The renewable energy sector has grown exponentially in recent years, driven by high demand for sustainable power, technology advancements, manufacturing capacity improvements, regulatory changes, and improved operations practices that have helped lower the levelized cost of energy. Decades in the making, boom times for renewable energy operators and owners are only just getting started—global renewable capacity is already on course to increase by 2.5X by 2030. But to remain competitive and scalable in an evolving and dynamic marketplace, owners and operators need the right comprehensive, future-proof, and easy-to-use asset performance management (APM) solution to manage the vast flow of data their renewable energy operations produce. This article presents the key qualities and characteristics that differentiate a world-class APM for renewable energy. Read on to learn:
- Ten questions to help you evaluate the value of a renewables asset performance management system
- Key characteristics of a quality APM solution:
- Scalability and Flexibility
- Machine Learning and Generative AI
- Seamless Integration
- Excellent User Experience
- Robust Regulatory Compliance and Reporting Tools
- Great ROI
- Outstanding Vendor Reputation and Customer Support
- Final Thoughts on Choosing Your Renewables APM
Where to begin: Ten questions to inform a renewables APM evaluation
Massive amounts of data, non-standardization of data from OEM to OEM and across asset types, and the need to access data from multiple sources are common challenges renewable energy owners and operators must address. Renewable energy asset performance management systems have become indispensable tools for operators targeting optimal performance, minimal downtime, and maximum return on investment. Though many APMs share qualities and features in common, they all have strengths and weaknesses.
Unfortunately, some providers have failed to continue investing in their platform, falling behind the times and frustrating their subscribers with uneven response to support requests. If you’re evaluating your current APM provider or comparing options, here are ten questions to guide your analysis:
- Does the system support a diverse portfolio of wind, solar, and BESS assets?
- Does the vendor provide a modular subscription model to precisely fit the customer’s needs?
- Does the vendor deliver a permissions-based architecture giving individual users easy access to the information they need—and none that they don’t?
- Will the system allow each user to customize their own personal view and provide an accompanying mobile application?
- Does it utilize a unified data model across all assets, asset types, and OEMs?
- Does it employ an API-first design for maximum flexibility and ease of integration—both into or derived from the APM solution?
- Does it provide a robust set of pre-configured KPIs and data visualizations across asset types?
- Does it have the ability to quickly generate custom KPIs and reports and run clients’ own data models in a way that protects clients’ IP?
- Does it come with robust data security and infrastructure (e.g., a Tier 1 cloud provider, ISO 270001 compliance, and a pen testing protocol)?
- Does it offer generative AI functionality that allows simple speech or text query inputs for reports, KPIs, and drill-down research?
SparkCognition’s APM for Renewables answers a resounding yes to all of the above. Contact our renewables team for a demo to learn more about our APM solution.
The top seven attributes of an exceptional asset performance management solution for Renewables
Scalability and Flexibility
Renewable energy projects vary significantly in size and configuration. Whether you’re managing a large solar operation, a wind farm spread over vast areas, or multiple types of assets simultaneously, your APM system must be scalable to grow with your portfolio. You will want a solution that can handle your current needs and scale up without a hitch as you add more assets or types of assets, which can add 10X more data from one class to another.
Flexibility is also a key factor. If your business model includes operating multiple asset types (most do, but some don’t), your APM should support the full range of renewable energy sources—solar, wind, battery energy storage systems (BESS), and hybrid projects—with the same level of fluency and efficacy across the asset types. Flexibility within the system is critical, too. SparkCognition’s APM for Renewables allows customers to maintain a uniform naming structure regardless of the asset type, apply their own nomenclature within reporting systems easily, or quickly modify how they visualize data or configure availability calculations.
Machine Learning and Generative AI
You may think of an AI-enabled APM as future-proofing your operation—rightly so. But the reality is that it’s a must-have right now, helping you keep production running smoothly and gain a competitive advantage in the market.
The application of Machine Learning to the rich set of data generated by renewable energy assets has been shown to be very effective at predicting certain failure modes, such as wind turbine main bearings and pitch bearings. Thermal anomalies, which can threaten the health of BESS systems, can also be automatically detected and flagged well before they advance to become serious conditions. Another very successful application of machine learning in renewables is quickly identifying underperformance from causes such as yaw misalignment or setpoint issues in wind turbines, not to mention stuck trackers or blown fuses in solar projects.
Recent advances in generative AI have created new opportunities for improvement in renewable operation efficiency, allowing users to interact with modern APMs conversationally and providing tools for understanding the dozens of contractual requirements that each renewable energy project must comply with. SparkCognition has been at the forefront of AI and machine learning for 11 years, and our APM for renewable energy has the broadest and most advanced capabilities in these areas. We invest heavily in developing new uses for machine learning and generative AI in renewable energy, pushing the state of the art for the industry forward.
