Energy & Infrastructure Automation Software

Benefits of automation software in the energy and infrastructure sector

In the energy and infrastructure industries, automation software such as zenon from COPA-DATA offers sector-specific advantages to keep your energy utility on top. From power generation to distribution and smart grids, a number of well-defined industry standards, such as the ISO, ISA, IEEE, IEC and so forth, ensure the reliable operation of electrical utilities. As these standards evolve, new IoT- and cloud-driven solutions are finding their way into modern utility operations. These advancements, altogether, are enabling fully digitalized energy assets, unlocking tremendous efficiency potential and creating new business opportunities.

Energy & Infrastructure Industry Management

Challenges & Solutions

Navigating current challenges in energy supply

Advancing technology, the introduction of digital business models and the integration of renewable energy have brought new challenges to the energy sector, as the world’s dependence on reliable and clean energy supplies has soared. While utilities can deploy digital techniques to manage complex systems and increase their energy efficiency, they are often challenged to find a future proof solution to integrate renewable resources with the Smart Grid to embrace a more digital future and the rising global energy demand. Whether you work in renewable energy, energy storage or another part of the industry, systems must evolve to meet growing demand.

Some of the current challenges industry players must navigate include:

As worldwide energy demand grows, your infrastructure needs to scale quickly and cost-efficiently to keep up. In addition, as the industry standards evolve and solutions outgrow the limits of conventional technology, you need a modern software platform to be able to sync on all levels of your business process. zenon Energy Edition scales with your organization, improving productivity even as you grow.
As the energy industry modernizes, facilities require reliable IT-based communication networks and more remote connections. These connections enable remote monitoring and other vital processes, allowing access to external facilities and control rooms. As a result, it is more important than ever for facility operators to safeguard their networks using appropriate security technology. With top-of-the-line security features such as role-based user administration and encrypted network communication, zenon Energy Edition protects against data loss and unauthorized access.
Energy suppliers must meet expectations for connectivity and communication in increasingly heterogeneous environments. zenon supports all major energy industry communication standards, including IEC 60870-101/104, DNP3 and IEC 61850.

Overcoming these challenges can help ensure long-term success. That's why it's essential to choose automation software designed to accommodate each industry-specific challenge the future presents.

Energy & Infrastructure at a glance

Energy & Infrastructure solutions at a glance

Get to know zenon

zenon is a software platform that makes the engineering and automated operation of energy and infrastructure equipment incredibly easy. The software platform can help you reach and sustain your operational goals in the energy industry.

Advanced digital technology crafted to achieve objectives

zenon Energy Edition is a comprehensive software platform developed for the automation and control of power generation, transmission and distribution systems. zenon includes the features you need to meet scalability, security and connectivity challenges. The powerful integrated platform also includes features that allow you to improve operational efficiency and lower project costs.

zenon Energy Edition offers solutions for six primary areas:

Substation automation: Use zenon Energy Edition to easily and securely operate an automated substation, either locally or remotely.
Distribution management systems: Make more informed decisions with zenon's electrical grid visualization, reporting and archiving tools.
Hydropower plants: Hydropower plants benefit from zenon Energy Edition's comprehensive reporting and large driver library, which allows you to easily connect all subsections of a plant.
Energy storage: Manage multiple energy storage systems and substations from a single application, keeping implementation costs low and simplifying communication.
Public transport: zenon also offers solutions for other smart city infrastructure. Automate substations on railroads and ensure prompt response to incidents with alarming features.

Project creation and system use made easy

zenon Energy Edition makes project creation and system use easy for utility companies. As an out-of-the-box solution, zenon allows you to launch large projects quickly, without extensive engineering. Both zenon Engineering Studio, the engineering environment used to create projects, and zenon Service Engine, the environment used to run projects, provide customizable interfaces and templated applications, so users can work efficiently.

Some other benefits of using zenon in the energy and utility sectors include:

A robust and secure system supporting a vast array of redundancy and systems hardening measures
The highest backward compatibility of the engineering and runtime systems
Easy creation and customization of projects from templates and external data models
The ability to integrate with a wide range of hardware
Rapid analysis and troubleshooting by playing back recorded data with the zenon Process Recorder

Optimize your power and energy management with zenon

With the growing energy demand and advanced technology creating new challenges for utilities, you need to find automation software solutions designed to meet the energy sector's complex needs. As a hardware-independent software platform, zenon Energy Edition can help you improve your power management and compete in the evolving electric utility landscape.

As an independent software developer, COPA-DATA listens to customer needs and can develop additional features to meet their requirements.
To learn more, contact us online today.

Energy and Infrastructure Industry Management