< PreviousFOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT WWW.COMMERCIALINTERIORDESIGN.COM/cid-AWARDS OR CONTACT ONE OF OUR TEAM TODAy For sponsorship enquiries: Laura Collinder Sales Manager Tel: +971 4 444 3576 Mobile: 971 55 401 1628 Email: laura.collinder@itp.com For NOMINATION enquiries: JANE O'NEILL EDITOR Tel: +971 4 444 3626 Email: jane.oneill@itp.com For event enquiries: daniel Fewtrell Director of Awards & Marketing Tel: +971 4 444 3 684 Email: daniel.fewtrell@itp.com For Table sales enquiries: anthony chandran table sales executive Tel: +971 4 444 3685 Email: anthony.chandran@itp.com silver SPONSOR category SPONSORs Social media SPONSOR WEDNESDAY 25th November Good luck to all our nominees! PRESENTED BY GOLD SPONSORS #CIDAWARDS FIT-OUT PARTNERTechnological advancements pertaining to smart meters and their integration with communication solutions (SCADA, GIS, etc.) have transformed water management, to address the challenges faced by water utilities, residents, and industries. The smart water management market was valued at $13.54bn in 2019 and is expected to reach $25.61bn by 2025, recording a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 13.18%, during the forecast period (2020 - 2025). There will be more than two-thirds of people will be living in water scarce areas by 2025 according to Xylem. By 2050 water demand will increase by 55% compared to 2015 levels due to the destruction of water resources by humans due to contamination. The major drivers for the smart water management market are technological advancement, growing population and decrease in water resources globally. Increase in supervisory control and data acquisition is also a major driver for the market. However, the major restraints to the market include high investments required initially and a very low and slow rate of return. Moreover, lack of expertise to implement these technologies across the globe and slow rate of adoption is also a challenge for the market. Nevertheless, the proliferation of IoT and smart cities across various regions promote the growth of the market studied. Technologi- cal advancements pertaining to smart meters and their integration with communication solu- tions (SCADA, GIS, etc.) have transformed water management, to address the challenges faced by water utilities, residents, and industries, in terms of erroneous billing and water manage- ment. By 2050 it is estimated that 70% of the popu- lation will live in urban areas and historical lack of investment in water management is putting the entire water networks in immense pressure. Owing to this, SCADA is being increasingly used in water control and management. Further, SCADA adoption is set to penetrate with the growth in smart cities and smart water BOOSTING RESILIENCY IN WATER NETWORKS MARKET FOCUS www.utilities-me.com July 2020 / Utilities Middle East 31projects worldwide. In Europe, 100 smart cities have a great scope for adoption of SCADA for solving the problems of water management. London had deployed SCADA for its Thames water management which saw a 13% decrease in water consumption. Additionally, from 2018 to 2024 the govern- ments worldwide will invest in $14bn smart water projects which is further expected to aug- ment the market growth. As an ongoing trend, the capabilities of cel- lular and IoT-based technologies will continue to expand in 2020. Cellular technologies elimi- nate the need for traditional fi xed-network infra- structure and provide a fl exible transition from mobile technology. Without the need for traditional fi xed-net- work infrastructure, water utilities can focus their network installation and maintenance costs on other projects. In the past, water utili- ties upgraded their systems by installing a new physical network around a city. In contrast, cellu- lar-enabled water metering solutions eliminate the upfront expense and hassle tied to fi xed-net- work deployment. One of the largest, albeit hopefully unused, benefi ts of cellular-enabled technologies is resiliency. Because of the importance to fi rst responders, cellular networks typically come back online fast in order to support emergency eff orts. That means a water utility using cellu- lar networks would be back online too, without having to repair infrastructure. As key decision-makers in how a city imple- ments its smart city technologies, water utilities must consider the value of fl exibility. By imple- menting IoT-enabled cellular networks, water utilities and the cities themselves have options. Cellular-enabled technologies are not a one-size- fi ts-all solution. Because cellular does not require any infra- structure, the water utility and city can install technologies that best fi t their respective needs. For example, cellular can also support smart sen- sors for parking meters, lights, transportation and more. Accurate and reliable data analytics have changed the water utility landscape. But water utilities alone can only go so far in reducing water