Defining (and moving beyond) ‘hybrid’: embracing the language of next-gen management of multiple energy sources

With the advent of increasing energy cost from the grid, need to go were no grid is or having to rely upon no grid, we have seen the emergence of hybrid solutions. With the beginnings of these new solutions, we see different business objectives, customer service expectations, municipal limitations and neighbourhood conditions that vary from carrier, region, site, et cetera. The result is that hybrid has become a catch-all phrase, and so ambiguous it obfuscates what are the requirements and solutions. In this paper, we articulate the transition the telecom industry is moving forward with, from being a power component provider to an energy manager. Acknowledging this path, we delete the term “hybrid power” and add in “Multiple Energy Management”. We will continue with an adaptable structure, providing a proposed naming convention, that defines the role and inter-relationship of managing multiple energy sources. With the establishment of this structure, we can concisely enounce the operational model of an objective a specific solution. The structure will acknowledge the various roles of an energy sources, play, whether primary, supportive or supplementary. As illustrated above, a generator(s) may be the critical and primary energy source or regulated to a supplementary role for just-in-case reliability support. The purpose of this structure is to provide a common language from system designers to field technicians that define the role of equipment, the expectations of control and operation, and how energy is to be consumed (and stored). With the convention established (defined), the common global solutions that are deployed or requested will be outlined, with examples. Specific characteristics, unique drivers and features of each model will be called out, exempli gratia meeting a strong CAPEX business objective or for real-estate planning. Why define and illustrate a new lexicon, which leaves “hybrid” behind? Remove the ambiguity that exists today between solution provider and customer in delivering and operating a system that manages multiple energy systems.