Water and Effluent Treatment Magazine
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12 WET NEWS MAY 2017 Utility Week Live has identifi ed the 10 most important utilities technologies and 10 industry transformers, as voted for by the industry itself. These technologies and people are fundamentally changing the shape and look of the utilities sector, including tech innovations that are already a key part of utilities' daily operations, and those whose infl uence and impact is only going to grow in the coming years. Here are a selection of some of the people and technologies that made the list. For more information and to book your free tickets, visit: www.utilityweeklive.co.uk number of IoT connected in 2011 900m number of IoT connected devices by 2030 according to Cisco 500bn predicted number of IoT connected devices by 2020 26bn potencial value created by IoT devices $14.4bn IoT The revolutionary impact of the Internet of Things has been a source for speculation and excitement across industries for several years now. Utilities are only just starting to embrace the potential of a world of interconnected smart and autonomous assets and devices, but their learning curve will need to be sharp because the IoT and associated business opportunities are developing rapidly. There were 900 million connected devices in the world in 2011. This is predicted to increase to 26 billion by 2020, and Cisco believes more than 500 billion devices will be connected by 2030. This surge in IoT-linked objects is set to create $14.4 billion of value in global economies over the next decade. Early steps in the exploitation of the IoT have seen utilities adopt smart assets, equipped with a variety of sensors which communicate wirelessly with central asset management systems. This has enabled greater and more granular understanding of asset health. This has supported a change in approaches to maintenance. Where utilities relied on reactive maintenance schedules, now they can practice predictive maintenance. This pro-active approach supports more e† cient use of ‡ eld personnel as well as more accurate investment planning. For example, in a connected windfarm a leading turbine can detect the force and direction of a threatening gust of wind and instruct its peers to adjust the angle of their blades to prevent damage. But the IoT doesn't just promise bene‡ ts to infrastructure operators. There can also be direct customer and environmental bene‡ ts, as seen in the San Diego trial in its East Bay Municipal Water District. Here, IoT-connected smart water meters were installed to provide customers with hourly consumption updates. The meters also sent alerts to the household if 24 hours of constant consumption is detected, highlighting a potential leak. The result was a 5 per cent drop in consumption. As adoption of IoT-enabled devices grows, utilities could see bene‡ ts in operations, e† ciencies, customer service and, ultimately, in their bottom line. Machine learning - consultancy view Machine learning, is poised to transform the now-booming renewables industry, transforming asset management by reducing costs along the value chain, enabling better performance and mitigating risks, particularly in health and safety. Such a transformation will deliver e† ciencies that will improve the cost of renewables in comparison to less sustainable forms of energy. One clear application of such technology is remote condition monitoring. Improvements in drone technology, such as rapid improvements in camera and remote sensing technology and controls systems mean previous manual inspections can now be undertaken by drone. This is set to reduce the cost of operating and maintaining renewable energy. Moving into the mid-term future, we see huge potential for fully- automated and indeed autonomous renewable energy value chains, with drones playing a central role. Thomas Hurst, senior consultant, Energy and Climate Change, Arup Kate Jarritt, associate director, Business Performance and Asset Management, Arup Machine learning is set to be one of the topics discussed in the 'making innovation business as usual' debate at 11:15 on the Network Theatre on 23 May at Utility Week Live. For more information, visit: www.utilityweeklive.co.uk