Sustainable energy: Need of the hour

The world's population is rising and needs more power by the day. Changes in lifestyle, use of new innovations and inventions in households and industry and increasing urbanization demand more energy. To meet those demands and ensure reliable energy supply, there is a need for sustainable energy.

For one, the need for powerful long-distance power transmission for reliable energy supply. The question of electricity's long journey from A to B is answered by Siemens top innovator Dietmar Retzmann.

He says: "When energy sources and consumers are located at distances more than 600 km apart, high voltage direct current (HDVC) transmission is the most energy efficient and economical solution. Equipped with rapid control capabilities, these links help stabilize the power grid."

Apart from getting power to where it's needed, how to use renewable energy sources intelligently is also important. Michael Weinhold, head of technology and innovation at Siemens says:  "HVDC Plus, the next generation of high-voltage direct current transmission systems is an intelligent solution for feeding electricity from renewable energy sources with fluctuating power generation capacities - such as offshore wind farms - into the power grid reliably and efficiently."

Also of key concern is sustainability, especially for densely populated areas.  Claus Kern, innovations manager at Siemens says: "Not only do large amounts of energy need to be transported to megacities, but once it arrives there, the energy also has to be distributed safely and efficiently. Low noise and space saving technologies from Siemens meet the needs of people in these metropolitan areas."