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Sustainability

The American microgrids of 2030 – intelligent, resilient and sustainable

Our ‘future of’ series: how might energy markets look in the 2030s?

The future of energy provision in America has never been brighter. As we move away from a dependence on fossil fuels, and towards intelligent systems, our infrastructure will again be a source of pride.

The great energy transition is about more than averting disaster; it’s a bridge to a better world. Today we envision a brighter energy future for the US – a future with a fully electrified economy, supplied with affordable, reliable power. One crucial component will be independent, local microgrids, spanning entire substation grid areas and powered by clean energy sources like solar, wind, and hydrogen. The bridge from now to 2030 is held up by four pillars:

AI: AI will contain outages by islanding, increasing responsiveness and reducing human error. It will also be used to leverage unstructured data draw inferences where data is lacking.

Talent: Training and upskilling will reshape energy and utilities workforces, offering new opportunities and the chance to be part of a new, positive energy story.

Cybersecurity: With its dependency on legacy technologies, the U.S. Energy Grid is extremely vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Distributed architecture in the form of microgrids offers communities much more resiliency as there’s not one single point of attack.

Local ecosystems: Managing multiple energy sources in a microgrid, with different generation and availability characteristics, requires management of new supply chains and partners. Residents and businesses will be able to purchase energy directly from within their own community microgrid (P2P). Profits can then be invested back into the community.

Accelerating energy transition

The energy transition will unleash vast opportunities to build a brighter future for all.

Meet our experts

James Forrest

Group Industry Leader for Energy Transition and Utilities at Capgemini
I lead in helping global clients with major business transformations involving smart grid, IoT, the reform of gas and electricity markets, major software and infrastructure changes, and the use of machine learning and artificial intelligence to drive significant business performance improvement.

Elfije Lemaitre

Vice President of Energy and Utilities
My team and I are dedicated to the oil and gas sectors and their subsegments. We have delivered programs and solutions for clients in the oilfield services, exploration, and production, midstream, liquified natural gas, and refining subsectors. I guide digital transformation programs, including value-chain optimization, digital assets, digital workers, digital core (ERP), as well as renewable enterprise strategy and talent development in the digital sphere.

Mike Lewis

VP Global Leader Energy Transition
He is the lead of Capgemini’s Energy Transition business globally. He is responsible for our client’s success in their move to low carbon energy – both the products and services our clients bring to market, and how their own company transition to low carbon, sustainable business practices.

Claire Gotham

VP, Utilities and NA Renewables Lead
Claire Gotham is an experienced Utilities and Renewables executive who has successfully developed complex projects, led diverse teams to deliver and achieved the business strategy. Her skill set comprises over 25 years of experience in consulting and business development. Claire Gotham is a SME in Commodities Risk Management, Renewables Strategy, Energy Transition, and Public Speaking and Training. She has led over 100 industry trainings, been a featured speaker on panels, podcasts and industry events. Claire Gotham has also served as an Expert Witness and QIR (Qualified Independent Representative).