#SmartSolarSystems

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The smart energy system: a look under the hood

The switch to a decentralized and completely carbon neutral energy supply is expensive and complicated. This 'energy transition' requires the commitment and involvement of society as a whole and requires behavioral change on both a personal and collective level. In the program series De Energietransitie, we discuss the energy transition with experts and experience experts. The article ' How do we keep the energy transition open, fair and inclusive? ' forms the basis of the series of programs and focuses on three crucial issues within the energy transition: the emergence of new inequalities and dependencies, the design of new organizational forms, and the unraveling of the 'backside' of the digitized energy system.

The energy cooperative was central to the first programme. We discussed exactly how energy cooperatives work and how they have developed in recent years. In the second edition, we looked at the organization and business models of the energy transition. Decentralized generation leads to various parties involved, each with their own role. According to the speakers, the energy transition is currently too organized from a market perspective and much more attention is needed for the collective dimension.

In the third and final episode we discussed the 'technical' dark sides of the energy transition. How can we ensure that clean energy is clean and responsible in all respects?

The downsides of clean energy The energy transition is complex and is often driven by technology. We are increasingly driving and cooking electrically, and we can map our energy consumption using smart meters. Solar and wind energy are not always available as they are weather dependent. Smart technology can provide a solution here by closely matching supply and demand.

However, there are possible downsides to this. 'Smart technology' is a collective term for networks, sensors, computers and control systems that themselves have an ecological footprint. They often contain valuable metals and mineral raw materials that come from ecologically and humanitarianly sensitive areas. (The Fairphone project derived its history from this.) These techniques also consume energy themselves and store a lot of data. Think of the discussions about the placement of data centers and the necessary power supply in, for example, the Wieringermeer or under Almere . Finally, hasty assumptions about the efficiency of smart technology lead to disappointments and feedbacks, which canare summarized under the heading 'rebound effect' .

Waag is therefore interested in the mechanisms, technology and companies involved in the energy transition. What does the smart technology that should enable our energy transition entail? Do consumers understand how this smart technology works or do private companies have the upper hand?

The three guest speakers who highlighted the dark sides of the energy transition for us were the following:

Joana Moll , an artist and researcher who divides her time between Barcelona and Berlin

Sander van der Waal, head of the Future Internet Lab at Waag

Romy Dekker, researcher at the Rathenau Institute . The Rathenau focuses on the development of new technology and its impact on society

Joana Moll studies the climate impact of the data economy, which mainly translates into internet infrastructure and the device sector. There is great ignorance about energy emissions and data pollution. This starts with the misleading metaphor of the cloud. The cloud, where our data is stored, indicates something light and airy when in fact the cloud is propped up by a complex, messy, heavy material infrastructure. The information sent out into the world via the internet depends on this infrastructure. In addition, the equipment sector is the most polluting industry in the world: more polluting than the aviation sector or the meat industry. This is due to the amount of parts and minerals required to assemble this equipment, mining the minerals and chemical waste. To put this into perspective, a smartphone is put together by 300 different hands with more than 10,000 parts coming from 700 different places. This data infrastructure, says Joana, is dependent on 'tech colonialism': in fact a continuation of old balances of power between Western consumer centers and commodity-producing countries. If we can revise these old structures, there is also scope to develop democratic technological systems. in fact a continuation of old balances of power between Western consumer centers and commodity-producing countries. If we can revise these old structures, there is also scope to develop democratic technological systems. in fact a continuation of old balances of power between Western consumer centers and commodity-producing countries. If we can revise these old structures, there is also scope to develop democratic technological systems.

Joana was succeeded by Sander van der Waal who introduced the public to the Public Stack developed by Waag . The Public Stack has the same goal in mind as Joana's research: to make the invisible visible. Technology can be compared to an iceberg consisting of four layers. Often only the concrete technological object is visible. This is called the citizen perspective.

roadmap digital future

Source: Roadmap Digital Future

But to ensure that we develop technology based on public values, the layers below the citizen's perspective must be made visible and studied. Under the citizen perspective are three layers: the foundation, the design process and the technological stack. The foundation forms the basis for a fair, open and democratic design process of a technology and consists of four important pillars:

The premise of the technology is clear and all stakeholders are involved

Human rights are and will remain guaranteed

Society as a whole needs to keep a grip on digitization

Socio-economic considerations take people and planet into account

The design process and technology stack build on the foundation and ensure that the values ​​are implemented in the technology. The citizen's perspective also suggests that we can only get a grip on digitization if we see the design process as a collective responsibility in which end users are actively involved.

Who will take the 'profitable top'? After a lively discussion about how optimistic we should or should not be about the possibility of designing democratic technology, Romy Dekker presented her research on how we as the Netherlands can digitize 'valuably' for the energy transition.

For a long time, energy policy was aimed at being reliable, affordable and clean. The priority nowadays is on 'clean', which means that we are focusing on renewable energy sources. This has put pressure on the reliability and affordability of the energy network. On the one hand, this is due to the fluctuations in the energy supply already mentioned, and on the other hand, due to the further electrification of consumption through, for example, electric driving, heating and cooking. This increases the pressure on the electricity grid.

Digitization can help in balancing supply and demand, but it also brings new problems with it. A first example of this are energy platforms that have enormous added value for grid management. Energy platforms, however, lead to the emergence of 'aggregators', market parties that bundle and trade supply and demand. To do this, they must gain a great deal of insight into the energy behavior of companies and households and design their revenue model accordingly.

The second example that Romy gave is the smart thermometer. More and more large tech companies are trying to enter the electricity market through this technology. Companies such as Amazon and Google are interested in the data of your personal household. Digitization can therefore contribute to a secure energy supply, but it also leads to new problems that must be taken into account. To continue reading on this topic, we recommend this article by Rathenau.

Curious about the previous episodes of the program series De Energietransitie? Read the report of the first episode here . And here the report of the second edition .