
(nls2174)
1) Sustainability Problem: Energy
Electricity grids can be powered by different generating sources. Fossil-fuel powered sources release significant amounts of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, accelerating global warming and causing negative climate change effects that have a detrimental impact on many species on Earth. Renewable energy generating sources, on the other hand, do not have these associated emissions. However, renewable energy such as solar and wind power are often only available to power the grid at certain times of the day. When they are not available, the grid has to pull from more “dirty”, emissions-heavy sources like coal and natural gas plants. Additionally, grids might still have to pull from dirtier sources of power during periods of peak energy demand when the renewable energy sources are used up and utilities need to supply more power.
2) Article Title: “eMotorWerks Launches JuiceNet Enterprise Cloud Platform”; Website Name: EnelX (EV Charging); Link: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/emotorwerks-launches-juicenet-enterprise-cloud-platform-300645109.html
Electric vehicles (EVs) will have lower emissions factors if the grid that powers them is itself powered by “cleaner” sources of energy. Maximizing the use of renewable energy instead of fossil fuels to power EVs would lower their associated greenhouse gas emissions.
- eMotorWerks, an Enel Group company, created an electric vehicle (EV) charging solution known as “JuiceNet”. JuiceNet is a platform that matches the historical charging patterns of drivers, real-time input, and signals from utilities and grid operators to manage energy demand from EV charging stations. (https://support-emobility.enelx.com/hc/en-us/articles/115001517872-What-is-JuiceNet-)
- JuiceNet can control any EV charging stations connected to WiFi and shift both the timing and amount of electricity flow to optimize grid electricity prices and demand. It reduces costs and stress for utilities and grid operators by only allowing discharging during off-peak demand periods and maximizes the use of solar and wind power. (https://evcharging.enelx.com/products/juicenet-software/juicenet)
- The JuiceNet Enterprise add-on to the original JuiceNet platform helps to manage many EV charging stations across multiple sites at once by allowing remote management of these charger fleets from a single cloud dashboard. (https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/emotorwerks-launches-juicenet-enterprise-cloud-platform-300645109.html)
3) Organizational Stakeholders:
JuiceNet and the JuiceNet Enterprise add-on can be utilized by a range of EV-related stakeholders including electric vehicle supply equipment manufacturers, vehicle operating equipment manufacturers, electric car owners, truck fleet owners, and commercial real estate facility managers such as large corporations or parking lot owners. (https://support-emobility.enelx.com/hc/en-us/articles/115001517872-What-is-JuiceNet-) (https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/emotorwerks-launches-juicenet-enterprise-cloud-platform-300645109.html)
4) Implementation Process:
The first step in implementing JuiceNet and the JuiceNet Enterprise add-on is completing an assessment of all charging stations owned or operated by a given entity to determine all locations of chargers and general charging history patterns. The Enterprise add-on is meant to manage large numbers of chargers, so charger fleet owners should definitely consider first if they actually need the Enterprise add-on (in other words, do they have enough stations to justify a software that is meant to manage many of them).
The second step would be conducting consumer surveys to assess the user friendliness of the software. The software should be easy enough to use so that the user can go with presets that optimize charging times and amounts without having to adjust settings. At the same time, the software should allow users to easily override presets in case of unique circumstances. Identifying flaws in usability from the beginning of implementation is critical to long-term success and effectiveness of the technology.
Next, a financial assessment should be conducted to calculate potential cost savings for customers. In order for the software to be utilized, the business case must be made clear. If the future users can be convinced that they will save money in the long-run, they will be much more likely to use and take advantage of the technology.