loss and meeting water usage goals. That’s why a growing number of utilities are engaging their customers in helping to manage their water usage. A growing number of utilities are engaging their customers in helping to manage their water usage. As part of many advanced metering infra- structure (AMI) and AMA solutions, water util- ity customers have access to engagement tools which enable them to see their personal consumption data daily, hourly, monthly and annually via their smartphones, computers or tablets. By providing clear and transparent infor- mation about water usage, water utilities are empowering and educating their customers. This can help mitigate questions about water rate increases or leaks and reduce response time – all of which can improve effi ciency and support water conservation eff orts. Companies that work on integrated water cycle management, also have the responsibil- ity and the duty to work towards achieving effi - cient integrated water cycle management. For instance, ACCIONA has put BIONS (Business Intelligence Of Network Solutions) into opera- tion, a cloud-based data intelligence platform, which integrates several sources to provide value-intelligence to the business and improve the management of the water supply system through water effi ciency. “BIOS off ers a comprehensive in depth vision of the service and the water supply net- work as well as the “health” of the network itself, with the aim of recording all events taking place in the water supply network,” says Julio Ratia, ACCIONA O&M Middle East Director for our water solutions. “It integrates several data sources: smart water meters for domestic use, district metered area (DMA) sensors, management systems for users and incidents, tank levels, GIS, meteorolog- ical data or calendar variables.” According to a report by Sensus, utilities could save up to $12.5bn by implementing smart water systems, so there are huge opportunities for smart water companies who are off ering the right solutions. Smart water networks will allow utilities to monitor and maximise existing water supplies, respond to regulatory pressure for improved customer services using cloud-based plat- forms, save expenditure on new infrastructure to secure water supplies and generally improve their network effi ciency. There are also long-term benefi ts – saving water resources now will stand utilities in good stead for a future characterised by climate change, increasing water scarcity and popula- tion growth. The landscape of municipal water will change in the wake of the ‘smart city’. Whether you need to keep track of these developments to ensure your business does not fall behind, or you want to break into the market with your smart solu- tion – this is an essential resource. MARKET FOCUS 32 Utilities Middle East / July 2020 www.utilities-me.comKNOWLEDGE PARTNER www.utilities-me.com July 2020 / Utilities Middle East 33 UME: Given the region’s dry climate, what are the threats to water availability in the Middle East? Dominique: The Middle East and North Africa is the world’s most water-scarce region, with 17 countries below the water poverty line set by the United Nations. Renewable freshwa- ter resources are at the core of this issue, and constitute one of the most critical challenges to sustainable development and human secu- rity across the MENA region. Climate change is expected to further exacerbate this challenge. Regional climate models have indicated that the MENA region is exposed to signifi cant adverse climate change impacts due to rising temperatures and changes in rainfall patterns in a region that is already largely dry for most of the year. What is increasingly at stake is no longer just the available quantity of renewable fresh- water, but also the security of its supply. This is why smart solutions to tackle these chal- lenges is of paramount importance. UME: How can companies like Sensus/ Xylem contribute to the regional water utilities sector as the implementation of smart cities becomes more common? Dominique: Among the myriad of elements that comprise a Smart City, smart water is one of them. As the market-leading experts in metrology, our smart water solutions enable utility networks to further contribute to smart city initiatives. world. In line with this regional shift towards a more sustainable future, the utilities indus- try is on the cusp of transformation driven by technological advances. This digital transformation includes decreasing energy intensity, heightened environmental awareness, and evolving customer expectations. As such, the drive towards Smart Water Networks is set to con- tinue accelerating at pace in the coming years. A Smart Water Network is not simply an individual system that optimizes a net- work’s effi ciencies but rather a means of link- ing together multiple systems within a net- work to share data across platforms. Having said that, smart water networks will not only serve to improve daily water management but also