Integration Capabilities
Your APM system should integrate seamlessly with enterprise systems, especially the fundamental building block for a renewable data platform: SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition). Seamless integration ensures a smooth flow of information across different departments and enhances decision-making processes, but the primary benefit is really time-savings: automating this workflow allows companies to scale more online assets without having to add more human resources to manage them. Additionally, integration with IoT devices and external data sources like weather forecasts can significantly improve the accuracy of performance predictions and maintenance schedules.
SparkCognition’s renewables APM makes it easy to ingest all SCADA data—as well as other types of data, including weather, pricing, budget, parts consumption, service provider reports, plant configuration information, and more—into the platform, so our customers can use it to aid reporting, predictive analytics, automated notifications, etc.
Plus, our unified data model allows for standardization across different OEMs, which typically ship with varying SCADA data formats but become normalized automatically within our system.
User-Friendly Interface
A powerful APM system should be a straightforward time-saver, never a confusing time-waster, with a user-friendly interface helping your team leverage the system’s full potential. Prioritize choosing an APM solution that offers intuitive dashboards, customizable reports, and easy-to-navigate menus.
The system should also provide role-based access, allowing different users to access the features and data relevant to their responsibilities. Training and support resources should be readily available to help your team get up to speed and maintain proficiency.
All of the above are hallmarks of SparkCognition’s best-in-breed asset performance management system for Renewables. It provides end-to-end visibility with dashboards, monitoring, and automated reporting in a feature-rich yet simple-to-navigate user experience.
Regulatory Compliance and Reporting
Compliance with industry regulations and standards is critical to managing renewable energy assets. Your APM system should assist in ensuring that all operations meet the required legal and environmental standards. It should also facilitate accurate and timely reporting, making it easier to demonstrate compliance during audits and inspections.
Automated reporting features can save significant time and reduce the risk of human error. Systems that offer customizable templates and automated data collection to streamline the reporting process enable small teams to do more work faster. For example, generative AI features can extract information from an O&M report to compare analyses, generate a claim, etc.—making an otherwise burdensome task a fully automated, one-click, or voice-activated process.
SparkCognition recorded a webinar explaining how our product helps solar operators facilitate NERC compliance and Solar GADS reporting. The webinar exemplifies how our downtime reporting and internal KPIs tools essentially function as a precursor to regulatory compliance tasks so that site managers don’t have to generate the same reporting twice, a critical time saver for busy teams.
Cost-Effectiveness
When investing in a high-quality APM system, you need to ensure the solution is cost-effective. Consider the total cost of ownership, including initial setup costs, ongoing maintenance fees, and any additional costs for updates or add-ons. Compare these costs against the potential benefits of improved asset performance, reduced downtime, and extended asset lifespan.
Systems that offer flexible pricing models can make managing costs easier with good/better/best options to scale the solution according to your budget and needs. We welcome you to compare pricing and value criteria for SparkCognition Industrial AI Suite vs. other providers. Reach out to our renewables team for this information.
Vendor Reputation and Support
Finally, the vendor’s reputation and the level of support they offer can significantly affect the success of your APM implementation. Choose a vendor with a proven track record in the renewable energy sector and positive customer reviews. A reliable vendor will offer robust customer support, including training, troubleshooting, and regular updates to keep the system current with technological advancements and regulatory changes.
Built by renewable energy industry veterans and AI/ML experts, SparkCognition’s asset performance management solution for renewables is trusted by leading companies like Ørsted, Primergy, and National Grid Renewables. Here’s what the VP of Asset Management, Americas, at Ørsted, said about why they chose SparkCogntion’s asset performance management solution:
“Meeting the rising demand for clean energy requires innovative solutions to ensure our assets run reliably and efficiently. By deploying SparkCognition’s cutting-edge Industrial AI Suite, we can improve the effectiveness and lifespan of our land-based assets and maximize energy output, propelling us toward a more sustainable future.”
Final Thoughts on Choosing a Renewables APM Provider
As the renewable energy industry continues to grow and evolve, a robust APM will help you stay competitive and ensure that your assets perform at their best. That’s why selecting the right asset performance management system for your renewable energy assets is a critical decision that can significantly impact your operational efficiency and financial returns.
We recommend prioritizing scalability, applied AI capabilities, seamless integration tools, user-friendliness, regulatory compliance, cost-effectiveness, and vendor reputation to ensure your APM system meets the unique demands of managing renewable energy assets today and over the long term. To learn more about SparkCognition Industrial AI Suite for Renewables, don’t miss our information-packed webinar: Scaling Renewable Intelligence: Next-Gen Data Management and AI Enablement.
And if you’re stuck in the middle of an APM contract that’s failing your expectations, connect with the Renewables Team at SparkCognition. We have experience migrating large portfolios to make switching to a better solution easy. We’re always ready to discuss your project needs!
