How to Make Aging Infrastructure More Sustainable
The following is adapted from Practical Sustainability.
Aging infrastructure adversely impacts the economy and the environment. The 2020 California wildfires started by faulty Pacific Gas and Electric transmission lines, causing the evacuation of 100,000 people, highlight this reality. Beyond the investment needed to upgrade buildings and other energy infrastructures, robotics is part of the solution.
Robots have many uses in the energy sector, for the dull, dirty, and dangerous jobs like cleaning transmission lines across hundreds of miles of rough terrain. Utilities face a significant problem of aging infrastructure and huge transmission power losses.
Improving Energy Conductors in the US
To put this in perspective, the U.S. has an installed conductor base of 400,000 miles with a power loss of $25 billion annually and requiring 25% replacement of the installed conductor base by 2030. In addition, power lines heat up due to the transmission of power and exposure to solar heating.
This excessive heat causes the conductors to sag and increases the risk of forest fires due to vegetation intrusions. To address this problem, innovative autonomous robots clean and coat the overhead conductors with proprietary material. This coating solution increased carrying capacity by 25% while reducing power losses and conductor sag by 25%.
Robots have many uses in the energy sector where labor is arduous, and environments are often harsh and remote. For the Infosys solar power plant in Hyderabad, India, robots clean solar panels, which improves productivity and reduces losses in solar power generation.
Additionally, Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies monitor and improve the performance of the solar power plant. This state-of-the-art installation can generate twelve million units (kWh) annually and has helped Infosys completely offset electricity consumption at the large Hyderabad campus. In fact, the plant generates a surplus of electricity.
Traditionally, the building industry had many manual operations and used devices with older technologies and data systems. Manual processes, such as spreadsheets and handwritten notes, hamper the ability to accurately track data to measure quality, efficiency, and safety. This tracking issue leads to errors on the job site by contractors, subcontractors, materials suppliers, and inspectors. Multiple systems require significantly more operations time than single data sources and digitalization.
Reducing the Possibility of Errors
Beyond performance, manual processes and devices also increase the possibility of error. Operator understanding, not AI algorithms, traditionally drove operations of lighting and climate-control systems. Experienced operators had rules of thumb and good judgment, yet human and data silos isolated knowledge among groups. This segregation of relevant data and insights is insufficient to succeed in a complex, rapidly changing world that demands better efficiency and sustainability.
Smart spaces deploy a command center that centrally manages the operation of buildings through remote monitoring and feedback. This centralized approach leads to increased quality, efficient supply chains, materials conservation, equipment uptime, and employee productivity.
The smart, connected approach converts brownfield physical spaces into low-energy footprint facilities, enhanced with digital experiences. Smart energy solutions build on this foundation with smart grid and renewables, architecture reference blueprints, and partnerships with technology, hardware, and service providers.
An Infosys manufacturing client created a central building management command center to manage resource efficiency. They realized 15% energy savings, plus a 20% reduction in IT support costs. The command center continuously monitored energy flow, and its data-driven approach avoided 1,700 million kWh of energy consumption over eight years. This initiative reduced energy costs of $185 million and 1.5 million tons of carbon emissions. In 2018, the company reduced per capita electricity consumption by 53%, compared to the 2008 baseline.
Modern Solutions to Aging and Decay
Most energy consumption occurs in buildings and efficient design matters. Whether gleaming new buildings or deep-green retrofits, operational excellence through intelligent automation is crucial to achieving energy efficiency.
To bring aging infrastructure to modern environmental standards, remember that success in the age of sustainability depends upon creating customer-valued products and services through the most efficient means possible. Success also requires meeting regulatory guidelines, safety standards, and environmentally sound practices.
For more advice on sustainable infrastructure, you can find Practical Sustainability on Amazon.
Corey Glickman is vice president at Infosys and leads their Sustainability & Design business, delivering smart space initiatives for clients globally. Corey is a member of both the World Economic Forum Pioneer Cities group and the MIT Technology Review Board, and is a faculty expert at Singularity University. The American Institute of Graphic Arts named Corey one of the 100 most influential designers of the decade.
Jeff Kavanaugh is vice president and head of the Infosys Knowledge Institute, the research and thought leadership arm of Infosys, a leading tech and consulting company. Jeff is an adjunct professor at the Jindal School of Management at the University of Texas at Dallas, and author of the books The Live Enterprise and Consulting Essentials. Jeff has been published in Harvard Business Review and other leading business publications.
