Why The Future of Renewable Energy Industry is going Digital.

Real-Time Data Monitoring: The Key to Optimizing Renewable Energy Performance

Wed, 08 May 2024 06:22:58 GMT

Optimizing renewable energy performance requires real-time data monitoring. However, with so many data points from different sources and technologies, it can be challenging for users to manage all relevant data using a single interface. This is where Scipher.Vx+ Live Monitoring feature comes in.

The Live Monitoring feature allows users to centralize all data from various assets, including wind farms, PV plants, and battery storage. They can monitor real-time and 10-minute data from all sources using a single URL, making it easy to view generation statistics, key

performance indicators, asset status, and other vital indicators across the entire portfolio in real time.

Real-time asset monitoring is critical for renewable energy companies to quickly identify and resolve any issues that arise. This feature enables users to eliminate the need to connect to multiple SCADA solutions to access the data. It also saves them time and effort by

automating the process of eliminating bad data points and normalizing good ones.

By optimizing renewable energy performance through real-time data monitoring, renewable energy companies can achieve improved efficiency and increased profitability. The Live Monitoring feature in Scipher.Vx+ is a valuable tool for users to achieve these goals.

The Benefits of Power Forecasting for Renewable Energy Professionals

Wed, 08 May 2024 06:22:43 GMT

As the global shift towards renewable energy continues, wind and solar power are emerging as crucial sources of electricity generation. However, unlike traditional energy sources like coal and natural gas, the effectiveness of wind and solar power is highly dependent on weather patterns. This makes accurate power forecasting digital solutions such as Scipher.Fx essential for wind and solar power producers.

Maximizing Energy Production

Wind and solar power producers heavily rely on precise power forecasts to maximize their energy production. By understanding the expected energy output from their renewable energy assets, producers can ensure that they meet the demand and avoid any disruptions in energy supply. Accurate power forecasting also helps in preventing over-generation, which leads to wasted energy and revenue. With Scipher.Fx, producers can optimize their energy generation and improve overall efficiency.

Reduce Imbalance Costs

Implementing power forecasting software such as Scipher.Fx can lead to significant cost savings for wind and solar power producers. By leveraging accurate forecasts, producers can effectively manage their energy generation, resulting in optimized operations, reduced maintenance costs, and improved labor efficiency. S cipher.Fx enables producers to avoid penalties associated with over-generation or under-generation, thereby preventing financial losses.

Grid Integration

Integrating wind and solar energy production with the power grid requires precise power forecasting. Accurate forecasts enable producers to plan their energy generation effectively and ensure a timely supply of the required amount of energy to the grid. This aspect is especially crucial in regions with high levels of renewable energy generation, as maintaining grid stability becomes a challenge.

Regulatory Compliance

Compliance with regulations pertaining to energy generation is a crucial responsibility for wind and solar power producers. Many regulatory bodies require accurate power forecasts from producers, which can be a daunting task without the appropriate software tools. Scipher.Fx provides wind and solar power producers with the means to comply with regulatory requirements effectively. By utilizing the power forecasting capabilities of Scipher.Fx, producers can ensure accurate forecasts, meet regulatory standards, and avoid penalties associated with non-compliance.

As wind and solar power take center stage in the renewable energy landscape, power forecasting software like Scipher.Fx plays a vital role in optimizing energy production, achieving cost savings, enabling seamless grid integration, and ensuring regulatory compliance for wind and solar power producers. By harnessing the power of accurate forecasting, producers can unlock the full potential of renewable energy and contribute to a sustainable and greener future.

Forecasting to Asset Management: T.P. Aeolian Dynamics Journey with Scipher™

Thu, 24 Aug 2023 09:02:52 GMT

Image credit T.P. Aeolian Dynamics

Sotiris Shiacallis, Operations Manager at Cyprus-based wind farm operator T.P. Aeolian Dynamics , shares about the company's experience using Scipher.Fx and Scipher.Vx+ . Shiacallis describes how renewables power forecasting and asset management digital solutions by Utopus Insights have become pivotal in optimizing their wind farm operations, enhancing forecasting accuracy, and driving O&M with reliable insights.

Q: What has been your experience using Scipher.Fx since 2022? What problem were you trying to solve, and how has Scipher.Fx helped?

A: Initially, as we explored the various Scipher.Fx features, we recognized its potential, and knew it would be a valuable tool for us. Our experience with Scipher.Fx has consistently gotten more and more positive over time. Scipher.Fx delivers more accurate forecasts with lesser historical data than other platforms. We're proud to have Scipher.Fx as an asset in our company's toolbox.

