Electricity + Control September 2019

NOT TO BE MISSED

24 th World Energy Congress 9-12 September 2019, Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, United Arab Emirates (UAE) The triennial World Energy Congress is the World Energy Council’s global flagship event and offers a platform for global energy leaders to explore new, collaborative and sustainable energy futures, critical innovation areas and new strategies. It brings together energy stakeholders from governments, private and state corporations, civil society organisations and intergovernmental agencies, academia and media. It is the longest-running and most influential energy event in the world, covering all aspects of the energy sector. Enquiries: visit: www.wec24.org Electra Mining Botswana 2019 10-12 September 2019, Gaborone Fairgrounds, Botswana Africa’s leading mining, industrial and power generation expo, alongside the first A-OSH Expo Botswana. More than 100 exhibitors are expected. Conference speakers will address IIoT and smart devices changing the face of mining in Africa, artificial intelligence and machine learning in industry and mining, enterprise IT security, smarter safety solutions, managing occupational health and risk, among other issues. Enquiries: visit www.electramining.co.bw Cigre Southern Africa Regional Conference, Oct 2019 1-5 October 2019, Misty Hills Country Hotel and Conference Centre, Muldersdrift, Gauteng The 9th Cigre Southern Africa Regional Conference will be staged jointly with the International SC B4 Colloquium. The conference will address the theme of sustainable integration of distributed energy resources for power system development, while the colloquium will look at regional interconnections of electricity networks in Africa and renewable energy integration. Enquiries: Email: anelja@activecapture.co.za, or visit: www.cigresa-events.co.za Cape Town International Convention Centre, Cape Town Africa Oil & Power is the continent’s premier conference platform for energy investment and policy. With a series of energy events, AOP brings together ministers, senior government officials and top executives of private sector companies spanning the energy value chain. Enquiries: visit: https://africaoilandpower.com/event/aop-2019/ SAEEC Conference 14-15 November 2019, Farm Inn, Silver Lakes, Pretoria The 14th annual conference of the SAEEC (South African Energy Efficiency Confederation) will focus on five key themes: Strategies for environmental change, Energy nexus links, Sustainable generation and distribution, the 4th Industrial Revolution and energy, and the business of energy. Enquiries: Franki McKechnie, Tel. +27 (0)63 235 8031, or email: admin@saee.org.za Beckhoff Product Training 2019 TwinCAT 3 and TwinCAT 2 training courses, monthly, to November 2019 Beckhoff Automation offers training for its system components such as TwinCAT 2, TwinCAT 3, IPCs, Embedded PCs, I/O and Motion products. The 3-day training courses are run at Beckhoff Training Centres in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Durban. Enquiries: Visit www.beckhoff.co.za or email: training@beckhoff.co.za Africa Oil & Power 9-11 October 2019

Cellular IoT supports solar energy services in East Africa

A t the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Cape Town summit in July, held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, global IoT cellular connectivity specialist Eseye and SolarNow together presented insights into some of the latest ways in which IoT devices can be deployed onto AWS. SolarNow, a social business focused on transforming lives by providing high quality solar energy, appliances and financing solutions in East Africa, successfully used IoT, while also integrating M2M cellular connectivity and AWS cloud within its solutions, to provide more and better services to SolarNow customers. As a leader in IoT M2M connectivity solutions, Eseye offered secure and reliable global multi- network cellular network data through the AnyNet Secure™ SIM, with seamless integration onto the AWS cloud. The SIM’s enhanced features enable SolarNow to remotely and securely activate, provision, authenticate and certify deployed devices over-the-air, in up to 190 countries. By leveraging the power of connected technology SolarNow could address the need for sustainable solar energy – providing solar powered equipment, appliances and services to remote or off-grid home, farm, school, health centre and business locations. In addition, IoT and M2M capabilities further empowered SolarNow to become self-reliant and secure in connecting and managing its growing product portfolio. Eseye’s team, led by co-founder Paul Marshall, was joined in the presentation at the AWS Summit by Herman Dijkslag, SolarNow’s Product Development Manager, to demonstrate how this new and advanced yet simple use of cellular technology for AWS is disrupting IoT’s traditional deployment models. Solar has become an increasingly important energy source for off-grid populations in the East African region: in part as an alternative to hazardous kerosene lamps and also as means of harnessing the significant economic, social and health benefits and entrepreneurial business opportunities reliable power sources support. Having worked with developers at SolarNow, Eseye also created software and supplied a reference design that could simply be copied onto the circuit board of the microprocessor, which sits on a solar controller for SolarNow’s solutions. “By taking a proven design and copying it into its devices, SolarNow made the transition from a non-connected to a connected product offering, to take full advantage of IoT capabilities. This enhances SolarNow’s customer service offering and is an avenue for huge growth potential,” says Jeremy Potgieter, SADC regional head, Eseye. SolarNow was also able to improve other key elements of its offering by analysing enhanced system data to communicate with clients in the event of an issue with their device. System data allows SolarNow to build a more complete picture of its customers, to develop product value. The company says that by turning to cellular connectivity it can remotely monitor the performance of its solar systems. This is a key capability that alleviates its connectivity concerns and enables SolarNow to continue to grow the use of solar as a key energy source across East Africa. Potgieter says this use of IoT was pivotal for SolarNow and its customers. “The power of connected technology to solve issues and truly change lives, by

enabling service provision for even the most remote communities, should not be underestimated.”

For more information: email marketing@eseye.com or visit: www.eseye.com

SolarNow is using IoT and M2M cellular connectivity to enhance its services for customers in remote locations.

40 Electricity + Control

SEPTEMBER 2019