The AES Corporation has announced that it is working with X, the moonshot factory to develop tools that facilitate additional clean energy resources to come onto the grid at a faster pace while improving grid reliability, optimizing operations, and reducing costs.
AES and X are utilizing the tools to simulate and virtualize AES' distribution grids in Indiana and Ohio. The near real-time grid virtualization technologies will improve the customer experience by testing new ideas, optimizing the grid for renewables, improving reliability, and building new efficiencies into the system.
As Audrey Zibelman, Vice President and General Manager for X's electric grid team explains, "One of the biggest obstacles to shifting to a renewable and reliable electric system is having a complete real-time picture of what is happening on the electric grid. We are developing new computational and virtualization tools designed to give everyone who manages and operates the grid the ability to plan, build, and manage a clean and resilient grid."
"We believe the future of energy is clean, reliable, affordable, and accessible to all. By combining X's technical expertise with our industry experience and insights, we're accelerating that future," said Kristina Lund, AES President for US Utilities. "We are proud to be among the first to embrace these grid virtualization tools from X in our smart grid strategy. Our goal is to build a modern and green grid to benefit all."
Zibelman added, "We're delighted to be working with an industry leader like AES to develop tools that guide towards an efficient, reliable, and low-carbon energy future."
This work complements the 10-year strategic alliance that AES formed with Google in 2019 to leverage Google Cloud technology to accelerate innovation in energy distribution and management and AES' first-of-its-kind agreement to supply 24/7 carbon-free energy for Google data centers in Virginia.