have a long-term role in managing water needs in the face of natural disasters and environmental change. UME: What are some of the benefi ts of adopting a Smart Water Network, in rela- tion to climate change and sustainability goals? Dominique: Water is essential for socio-eco- nomic progress, healthy ecosystems, and human survival. The climate changes sweep- ing across the globe put untold pressure on water networks at both extremes; some areas are water stressed and others are prone to increased rainfall and fl ooding which take their toll on the infrastructure required to The provision of accurate data collected using next generation analytics allows utili- ties to achieve improved water consumption measurement, leakage detection, real-time analytics and better water distribution man- agement, all of which are key in safeguarding water resources. Across the Middle East water is an incred- ibly precious resource, and any wastage is not just extremely costly for utilities, but also damaging to the environment as a whole. This is one of the reasons why we are witness- ing an increased emphasis being placed on the integration of smart solutions, to guaran- tee optimal water utilisation. On the ground, there is also a seismic shift towards the fi ght against Non-Revenue Water (NRW) loss and adopting the technology that can help manage this - thereby helping cut costs and deliver more sustainable solutions overall. UME: Through digital transformation, how can utilities be the forebearers of sus- tainable practices? Dominique: As we increasingly see utility companies across the water industry looking for ways to achieve cost savings, and improve operational effi ciencies we have also seen a recent shift in the importance utilities place on sustainability goals. In the Middle East sustainability is a key pillar of the UAE’s National Agenda 2021, Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and a key priority for other utilities and governments across the Dominique Lerouge, Vice President Sales Metrology Business, Emerging Markets, at Xylem speaks to Utilities Middle East about the need to boost water security in the region and how overcome the impact of Covid-19 WATER UTILITIES AND SUSTAINABILITY IN THE POST COVID-19 ERAKNOWLEDGE PARTNER 34 Utilities Middle East / July 2020 www.utilities-me.com address the problem. The water sector is increasingly more aware of the fact that natural resources are limited, and we are using them at or close to their maximum capacity. That being said, dig- italisation is the way forward. It’s a necessity for a strong and effi cient net- work, and as we expect to see further wide- spread deployment of smarter networks delivering smarter utility services, we will see smart technology change conventional water and wastewater systems into instrumented, interconnected, and intelligent systems. It’s also important to remember that water utilities serve four primary purposes: to pro- vide clean drinking water; to manage the fl ow of water through the system for consump- tion and fi refi ghting; to sustain water and the water system; and to oversee the account ser- vice, including both customer service and fi nancial aspects. Finally, adopting a Smart Water Network will enable water utilities to remotely and continuously monitor as well as diagnose problems within the network. It also allows utilities to comply transparently and con- fi dently with government regulatory and policy requirements on water quality and conservation, as well as provide customers with the information and tools they need to make informed choices about their behav- iours and water usage patterns. Ultimately the benefi ts reaped from a smart water network implementing a full analytics framework that collects accurate data, helps save the planet and the yearly budget. UME: With sustainability being a key pillar of the UAE’s National Agenda 2021, how are utilities likely to pivot (post Covid-19) to contribute towards this important ini- tiative? Dominique: The global coronavirus pandemic has proven to be an unexpected and unprec- edented challenge for industries across the entire world, but in particular for the water utilities sector. As one of our most precious resources, water is vital to our planet and fun- damental to human life. And now, more so than ever, it has a critical role to play in safe- guarding our wellbeing. In the face of such challenges, the decisions utility leaders make now to protect their employees, communities and businesses from Covid-19 will have a resounding impact on the operations of tomorrow. In order to maintain operational stability now, and bol- ster critical infrastructure against poten- tial crises in the years to come, ensuring the safety of networks will continue to play a key role, underpinned by a rolling narrative around sustainability throughout. In the past, outdated infrastructure, inef- fi cient utilisation and resource manage- ment have caused problems. However, with sustainability