SP Group announces prototype digital twin technology for grid resilience
Singapore utility SP Group has partnered with the Energy Market Authority (EMA) and the Science and Technology Policy and Plans Office to develop the country’s first digital twin for the national grid.
The technology is still in prototype mode and is expected to be completed in the next few years.
The digital twin is expected to help improve the resilience and reliability of the Singapore grid through real-time monitoring of events.
SP Group says the platform will help to increase the integration of clean energy resources with the grid for decarbonisation, energy security and affordability purposes.
The utility says the solution will enable Singapore to achieve energy sustainability goals set under its Green Plan 2030, which includes diversifying the energy mix by adding more solar energy, wind energy capacity, and technologies including electric vehicles.
The platform will provide SP Group with modelling and simulation capabilities for better management and planning of infrastructure maintenance and operation programmes.
For instance, the platform will improve network planning analysis and remote monitoring of asset conditions, thereby saving manpower resources in carrying out extensive physical inspections, according to a statement.
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SP Group says electrification and distributed energy resources will increase the complexity of the grid, however, the digital twin will help to optimise the management of more than 18,000 transformers and 27,000 km of underground cables that interconnect over 11,000 substations.
Ngiam Shih Chun, Chief Executive of EMA, said: “With the pressing need to tackle climate change, the power grid needs to evolve to support a more complex power system that will connect to more diverse sources of cleaner energy as well as a growing network to meet rising demand.”
Stanley Huang, Group Chief Executive Officer of SP Group, added: “SP Group works closely with EMA to explore measures to improve Singapore’s grid reliability and resilience. Harnessing the power of digitisation, the Grid Digital Twin enables us to monitor and test different scenarios based on a virtual replica of the grid. We can then effectively test potential upgrades and enhancements, and future-ready innovations such as the projects under the SP Group – NTU Joint Lab to support our ambition to empower the future of energy.”
