When you type numbers from an Independent System Operator (ISO) interconnection queue (IQ) into your spreadsheet, that’s an extraction, transform and loading (ETL) process. Do it more than once? That’s a data pipeline. But a fragile one.
Renewables investors and developers have access to an array of data sources. Some are free and simple, such as downloading a CSV from an ISO. Some are free and complex: EPA emissions data. Others cost subscription fees or per-use fees.
Every one of these sources has its own structure and needs to be transformed by a proficient analyst into a useable analytic.
The purpose of data and analytics is to make better decisions. But the normal flow of data in a renewables developer or investor is slow, error-prone, requires constant revision and rework, and embeds trade-offs between speed and accuracy.
For a world counting on renewables capital investment, it’s unsustainable.
How can you identify good deals and speed them through your investment and development process while spending less time on junk?
It’s the interaction of domain expertise and clean data that supercharges decision-making.
Below are key use cases where the right expertise and analytics help teams increase their returns on renewable investments. Whether you are a developer bidding into a PPA auction, an M&A team evaluating deals, or in a strategy role responsible for business results, robust data pipelines can help you build and scale a business.
Originate Efficiently
Developers tell us loudly and at length: they can’t handle all of their opportunities. Rapid changes in the regulatory and technological environment expose new projects and change the ranking of existing ones. Staying on top of changes means either increasing staffing, losing deals or making mistakes.
This is especially a challenge when developers need to share risk with PPA buyers. Adjustments for capital expenditure, customs/import challenges, tax changes or basis risk can materially alter the risk/reward profile for either party in a PPA. As these agreements become more complex, robust data and forecasts become more important.
Orennia has built dashboards and workflows that characterize the competitive environment at any arbitrary granularity: ISO, zone, or sub-zone region. We provide a robust chance-of-success methodology and normalized interconnection queue status in all ISOs and most utility queues, giving our clients a competitive advantage in winning profitable deals.
Screen Quickly
If you’re screening with information in the data room, you might be taking too long and wasting time. At minimum, screening on the same information as everybody else constrains your edge. An ideal screening workflow allows you to get started as soon as the teaser crosses your desk, with data room granularity in a publicly-available data model. Such a model would allow you to get started when you know anything about an asset—operator, location, market zone, or LMP node
Successful acquisitions depend both on identifying good opportunities and rapidly screening out poor fits. Doing the second well means more time on the first.
Build Portfolio Resilience
Solar returns in California are poor because the highest power prices occur after sunset. Conversely, solar returns in Texas are good because the highest power prices occur during peak daytime air conditioning load. The difference between California and Texas is a function of the renewable power stack: solar-heavy in California, wind-heavy in Texas.
Other examples of correlations between renewable generation and pricing abound. It means that an investor can harden their generation portfolio by selecting an appropriate capital allocation to solar, wind and storage in different markets. The end result is a suite of assets for which the whole exceeds the sum of its parts.
Evaluating a single opportunity is easy compared to the complexity of evaluating the impact of multiple asset acquisitions on an already-existing portfolio. Many of our clients want to know when the next wind asset should be their last.
Beyond Power
Decarbonization means more than just electrification. Carbon capture, hydrogen, clean fuels and more: all form some part of our economy’s massive clean energy challenge. Orennia built analytics that serve investors in all of these opportunities, allowing you to assess where the next dollar of your decarbonization capital is most effective. Only Orennia was built from scratch for investors, by investors.
Our clients want disparate data sources woven together into a single analytic. They want the data they need in one framework, one methodology, and provided as one pipeline.
In the data world, engineers and similar professionals work the technology to build robust, repeatable, scalable data pipelines. But that doesn’t make the data useable. For that, you need subject matter experts in price forecasting, carbon capture, renewable fuels, renewable project development, economics, market design, and capital markets.
Leveraging technology as a differentiator in a crowded playing field is what is unlocking long term value. If your team is looking to increase their returns on renewable investments, Orennia can help.
