Helping balance risk and return with renewables portfolio management

by Jerry Liu, Director of Asset Management – North America

Have you ever received two separate reports and then been faced with the unenviable task of reconciling them into a single format for them to be useful?

It’s a challenge that many fund and portfolio managers working with renewable energy assets know all too well. Every month, managers receive multiple reports from their asset managers, all using different metrics and varying levels of analysis.

But the real issue isn’t the volume or inconsistency – it’s the impact. Fragmented reporting slows decision-making, obscures performance trends, and makes it far harder to identify opportunities across a portfolio. In practice, that lack of clarity can suppress portfolio value, leaving significant revenue unrealised.

Before they can be presented to stakeholders, used to satisfy compliance or for financial governance, that manager must undertake hours of painstaking reconciliation to bring all the data into one standardised format. This unnecessary duplication of work is a significant drain on time and resources. It can also make it difficult for fund and portfolio managers to compare asset performance at a global level, risking the opportunity to identify areas for improvement. This has the potential to leave millions of pounds per year in additional revenue on the table.

And even once the data is aligned, another challenge remains: turning information into action. Without portfolio-level oversight, it becomes difficult to see where performance can be optimised or where strategic improvements could unlock additional value. Sophisticated operational strategies exist that can increase energy output. However, implementing these typically falls outside the scope of even the most skilled in-house teams. With the right portfolio-level oversight, these opportunities can be identified and realised.

More assets = more reports

As the renewable energy sector accelerates toward 2030, fund and portfolio managers will be under pressure to manage growing asset portfolios with limited internal resources.

5,520GW of renewable energy capacity is expected to become operational in the next five years according to the latest IEA forecasts. To put that into context, that could equate to over 70,000 new 15MW wind turbines, and over 6 million 700kW new solar panels spread across tens of thousands of sites.
With more assets to manage, fund and portfolio managers will face increased operational complexity and heavier demand on their time. A standardised reporting framework helps, but the real value comes from centralised, end-to-end portfolio oversight that allows managers to monitor performance, optimise operations, and proactively identify opportunities across all assets.

Imagine taking that concept one step further; what if managers had a centralised end-to-end oversight of all their wind, solar, and battery energy storage assets in one place? It would be easier to track performance trends, identify potential improvements, and make strategic investment decisions, all while reducing operational complexity.

Portfolio Management Services by RES

Our Portfolio Management Services provides just that. The solution sits above a portfolio’s individual asset managers and brings all data, communication and reporting from across assets into a single, actionable touchpoint.

This significantly reduces the operational complexity that fund, and portfolio managers must contend with, as well as driving cost savings and creating additional value. The solution can be used to proactively monitor assets, helping to reduce outages, maximise asset availability and identify opportunities for physical and digital upgrades that will improve output.

Crucially, the solution is scalable to accommodate the expected growth in portfolios over the next five years and can be tailored to meet the exact needs of each portfolio. It also frees managers to focus on strategic priorities, such as optimising performance and engaging stakeholders, rather than reconciling reports.

Added value through industry expertise

Having previously been an asset-owner in our 45-year history, we understand firsthand the challenges that are faced. From the 45GW+ of assets that we currently manage, we have extensive data and insights that we use to develop new solutions and services aimed at improving asset performance.

This includes cutting-edge real-time monitoring, analytics, and optimisation technologies. In addition, with our own in-house engineering team, we can support major component repairs and replacements to extend asset life.

As portfolios expand, those who embrace centralised, data-driven oversight combined with expert support and digital solutions unlock performance gains, optimise operational efficiency and maximise return on investment.