Digitalization Boosts Renewable Sector

Shailaja A. Lakshmi
Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Renewable energy investors and developers are increasingly turning to digital technology to build effective investment strategies, with almost half (47%) of the finance industry saying they have digitalization as a core part of their publicly stated strategy.

New industry-wide report from DNV GL highlights benefits and challenges of digital technologies for renewable energy financing as market moves away from subsidies.

DNV GL surveyed nearly 2000 senior stakeholders from across the energy industry. A lack of digital mindset is seen as a bigger barrier in the finance industry compared to other sectors.

The survey revealed that that with renewables projects increasingly exposed to the full volatility of the market by the phasing out of subsidies; financiers and developers are increasingly turning to digital technologies to better inform their assessment of the value and risk associated with projects, with technologies such as big data analytics being used to provide insight into optimized forecasting of asset performance, lifetime and generation levels.

The survey also highlighted the impact of blockchain, with 30% of finance respondents claiming that the technology is having an impact on their industry vs just 15% across all energy respondents. However, despite the hype around blockchain, 40% of finance industry respondents said they were not using the technology at all.

A general reluctance to take advantage of new digital technologies is born out of a lack of clear revenue streams coming from the digital world with uncertainty about clear revenue which could be generated in the future. A lack of senior level buy-in, and a lack of digital mindset was also highlighted in the survey as a bigger barrier to digitalization in the finance industry compared to other sectors in the energy industry.

While the benefits of digitalization for the finance industry are growing, the unproven nature of new technologies and how to use them, coupled with a lack of digital mindset means the finance industry leaves itself open to disruption by new market players.

“Digital technology and digitalization are instrumental to ensure the returns that will drive continued investment in renewable energy, as market mechanisms evolve away from subsidies. But for investors to make their financing decisions with confidence, the finance industry needs to better understand both the risk and opportunity of new technologies and their long-term viability, commented Lucy Craig, Vice President of Technology and Innovation at DNV GL – Energy.

“By combining an open-minded approach to new technologies and an understanding of risk, the industry can take full advantage of the opportunities that digitalization brings, for a profitable future," she added.


Download the new report Digitalization and the future of energy finance here

Categories: Energy Renewable Energy Renewables Digitalization

Related Stories

Chuditch Gas Field Up for Summer Drilling Ops as Sunda Reshapes Ownership Structure

Hanwha Ocean Marks Entry into Deepwater Drilling Market with First Drillship

Borr Drilling Bags Three New Assignments for its Jack-Up Drilling Rigs

Jadestone Submits Field Development Plan for Assets Off Vietnam

Shell Hires Noble’s Drillship for Work in Southeast Asia

Second Hai Long Substation Heads to Project Site Offshore Taiwan

China Unveils Plans for New Offshore Wind Farms to Tackle Carbon Emissions

Sapura Energy Nets $720M from Multiple Drilling Services Contracts

US Operator Finds Oil Offshore Vietnam

Europe's Gas Uncertainty Help Drive Asian LNG Spot Prices Higher

Current News

Shell-Reliance-ONGC JV Complete India’s First Offshore Decom Project

The Future of Long-Idle Drillships: Cold-Stacked or Dead-Stacked?

TMC Books Compressors Orders for FPSO and LNG Vessels

MODEC, Sumitomo Partner Up for Delivery of Gato do Mato FPSO

Chuditch Gas Field Up for Summer Drilling Ops as Sunda Reshapes Ownership Structure

EnQuest Bags Two Production Sharing Contracts off Indonesia

Hanwha Drilling’s Tidal Action Drillship En Route to Petrobras’ Roncador Field

China's ENN, Zhenhua Oil Ink LNG Supply Deals with ADNOC

MODEC Wins ExxonMobil Guyana’s Hammerhead FPSO Contract

India Stretches Bids Deadline for 13 Offshore Deep-Sea Mineral Blocks

Subscribe for AOG Digital E‑News

AOG Digital E-News is the subsea industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email three times per week

https://accounts.newwavemedia.com