Acquisition is the starting line: why the first 100 days decide your returns

Closing on a solar, wind or battery storage project can feel like the finish line. Months of due diligence, financial modeling and negotiation are behind you, and the asset is finally yours. Jerry (Jie) Liu, Director of Asset Management in North America, argues it’s the starting line. He explains why the first 100 days of ownership are when pro forma assumptions meet operational reality, and the decisions you make in that window shape the returns asset owners will see for decades.

Why the first months matter more than most investors expect

Every investment case is built on assumptions: energy yield, availability, degradation, operating costs and contract terms. Some of those will hold and some won’t. That isn’t a failing of the model. Every forecast meets reality eventually, and the first months of ownership are when you find out which assumptions hold.

It’s also when information is easiest to collect. The seller still knows the asset, the EPC contractor is still engaged on punch-list and warranty items, and site knowledge hasn’t been lost to staff turnover. Six months on, that picture is much harder to rebuild. Small gaps become recurring costs, and questions nobody asked at handover become harder and more expensive to answer.

Where returns quietly leak

The issues I see most often after an acquisition aren’t dramatic. They’re the gaps nobody owns.

• Contracts nobody is tracking. Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), operations and maintenance (O&M) and long-term service agreements (LTSAs), interconnection agreements, equipment warranties and land leases all carry obligations, notice periods and performance guarantees. When they sit in different places with different owners, a single missed deadline can lock you into unfavorable terms for years.

• Data you can’t fully access. Many owners find out after the deal that they don’t have full access to their own operational data, such as SCADA and historian data, or that it sits with the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) or O&M contractor. Without it, you can’t tell whether the asset is performing as it should, let alone why.

• Gaps between partners. A typical site relies on several service providers, from the turbine or inverter OEM to balance-of-plant and substation contractors. Where responsibilities overlap or fall between them, issues go unresolved and nobody is clearly accountable.

When we recently onboarded a 168MW wind project, we used our existing onboarding tools and checklists, along with our industry knowledge and global experience, to collect everything we needed from the owner, EPC contractors and other vendors. Within the first month we had built our contract and obligations management system. That register now underpins how we manage the asset day to day.

A better way to approach the first 100 days

The owners who get this right treat the first 100 days as three distinct phases, each with its own focus.

Days 1 to 30: Take control of the handover. Get contracts, data access and partner responsibilities clear while the information is still easy to collect.

Days 31 to 60: Test the pro forma against reality. Compare and benchmark actual availability, generation and operating costs against the investment case, and document asset health before warranty windows close.

Days 61 to 100: Set up for the long term. Agree on reporting KPIs and cadence, decide what to manage in-house and what to outsource, and plan for the asset’s full operating life.

None of this is complicated on its own. The challenge is doing all of it at once, alongside running the asset and the rest of your portfolio.

On a 182MWdc/140MWac solar project under our management, our team identified an opportunity to optimize the power plant controller (PPC) settings. Working with RES’ global engineering and OT/SCADA teams, we successfully implemented the change and increased the site’s energy production.

What best practice renewable energy asset management looks like

Good asset management isn’t only about keeping turbines turning and panels clean. It’s about protecting the investment case: making sure revenue, costs, asset health and regulatory obligations all stay aligned with what you underwrote.

That looks different for every technology.

Solar asset management depends on detailed performance analytics, such as performance ratio and inverter availability alongside warranty tracking. Wind adds major-component life management and access to OEM turbine data. Battery storage adds state-of-health monitoring, degradation tracking and augmentation planning. For owners in North America, regulatory compliance for renewable energy also includes NERC reliability standards, from registration to ongoing CIP obligations, which new entrants to the market often underestimate.

Whether you manage assets internally or work with a partner, the principle is the same. The earlier you take control, the more value you protect.

Where to start

At RES, our asset management team works with investors on wind, solar and battery storage assets, from handover through the full operating life, supported by our 24/7 Operations Control Center in Denver. RES also develops, builds and sells projects, so we’ve seen the handover from every side. We know what information gets lost between construction and operation, and how to capture it before it does. As a global asset manager and service provider across O&M and spare parts, RES supports 45 GW of operational renewable assets across 24 countries, and the questions in the first 100 days are remarkably similar wherever the asset is.

About:

Jerry (Jie) Liu, Director of Asset Management, Services, North America

Jerry is a seasoned expert in renewable energy asset management, bringing more than 20 years of experience across wind, solar, transmission, substation, and hydroelectric assets. He has a proven track record of leading projects through the full lifecycle – from project origination and financial modeling to bidding, contract negotiation, project controls, risk management, procurement, operations, and long‑term asset management.

Jerry specializes in commercial strategy and contract negotiation, with deep expertise in developing operational processes, managing project budgets, and delivering accurate O&M, CAPEX, and OPEX forecasting. His comprehensive industry knowledge and leadership enable him to optimize asset performance, mitigate risk, and drive sustainable value across complex renewable energy portfolios.

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