Q: Who or which team in your company uses Scipher.Fx the most?

A: Our wind farm Operations Team typically uses Scipher.Fx to minimize energy losses due to maintenance activities by optimizing the schedule for performing these activities.

Q: What has been the best part about using Scipher.Fx? What specific business value does it bring?

A: Its intuitive features, especially those that show unavailability for our wind farm and the analysis tool, empower users to review historical forecast accuracy. What we also really value most about Scipher.Fx is its continuous evolution toward greater user-friendliness.

Q: What has T.P Aeolian achieved since adopting our product?

A: We've notably improved our forecast accuracy to meet the standards set by Cyprus’s electrical system operators. This is of great business value to us.

Q: Which feature(s) do you frequently use, and why?

A: We often turn to the long-term power and weather forecasts for our planning needs. The "Power forecast Vs. Actual" feature provides a quick way to validate the forecasting tool's efficacy. The availability tools allow us to log and track activities at our wind farm seamlessly.

Q: How do you utilize the asset management product, Scipher.Vx+ in your daily activities and for your reporting management?

A: Scipher.Vx+ is an instrumental product that helps us provide our operators and engineers with insights into the wind turbines’ operational controls, and condition monitoring. The Scipher.Vx+ team has recently enhanced the reporting capabilities for end-users, introducing custom reporting options that our reporting team finds very useful.

Q: How would you describe your overall experience with Utopus Insights?

A: Our journey with the Utopus Insights team has been overwhelmingly positive. We have not ever worked with such a proactive development partner. Their responsiveness in implementing our suggestions promptly and efficiently is commendable.

The future of renewable energy is about leveraging digital solutions to drive asset management at scale. If you're keen to explore how Utopus Insights renewable energy software solutions Scipher.Vx+ and Scipher.Fx can simplify your wind and solar PV asset operations and decision-making, schedule a 1:1 personalized demo with our renewable energy analytics experts today.

Kamya Singh, Model Operations Engineer: Journey to Engineering

Fri, 23 Jun 2023 11:47:44 GMT

When she was in 6th grade, Kamya Singh's cousin passed away due to cancer. The doctors did not know enough about the disease to be able to cure it. And she remembers most wanting answers. Her curiosity and drive to know more about how things work eventually led her to pursue a career in engineering.

"I like to problem solve technical challenges, and I want to be part of the solution," she said.

Initially entering the health care field in data science, Singh, who had only a handful of female classmates as an engineering student, realized early on that she would typically be in the minority when it comes to representation in technical meetings. But she was determined to find her voice, and speak her mind.

"I used to hesitate to speak my mind but then I realized quickly that you have to make yourself heard if you believe in something strongly," she said. "I have learned at Utopus to speak my mind and pave my way, and the leadership here has helped me through it."

Singh said the best way to encourage more women to step into the engineering space is to help them paint a picture of what that may be like.

"Engineering is a vague term, and can feel overwhelming, so those of us in the field can help them understand the various career opportunities of what their roles can look like and the impact it has on others' lives," Singh said.

She loves being part of the traditionally male dominated energy industry because of it's growth opportunity.

"Renewables are the need of the hour, it's an exciting space, and it's easier right now to grow here," Singh said.

Utopus Insights Is Now ISO 27001 Certified

Mon, 12 Jun 2023 14:11:50 GMT

Utopus Insights was recently awarded the ISO 27001 certification.

ISO 27001 is a globally recognized standard for establishing, maintaining, and continually improving an Information Security Management System (ISMS). This certification validates our dedication to implementing robust security controls and best practices to safeguard our valuable assets, including sensitive customer data.

This is a testament to our commitment to information security and data protection, especially at a time when cyber security threats aimed at critical resources such as energy systems are getting increasingly complex. With ISO 27001 certification, our customers and partners can have even greater confidence in Utopus as a trusted provider of high-quality digital solutions.

It also reinforces our commitment to protecting the sensitive data of our renewables customers and to continue ongoing efforts to maintain the highest standards of cyber security in all aspects of our operations.

With this certification, we aim to instill even greater confidence in our customers and partners, assuring them of our unwavering commitment to providing high-quality digital solutions with the utmost emphasis on security.

Three Digital Asset Management Takeaways From WindEurope

Fri, 19 May 2023 05:17:07 GMT

Renewable energy asset owners and operators commonly use digital tools to manage daily operations, from centralized monitoring to ERP systems for inventory management. As renewables become mainstream in the global energy supply, many renewable asset owners and operators are now more familiar and interested in using a centralized asset management platform for their ever-growing portfolio.

