Nokia Siemens Networks Plans a Move into the Energy Area

Leading telecommunications infrastructure solutions provider Nokia Siemens Networks announced recently that it planned on using its existing portfolio of solutions, as well as the partnerships it had already created, to make a move into the energy sector. According to the company, it aims at using its expertise in the telecoms area to focus on environmental responsibility, demand for renewable energy, intelligent power grids, and smart meters.

“When you look at what is required to manage power grids, or to make full use of unpredictable renewable energy sources such as solar and wind, as well as bringing greater transparency and flexibility to billing, the synergies with the core of our existing telecoms business is obvious,” said Juhani Hintikka, head of Operations and Business Software, Nokia Siemens Networks. “While our research and development remains focused on communication service providers, we will look to exploit opportunities where we can create clear value for our customers by entering new growing markets with our current products and services.”

According to Nokia Siemens Networks, the generation of sustainable energy offers a series of new opportunities in the area, and segments that are poised for growth include renewable energy generation, the transformation of power grids into smart grids, as well as the managing of user demand and consumption. The company will use the existing charging, mediation, service management and network management solutions, to benefit from these opportunities. Moreover, it also announced that its planned Business Solutions organization would include the energy sector division as of January 1, 2010.

At the same time, the infrastructure vendor revealed that it was working together with ServusNet, a software company, “to help wind power operators optimize power generation and delivery.” ServusNet makes use of the Open Element Management System (EMS) Suite from Nokia Siemens Networks, which has been designed as a platform both for utility and for telecommunications network management, compatible with various existing technologies and vendors.

“As an example of the opportunity for smart grids, a SMART 2020 report from the Climate Group estimated that energy losses in India could be reduced by 30% through improved grid monitoring and management. Nokia Siemens Networks expertise in dealing with huge volumes of data in real time, the automation of user processes and instant changes in network configuration can be directly applied to power grids. For example, the flexibility and scalability make the Open EMS Suite an ideal software platform for the energy sector,” the company also noted.