An Innovation Ecosystem Approach To Energy Production and Distribution Organisations
14 September 2021

Dealing with climate change has been a top priority for many world governments with numerous countries opting to curb energy usage from traditional carbon-based, high-emission sources such as coal. Industry white papers have shown that coal, the most polluting fossil fuel with the highest CO2 emission, has seen a decline in usage globally with only India and China being the sole exceptions. By 2050 it is expected US coal-fired power stations will only account for around 700 TW hours of energy. An energy producer that is dependent on coal must account for this projected decline in coal power use to have a modicum of a chance to survive in the imminent energy landscape.

EarlyBirds, a company that connects innovators, subject matter experts, and early adopters, is appealing to energy production and distribution organizations to harness the innovations on its platform to propel the energy ecosystem into the future.

Dealing with climate change has been a top priority for many world governments with numerous countries opting to curb energy usage from traditional carbon-based, high-emission sources such as coal. Industry white papers have shown that coal, the most polluting fossil fuel with the highest CO2 emission, has seen a decline in usage globally with only India and China being the sole exceptions. By 2050 it is expected US coal-fired power stations will only account for around 700 TW hours of energy. An energy producer that is dependent on coal must account for this projected decline in coal power use to have a modicum of a chance to survive in the imminent energy landscape.

Nevertheless, the world’s regulatory bodies have made a commitment to put up a united front against climate change, global warming has been accelerating at alarming rates. World governments have been prodding private energy companies to undergo a transformation and bring about the change that the planet desperately needs to avoid global catastrophe. Governments are pushing energy producers to adopt renewable sources of energy such as solar and wind by implementing favourable policies, subsidies, and incentives at local and national levels.

Energy companies are also feeling the heat due to the changing sentiment of public opinion. Consumers are demanding energy producers not only find cleaner and greener means of energy production but also offer them greater control over energy consumption and billing with an option to contribute energy back into the grid. The affordability of domestic solar panel installations and their rapid adoption in California is one of the examples of a well-informed consumer base driving the change in an industry that usually responds slowly to innovations.

A smart energy producer stands to benefit significantly by being an early adopter of the innovations that will most likely become commonplace in the near future. On of the biggest roadblock for companies to overcome, to become a part of this coming change, is the technological know-how required to implement the innovations in their own infrastructure.

EarlyBirds aims to fill in this gap of knowledge by connecting industry leaders with startups, scaleups and mature innovators and subject matter experts that have already solved the most pressing problems of the energy industry. The company’s rapid innovation ecosystem addresses problems such as the switch to zero net emissions, the need for high-capacity battery storage and digitizing the grid by leveraging the progress made by technologies such as the internet of things, artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data, and the blockchain.

An energy producer will require to invest significant resources into upgrading their existing infrastructure to create a smart grid that not only reduces energy wastage due to transport and distribution but also allows individual consumers to send electricity back to the grid netting them a discount on their utility bills. EarlyBirds can help decision-makers find and implement focused innovative solutions that solve immediate issues with their grid while outlining a plan for iterative upgrades that can be made as monetary resources become available.

A high-tech electricity distribution grid will also allow the energy producer’s central control unit to monitor energy usage in its network with high accuracy, giving them the tools to make better decisions regarding revamping parts of their aging infrastructure, meeting consumer energy demands, being compliant with local and national regulatory guidelines, managing existing assets, and optimizing the cost basis for positive returns on investment. A modern, digitized grid will also need to be hardened against the risk of cyber-attacks by malicious actors that aim to cripple distribution.

Energy industry leaders can head over to https://earlybirds.io to learn more about the company’s innovation ecosystem and how the company’s resources can be used to implement lasting changes that are beneficial to the industry, the consumers as well as the planet.