together to develop and deploy innovative cloud-based solutions that cater to the evolving needs of electric utilities and renewable energy producers.
Google Cloud likely sees this partnership as an opportunity to expand its market share in the cloud services industry. Google Cloud lags behind as the smallest of the ‘Big 3’ providers, mustering 11% market share, according to insights from Datamation. Amazon has managed to carve out the lion’s share of the market, capturing 33%, with Microsoft Azure at a 21% share.
By collaborating with Hitachi Energy, Google can differentiate itself and gain ground on competitors by providing specialized energy industry solutions. AWS does not currently offer an equivalent renewable energy data product, so Google is staking its claim on this niche.
This is not Google Cloud’s only partnership within the utilities space, it has also recently signed a deal with Brazilian energy company Eletrobras.
Roi Tavor, Managing Director at Google Cloud, emphasized the importance of sustainability in digital transformations: “Sustainability is a fundamental driver of digital journeys for many organizations. By offering Velocity Suite Power Prices on Google Cloud, Hitachi Energy enables customers to leverage our trusted and sustainable infrastructure, unlocking the potential of vast amounts of data on their path to becoming more profitable and sustainable businesses.”
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