being a key pillar of the UAE’s National Agenda 2021, and a priority for other utilities and governments across the GCC, the spotlight will shine brightly on how utilities place greater emphasis on the integration of smart solutions, to guarantee all important optimal asset utilisation and adhere to these sustainability goals. Whilst it is clear is that the pandemic has posed one of the greatest immediate chal- lenges of our lifetime, we must nevertheless not overlook the positive opportunity for learning it has provided and the long-term legacy it will leave on our industry and the world as we know it. The foreseeable positive impact will surely include an acceleration in the digital transformation of the utility indus- try and beyond. A Smart Water Network is not simply an individ- ual system that optimises a network›s efficiencies but rather a means of linking together multiple systems.”FEATURE www.utilities-me.com July 2020 / Utilities Middle East 35 The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the critical importance of smart grids to pro- mote reliability and continuity of electricity supply, enable smoother remote operations, and improve customers’ digital experiences - three benefi ts that are remarkably impor- tant in the COVID-19 environment The ongoing coronavirus crisis has under- scored our deep dependence on digitiza- tion and modern technologies. Under the COVID-19 lockdown, smart technologies have enabled us to continue to work, learn and shop from the safety of our home. “The coronavirus pandemic changed consum- ers’ energy profi les overnight and amplifi ed the importance of continuous, uninterrupted electric supply for essential services and for nearly every business sector to keep running,” says Johnny Ayoub, Senior Vice President at Booz Allen Ham- ilton. The utilities sector is still on the periphery of digitization that has disrupted other sectors, such as telecommunications and banking. Utili- ties have historically under-invested in informa- tion technology (IT), focusing instead on the oper- ations technologies that enable their core busi- ness of generating, transmitting and distributing power. Ayoub says that the change has been slow in coming, but utilities are now waking up to con- sumers’ demand for smart, interactive services. Along the way, he adds, they are identifying many potential benefi ts of smart technology, not just to the increasingly sophisticated customer, but to their own business. Enter: the smart grid. While there is much progress still to be made until smart grids and utilities reach their potential THE RISING NEED FOR SMART GRIDS FEATURE 36 Utilities Middle East / July 2020 www.utilities-me.com across the MENA region, the opportunity is just as large. INVESTMENT ON THE UP Investment in smart grids is rising globally, spurred by an increasing acknowledgement amongst utilities of smart grid benefi ts, along with government mandates for energy effi ciency and grid reliability. According to market research and consultancy fi rm, Navigant Research, smart grid IT software and services are expected to generate US$17.1 bil- lion in revenue in 2024 up from US$8.5 billion a decade earlier. With rising investments in the fi eld, several fundamental smart grid building blocks stand to gain. Here, the key focus areas include transmis- sion upgrades, substation automation, distribu- tion automation, smart metering and utility enter- prise IT. The increased investment in smart technol- ogies is enabling the smart grid to evolve and advance. Emerging innovations are promising to benefi t consumers, utilities and countries world- wide. Some of these innovations include micro grids, energy storage devices such as Li-Ion batteries, smart homes that adjust consumption according to utility rates, Demand Response (DR) Manage- ment Systems that predict peak usage times and mitigate outages and Electric Vehicle (EV) Charg- ing Stations. These technological innovations are just one sign that commitment to the smart grid is growing stronger, as its role in satisfying and engaging customers becomes more apparent. “While the true impact of emerging smart grid trends remains to be seen, existing innovations are already delivering tangible and wide-ranging benefi ts, not just to consumers and companies, but to entire nations, too,” says Ayoub. THE BENEFITS Smart grids provide a wide range of automation features, diff erentiating them from traditional grids; these features are vital for business conti- nuity. In view of social distancing requirements cur- rently in place to protect public health, Remote Firmware Upgrade allows a utility company to push fi rmware patches and revisions to clients without the need to mobilize Operation and Main- tenance (O&M) personnel. Remote reading, connection and disconnec- tion can all be conducted with an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) minimizing the need for fi eld personnel to be deployed. Moreover, AMI can be easily integrated