Digital Twins Shaping Renewable Energy's Tomorrow
PTC, a global software company, has recently released ServiceMax AI, a groundbreaking tool designed to modernise workflows and increase efficiency for field service technicians. By leveraging the full documented history of equipment data, service history, and more, this AI aims to help organisations get more work done in less time.
In a rapidly evolving energy landscape, the International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts renewable energy consumption to increase by approximately 60% between 2024 and 2030. As the world moves towards cleaner energy sources, digital twin technology is playing an increasingly important role in optimising renewable energy systems.
The Role of Digital Twin Technology in Renewables
Digital twin technology is being used across various renewable energy systems—wind, solar, geothermal, hydroelectric, and biomass—to optimise generation, management, and efficiency. By creating virtual replicas of physical assets and processes, digital twins allow operators to simulate, predict, and improve system performance, reduce failures, and accelerate clean energy transitions.
However, each renewable type poses unique challenges for digital twin implementation.
Wind Energy
In wind energy, digital twins help optimise turbine performance by simulating aerodynamic dynamics and mechanical wear, improving predictive maintenance, and maximising energy capture under variable wind conditions. The complexity lies in accurately modelling highly dynamic environmental conditions affecting turbine behaviour.
Solar Energy
For solar farms, digital twins simulate panel efficiency under varying weather, shading, and degradation conditions, facilitating optimal energy yield and maintenance scheduling. The challenge is dealing with high variability in solar irradiance and panel aging processes.
Geothermal Energy
In geothermal energy, digital twins model subsurface thermal and fluid flow dynamics, enhancing reservoir management and predicting long-term sustainability. Complexity arises from the difficulty of accurate geological and thermal modelling due to limited accessible data.
Hydroelectric Energy
Digital twins simulate water flow, turbine operation, and reservoir levels to optimise energy generation and mitigate risks such as drought impacts. Challenges include incorporating complex hydrological patterns and legal constraints on water usage.
Biomass Energy
Digital twins struggle with simulating the full biomass supply chain and complex biological, biochemical, and thermochemical processes involved in biomass conversion, limiting their precision in optimising biomass energy systems.
Despite these challenges, the benefits of digital twins in renewables are significant, including improved efficiency, cost reduction, predictive maintenance, and system reliability. Researchers recommend enhanced data collection, advanced modelling techniques, and increased computational capability to overcome these hurdles and fully realise digital twins' potential in renewable energy optimisation.
The Future of Renewable Energy
As the world grapples with the effects of climate change and global warming, the extraction and combustion of fossil fuels are under scrutiny. Renewable energy, zero-emission green energy extracted from environmental sources such as the weather and geographic location, is becoming increasingly important.
In 2024, solar energy provided more than 2,000 TWh of electricity, making it the fastest-growing power source for the 20th year in a row. Wind energy grew to 8.1% of global power generation, and hydroelectric energy accounted for most of the global electricity generation by renewable energy technology, but its 14% share is expected to see a one percent decline by 2030.
Geothermal energy, while accounting for less than 3% of renewable energy, is a promising source due to its potential for both heating and cooling and electricity generation. Concentrated solar power (CSP) is another innovative technology that generates electricity by using lenses or mirrors to concentrate sunlight into a focal point.
PTC Inc., with its digital twin technology, is at the forefront of this digital revolution in the renewable energy sector. By partnering with companies like NVIDIA, PTC is helping businesses improve product quality, accelerate development, and collaborate more effectively on complex products across their entire lifecycle.
As we move towards a more sustainable future, digital twin technology will continue to play a crucial role in optimising renewable energy systems and accelerating the transition to cleaner, greener energy sources.
- PTC's digital twin technology, as demonstrated by ServiceMax AI, could be instrumental in enhancing the efficiency of the field service technicians in various industries, including environmental science and finance, by modernizing workflows and boosting productivity.
- The utility of digital twin technology in renewable energy industries, such as wind, solar, geothermal, hydroelectric, and biomass, is on the rise, enabling operators to optimize system performance, reduce failures, and speed up clean energy transitions.
- In the realm of the finance industry, investments in artificial intelligence and renewable energy technologies, like digital twin implementations, have the potential to yield high returns, making clean energy transitions more economically viable and scalable.
- As technology continues to advance, the role of artificial intelligence, digital twin technology, and other innovative solutions will increasingly intertwine with the environmental science and industry sectors, driving the growth and sustainability of renewable energy sources and minimizing the effects of climate change.