Going by the numerous customer and stakeholder interactions at WindEurope this year in Copenhagen, I have shortlisted the following operational challenges that drive their decision to search for a more comprehensive digital offering that will serve their current and future needs:

Feng Zhang, Product Director, presenting a poster presentation at WindEurope Annual Event 2023

1. Improve reporting efficiency : Many customers spend several weeks each month to prepare operational reports for different needs, including internal operational, and financial reports for investors and for compliance reasons, for instance. Preparing operational reports is time consuming without a centralized asset management system because:

Data from multiple sources (various SCADA systems, CMMS systems etc) requires normalization before they can be used for reporting purposes.
Data validation is a complicated business process involving different internal and external stakeholders, that can take coordination. For example, downtime reallocation.

Reports are often prepared by a group of people with specific review and approval processes. Typically, there is a lack of a central tool to promote efficient information sharing and collaboration.

2. Guided actions to maximize production-based availability : There are many competing priorities within operation teams, across different sites, different assets, production budgets, O&M budget and availability targets. There is a vast amount of information required from different IT systems to make informed and optimized decisions. For example, turbine down (SCADAs), parts availability (ERP), production impact assessment (PowerBI, Excel), technician availability (workflow management tools), and weather conditions (forecasting services). Getting all the information needed ready for daily site activity management is time consuming and hard to stay on top of, resulting in unoptimized decisions that can leave a few availability percent on the table.

3. Customization for business process integration : Although there are IEC standards, most customers have existing ways to calculate operational KPIs. For example, Loss Production Factor (LPF), Production-based Availability (PBA), and Time-based Availability (TBA). To make things more complicated, the calculation formula could also be different for different assets. There are also existing business processes to handle operational issues in different organizations. Instead, having a digital solution be flexible enough to customize to its existing business process is the key to driving change, and a willing culture of digital adoption, which will lead to efficiency gains.

Renewable asset management software companies have listened to our customers and significantly improved offerings since the nascent days of SaaS for renewable assets. Currently, there are many off-the-shelf SaaS products that deliver scalability, are flexible for customization, have comprehensive functionalities and the ability to integrate into existing customer solutions.

The more we in the industry collaborate and listen, take the feedback and mature the software, the more the chances of true adoption to take advantage of the full value of our offerings, which in turn will drive even greater trust and reliance on the power of digital technology in the industry.

Click here to schedule a 1:1 demo of Utopus Insights Scipher.Vx+ asset management software.

Promoting Gender Diversity in Technology: Utopus Insights Partners with SKOOL

Fri, 12 May 2023 16:10:41 GMT

Utopus Insights Budapest and SKOOL , a Hungary-based global nonprofit, recently joined forces to sponsor an empowering programming workshop for young girls, emphasizing the significance of STEM education and future career prospects in data science. This collaboration represents a stride towards narrowing the gender gap in technology and fostering diversity and inclusion. With a long-term vision of cultivating a more diverse workforce, Utopus Insights recognizes the value of initiatives like the programming workshop that can also help build a talent pool for emerging workforce needs in the energy industry and other STEM fields. Through the workshop, the Budapest team introduced the students to programming, AI, and coding fundamentals while ensuring that they addressed any questions or concerns the students had. By immersing them in a physical office environment, the program provided the students with first-hand experience and insights into software development in a work environment.

The partnership between Utopus Insights and SKOOL is a testament to the strength of collaboration in fostering education, diversity, and sustainability. By leveraging Utopus Insights' expertise in energy analytics alongside SKOOL's innovative educational initiatives, this partnership actively contributes to the positive transformation of the energy sector and equips the next generation with essential skills for the digital age.

In this Q&A, we chatted with Laszlo Kocsis, Principal Software Engineer and Country Manager, Utopus Insights Budapest, who participated as a mentor in the program, his take on promoting gender equality in STEM based industries.

1. What was this program's significance in promoting STEM education among young students?

There is a direct connection in establishing a more diverse team in Budapest. So, anything that leads us in this direction, even though it is a very long-term direction, is a good thing for us. This program is a particularly good gateway for the younger generation to learn a bit about how IT development and IT work happens, as well as the actual tasks that they need to do and achieve. This is in a physical environment like our daily office environment.

2. What motivated your team to volunteer for the outreach program?

We were extremely interested in being a part of this to be able to see how we can positively impact the students. This was out of the norm of our daily office experience, which not only makes it interesting for us, but also something that could benefit us in the long term.