with other Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and billing solutions to streamline entire meter- to-cash processes and reduce client visits to a ser- vice centre. When customers change their daily routines, to work from home for instance, they can evaluate the impact of their new behaviour on their utility bills and make appropriate changes. “The smart grid arms today’s consumers with a wealth of information, allowing them to stay informed of their consumption and to explore and compare pricing plans and options to buy and sell. Furthermore, a utility company’s Meter Data Management (MDM) solution provides the com- pany with analytical tools to analyse these evolv- ing patterns and to improve network planning in response,” says Ayoub. He points out that smart grids’ Demand Response techniques such as real-time pricing can enable utilities to limit/manage customers’ consumption to account for distribution short- ages or emergencies. As consumers’ energy profi les change leading to a shift in demand patterns geographically (e.g., FEATURE www.utilities-me.com July 2020 / Utilities Middle East 37 closure of an industrial zone, shutdown of a shop- ping area), Distribution Automation technologies allow a utility company to monitor and analyse these demand variations and devise and execute appropriate distribution changes in response. The unparalleled integration provided by the smart grid facilitates critical connectivity between intelligence and asset management applications, increasing operational effi ciency across the grid. Meanwhile, integration provides diff erent power generation types, both continu- ous and intermittent. “The smart grid also introduces new storage options, such as fuel cells, and paves the way for greater integration of alternative and intermittent energy sources, including wind and solar energy,” says Ayoub. Distributed generation enabled by the smart grid benefi ts existing, mature electricity markets, while also developing new ones. KEY ENABLERS While there are challenges associated with smart grid design, implementation and deployment, the paradigm shift that is underway also heralds the arrival of complex technical challenges, with cybersecurity prime amongst them. Deploying a smart grid without adequate security could result in serious consequences such as utility fraud, loss of user information and grid instability. The smart grid’s complexity and multiple entry points—from smart meters to distributed energy resources (DER)—create signifi cant vulnerabil- ities that leave the grid open to breaches and attacks that can target customer data and infl ict damage. The implementation of system-wide cyber security that stretches to end-user devices, is a crucial fi rst step in combating the challenge. “Big data and analytics also have a critical role to play in enabling the value of smart grids, yet they, too, present new and growing challenges to utilities with smart grid ambitions. The sheer size of the smart grid means that handling and pro- cessing the vast amount of data generated is prob- lematic,” Ayoub says. Converting this deluge of information into meaningful intelligence requires a complete over- haul of IT and analytics infrastructure. The infor- mation now at utilities’ fi ngertips poses a chal- lenge not just for data management, but for com- munications systems, too. Where diff erent ven- dors and service providers work independently, it is crucial that utilities develop interoperable sys- tems with capacity to exchange large amounts of data between multiple systems. THE WAY FORWARD Large utilities across the MENA region can build on existing global knowledge and experience to accelerate their own smart grid initiatives, for the benefi t of all stakeholders. “At the regional level, particularly for the GCC countries, the smart grid is in sync with national missions to increase energy generation from renewable sources such as solar and provides the opportunity to diversify economies away from non-renewables,” says Ayoub. “Smart grids are the future of utilities. Indeed, it is no longer a matter of if, but when, they begin to roll out smart grid infrastructure, irreversibly changing the utilities landscape as they go,” he adds. “To reap the rewards, each utility must draw up its own path and carefully consider objectives, sit- uation, capabilities and risk appetite, recognizing that there is no one-size-fi ts-all approach.” While needs and circumstances may vary, util- ities face one common reality: the smart grid rewards are bigger than ever for those who plan dil- igently and who stay plugged-in and switched-on to the smart evolution now shaping our world. JOHNNY AYOUB Senior Vice President at Booz Allen Hamilton38 Utilities Middle East / July 2020 www.utilities-me.com INDUSTRY FEATURE The upward trend in wind turbine size continues, with an average rated capacity for new turbines installed in 2019 surpassing 2.750 kW, a 72 per cent or 1.156 kW increase from 2009, demonstrating the immense progress the industry is making in technology innovation WIND TURBINE SIZES KEEP GROWING AS INDUSTRY CONSOLIDATION CONTINUES The Global Wind Energy Council has published its second edition of its annual Supply Side Analysis 2019 report on its market intelligence platform. According to the report, 22,893 wind turbines were installed globally in 2019 produced from 33 suppliers and accounting for over 63 GW of capacity, a new supply side record in terms of capacity for the industry. Vestas continues to hold on to its place as top supplier in 2019, accounting for 18 per cent of all wind turbines installed in 2019, thanks to its global diversifi cation strategy with installations in more than 40 countries. Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy moved up one position to second place, with the sup- plier doubling its off shore wind installation in 2019 and expanding its geographic coverage. Goldwind fell one position to third place despite the company increasing its annual installations by 19 per cent in 2019 thanks to an installation rush in its home market, China. Of the top fi fteen wind turbine suppliers in 2019, ten installed off shore wind turbines last year, accounting for 99.9 per cent of the record 6.1 GW of off shore wind capacity installed in 2019. Last year was also the fi rst time we saw a purely off shore wind supplier, MHI Vestas, break the global top fi fteen, demonstrating the increasingly important role that the off shore industry is playing to drive wind power growth. “We are continuing to see market consoli- dation for turbine suppliers globally, with the number of suppliers declining from 37 in 2018 to 33 in 2019. At the same time, the top six turbine vendors collectively increased their market share from 70 per cent in 2018 to 72 per cent in 2019,” says Ben Backwell, CEO of GWEC. Within this competitive landscape, current trends favour companies that shift from being www.utilities-me.com July 2020 / Utilities Middle East 39 INDUSTRY FEATURE solely manufacturers to evolving into holis- tic systems and solution providers to allow for greater market diversifi cation.” “The wind sector is a leader in innovation and technology, and it can clearly be seen in the impressive increases in turbine sizes. In 2019, the average turbine size surpassed 2,750 kW and in some markets like Denmark and the UK, turbines passed the 5,000 kW milestone thanks to off shore wind development. This is a 72 per cent increase for average turbine size in the past decade alone, and is a testament to the industry’s leadership in technology innova- tion and maturity of the global sector”. Feng Zhao, Strategy Director of GWEC, says: “More than 63 GW wind power capacity was delivered and installed based on supply side data in 2019, a new record for the indus- try. 2020 was forecasted to be another record breaking year, however, disruption of the global supply chain and delays on wind proj- ect execution has forced major stakeholders in the wind industry to withdraw their 2020 fi nancial and production guidance as well as adjust their market outlook for the year”. “In 2019, eight Chinese turbine vendors were included in the top fi fteen supplier rank- ing, but the top two spots were held by Euro- pean suppliers Vestas and Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy. With the COVID-19 crisis now disrupting supply chains, manufacturing and project execution globally, it is likely that these rankings will shift in 2020 depending on how quickly countries and businesses can recover from the pandemic”, he adds. GE Renewable Energy and Envision remain in the fourth and fi fth position respectively for global market share, both showing increases thanks to installation rushes in their home markets of US and China. Mingyang and Nordex Acciona also ben- efi ted from these installation rushes, both moving up one position to sixth and seventh place respectively. Enercon dropped by two positions to eight place in 2019, primarily due to a signifi cant decline in installations in its home market, Germany. Windey entered the top ten for the fi rst time ever as the supplier doubled its installations in China, moving up four positions to ninth place. Rounding out the top fi fteen wind turbine sup- pliers in 2019 are Chinese suppliers Dongfang, Sewind, CSIC Haizhuang and United Power along with German supplier Senvion and the Danish-Japanese joint venture MHI Vestas. The report is published as part of GWEC’s market intelligence service, and is the update of FTI Consulting’s Global Wind Market Update – Supply Side Analysis that FTI Intelligence granted GWEC the Intellectual Property Rights on 3 April 2019. The full report is exclusively available for GWEC members and market intelligence sub- scribers in the Market Intelligence Members Area on the GWEC website. The fi nal report includes more than 30 tables and fi gures chart- ing the evolution of global wind power markets from the supply side perspective. Next >