Deloitte announced a “first-of-its-kind” collaboration with Utilidata, which will leverage AI and data capabilities for intelligent power grid solutions.
The initiative combines Deloitte’s data science and energy industry experience with NVIDIA’s accelerated computing and AI software platform and the Utilidata Karman platform to provide real-time insights for clients who are navigating the modern power grid and managing renewable energy sources, particularly at the grid edge.
“Optimizing energy systems is imperative for intelligent grid infrastructure — the balancing act is between reliability, resilience and sustainability,” said Khalid Behairy, AI practice leader for power, utilities and renewables and managing director, Deloitte Consulting LLP. “Through our new collaboration with Utilidata and NVIDIA, we can bring our industry advantage, redefine energy management and help create a more digitized, decentralized, and sustainable energy ecosystem.”
As the U.S. power grid modernizes to adapt to the decentralization of energy generation and the dynamic patterns of consumption driven by electric vehicles (EVs) and renewable energy sources, Deloitte and Utilidata said traditional methods of grid operation don’t provide the dependability required for this infrastructure.
Smart grid implementation can provide meter-to-transformer mapping, real-time hosting capacity, and distributed energy resource (DER) management. Deloitte’s recent distributed energy resources report shows residential DER capacity could grow to 1,500 GW over the next decade and surpass a doubled peak demand.
“The electricity grid is becoming more complex with distributed energy resources, and scaling requires collaboration between global leaders,” said Marc Spieler, senior director, energy, NVIDIA. “Working with Deloitte will enable utilities to use a truly open platform to achieve their decarbonization and electrification goals at scale.”
“Our goal is to bring the best tools and outcomes to the market as the energy industry races to decarbonize and electrify,” said Jess Melanson, president and chief operating officer, Utilidata. “By teaming with NVIDIA and Deloitte, we continue to break down barriers to make it easier to deploy AI at the grid edge to help solve the industry’s biggest challenges.”
Utilidata and NVIDIA are also working to embed Utilidata’s custom NVIDIA module with the Karman platform in other distribution grid devices, helping utilities leverage distributed AI for a wider range of grid planning and operational challenges.
