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Delivering excellence to customers and growth to partners
Unique in industry, the award-winning EcoXpert program offers an esteemed partnership between Schneider Electric and a truly global, cross-expertise ecosystem of solution providers.
Certified on EcoStruxure, EcoXperts employ some of the highest levels of competency in the industry, delivering integrated building control, reliable power management, and efficient energy solutions to customers all over the world. With nearly 4,500 certified EcoXpert partners, spanning 80 countries, EcoXpert partners digitize and electrify our world for a more sustainable future.
Recognizing top performance
Earlier this year, Master-level Power EcoXpert partners from around the world gathered in Grenoble, France to share experiences, strategize on future growth through opportunities in power solutions and sustainability, and recognize the best projects of the year.
The event was Schneider Electric’s Digital Power Leadership Summit, our annual global conference for Master-level EcoXpert partners in Critical Power and Substation Automation. Partners who achieve Master status are an exclusive group of leaders in their field, forming the top five percent of all EcoXpert partners. (And there are more than 4,500 EcoXpert partners worldwide!)
As always, the achievement awards were a highlight of the Summit. While dozens were nominated, only a few could win. The room was buzzing with enthusiasm and energy as people met, mixed, and witnessed the best projects in each of five categories.
Let’s take a look at this year’s winners.
Project of the Year: AZZO, Australia
The top award for the year went to AZZO for their massive Microgrid and Digital Twin project for Deakin University’s five campuses across Australia. With 60,000 full-time students, the university consumes 22.2 GWh of power per year. Their goal was to reduce energy costs and create a carbon-neutral campus by 2025, by implementing a research platform for microgrid operations and control, and protecting their assets with cyber-secure IT and OT network integration.
“AZZO was pivotal in supporting development of Deakin’s Microgrid Digital Twin Model, a key research and education tool,” Adam Fletcher, Deakin Microgrid Project Manager
AZZO’s solution centered on a unified platform for operation and maintenance of all microgrid assets. AZZO’s design, 36 acres in size, is the largest solar farm on any University campus in Australia. Operators can quickly respond to problems and ensure systems are running at full capacity thanks to AZZO’s robust platform that includes multiple Distributed Energy Resources (DER) modes, solar and battery performance monitoring, tracker monitoring and control, and power quality monitoring.
The benefits? Deakin University reduced its emissions by 12,000 tons/year by generating 12 GWh/year of power (54% of the school’s annual power needs) with the microgrid. Along with immediate emissions benefits, the AZZO-designed platform provides research and training for the university and its students. As the future develops, so will AZZO’s platform.
Technical Innovation Award: Energy Insight, South Africa
Energy Insight helped overburdened utilities in South Africa by providing instantaneous and supplemental demand response that ensures network stability and power delivery to all customers.
Energy Insight installed a central Power Monitoring Expert (PME) with PM8000 meters at each Utility headquarters with additional I/O modules. Fourteen sites were placed strategically to serve Large Power Users (LPUs). To ensure instantaneous demand response, Energy Insight implemented continuous frequency monitoring. When the frequency reaches below a certain threshold, a load-shedding signal is sent to the LPU. Up to 1,000 MW of power can be shed in only six seconds. This new functionality prevents generator overloads and improves power distribution. Thanks to Energy Insights, utilities in the region are now burning less diesel fuel to meet demand while also increasing network stability.
Business Achievement Award: Anord Mardix, UK
Anord Mardix won this award for improving the Power Management System (PMS) for the London Data Centre campus, a project with a total value exceeding £60 million across all facilities. The main goal was to operate the PMS as the sitewide monitoring system in order to provide summarized environmental and mechanical data.
Anord Mardix’s solution included Edge Control with dual redundant power operations and an advanced reports package that integrates Schneider Electric’s connected products with all the other apps and analytics in use. London Data Centre now has a single system to communicate the status of all mechanical and electrical systems, and a single specialist responsible for support. The new standardized solution enables visibility and resilience for all of London Data Centre’s PMS and BMS operations, paving the road to a successful future.
Digital Transformation & Services Award: Sollivan Smart Solutions, Colombia
This award went to Sollivan Smart Solutions for helping Electricaribe Electrical in Colombia split into two new companies while upgrading their Power Monitoring Expert (PME) systems. The challenge: they needed to do it without any data unavailability, and while maintaining all historical data for regulatory compliance.
It was no small task, since Electricaribe Electrical serves 2.7 million consumers with 22% of market share. Sollivan managed the process successfully, upgrading the utility’s technology with some 350 Schneider Electric ION9000 devices, two new PME 2020s, and a PME development system. They also ensured Power Quality compliance through redundant data migration. It was a complex combination of business and digital transformation, and Sollivan Smart Solutions made it happen.
Cybersecurity/Sustainability Award: East Sea Energy Environment, Vietnam
East Sea Energy Environment worked with Suntory Pepsico Vietnam Beverage (SVPB) to improve water-use efficiency and move closer to a sustainable future.
East Sea Energy Environment installed an EcoStruxure PME and Power Advisor, with monitoring servers providing data on electrical distribution, water, steam, and CO2 field devices. A network of PowerLogic meters, gateways, and controllers make up the 210 connected points in the new PME. These measures have resulted in more visibility into energy consumption, savings from more efficient usage, and better energy management and proactive maintenance. Thanks to East Sea Energy Environment, SVPB has vastly reduced its carbon footprint while saving more than 10% energy costs.
Congratulations to all winners and nominees
Our congratulations to all the winners, as well as to the many partners that were nominated from around the world. The goal of the EcoXpert Partner Program is to cultivate collaboration among our global partners, in order to meet the energy challenges of the world with innovative and sustainable solutions. Given the exciting projects highlighted at this year’s Summit, it’s clear that our EcoXpert partners have accepted the challenge and are helping to move us into a smarter and safer future. We are grateful to all our Partners who are working to solve the world’s energy challenges. You can find out more about the EcoXpert Partner Program here.
