In this issue

Welcome to the latest issue of Future Power Technology.

In this issue, we investigate smart meters, and ask how advances in technology could offer companies and consumers better opportunities to manage their energy usage. With Internet of Things devices in particular becoming more commonplace, there is ample opportunity for greater innovation in data in the power sector, if these innovations can be effectively scaled-up and rolled-out for the billions of people reliant on energy grids to meet their power needs. 

This month’s focus on technology continues with a look at dark data, and the potential dangers of amassing vast quantities of information on customers’ power usage, with the speed of technological change often outstripping that of regulatory change and social adaptations. We also look at the environmental credentials, and indeed challenges, of cloud-based data storage, and ask what the impacts on the planet could be as more industries come to rely on the cloud. 

Elsewhere, we profile airborne wind power, and ask if it can overcome some of the challenges that traditional wind farms face, and look back on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, to consider how the war has changed Europe’s power landscape as the conflict reaches its 12^th month.

For all this and more, read on.

JP Casey, editor