3. Could you share your experience participating in the program? What activities did you do and how many participated?

The program had about 14 young girls between the ages of 11 and 14, and there is a leader representing the nonprofit, who is a lecturer, as well as five mentors from Utopus Insights. So while the lecturer is doing the main knowledge sharing, we support the youngsters to understand this in the practical environment, and show them what to do, so it is really a mentorship. When they reached a point where they were facing challenges and roadblocks, we helped them find solutions. We used the https://luden.io/wtl/ programming toolkit.

4. How do you encourage girls and underrepresented groups to get involved in coding?

Greater collaboration among schools, nonprofits, and companies like ours, and some conscious investment in resources can support outreaches such as these. We are open to doing this kind of mentorship annually. It was a very meaningful workshop for the Utopus Insights team.

Initiative Impact on STEM fields

Empowering young girls in STEM fields through initiatives like the outreach program organized by Utopus Insights and SKOOL has a profound impact on the STEM workforce and the overall work environment. Gender diversity plays a pivotal role in creating a well-rounded and inclusive workplace, fostering innovation, and driving better decision-making processes.

Furthermore, a report by the Peterson Institute for International Economics revealed that companies with more women in leadership positions experienced a 15% increase in profitability.

Adversely, only 16% of female students have had a career in technology suggested to them versus 33% of males, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers report. And while 74% of young women high-school-aged and lower express interest in STEM subjects, only 18% end up choosing STEM/computer science pathways, according to a University of Washington report. These statistics highlight the importance of breaking down gender barriers and encouraging more young women to pursue STEM careers. By providing equal opportunities and nurturing their interest in technology and data science from an early age, we can tap into a vast pool of talent, perspectives, and ideas that will fuel the growth and competitiveness of the STEM workforce.

Want to Optimize Your Renewable Energy Assets? Join Our Workshops at ACP CLEANPOWER!

deepak.prabhu@utopusinsights.com (Deepak Prabhu) — Tue, 09 May 2023 13:25:24 GMT

ACP CLEANPOWER 2023 | Vestas Seating Lounge | May 22-25, 2023

Managing renewable assets in large, multi-OEM, multi-technology portfolios is complex. Challenges can arise from the lack of data uniformity from different OEM SCADA systems that hinders the efficient analysis of asset performance and take optimized corrective actions. Daily asset management also involves tracking numerous software applications.

So how does centralized asset management software help address these operational challenges? If you’re an asset owner, asset or portfolio manager, service technician, remote operations center engineer or ROC manager, sign up for our tailored workshops on May 23 and 24, 2023, at ACP CLEANPOWER with Feng Zhang, Product Director, Asset Management, and Magne Borgund, Chief Growth Officer.

Take your pick of the workshop most relevant to you:

Customization of Production-Based Availability for Asset Manager/Performance Engineer Click to Register
Automate GADS and Financial Report Generation for all Asset Management Functions Click to Register
Action Dashboard for Site Activity Planning for Asset Manager/Site Manager/ROC Engineer/Service Technician Click to Register

At the workshop, we will explore practical ways to use Scipher.Vx+, our asset management software, to overcome daily operational challenges, and create efficiencies. Take your pick of the workshop most relevant to you:

Consolidating information from multi-OEM, multi-technology renewable assets into a single portal
Streamlining asset management through persona-based use cases with Scipher.Vx+
Customizing your availability calculation according to contract formula or internal reporting requirements.
Creating customized dashboards and reports to cater to the organization's specific needs and use cases.
Building and automating custom reports for any reporting needs.
Simplifying the GADS reporting process and identifying the reasons for production loss.

To confirm your attendance, please register. Please note that space is limited, so we encourage you to register early! And feel free to reach out at growth@utopusinsights.com if you would like us to cover a specific topic deeper.

Unlock Your Renewable Asset Potential - Join Us at WindEurope!

deepak.prabhu@utopusinsights.com (Deepak Prabhu) — Wed, 01 Mar 2023 03:59:45 GMT

WindEurope Annual Event 2023 | Bella Center, Copenhagen | April 25-27, 2023

Coming to WindEurope in Copenhagen? We're pleased to invite you to a Product Roundtable with our renewables asset management Product Director, Feng Zhang, on Wednesday, April 26, at 11.30 am CET, at Hall A, Meeting Room 3 at the Bella Center, Copenhagen.

Chat in depth about the value from software like Scipher.Vx+ for performance monitoring of wind, solar PV and battery storage, learn more about our new feature releases that can help your O&M team, use case demos, and our product development roadmap.

We have limited seats available for the workshop. Register now to secure your spot!

Get a 1:1 demo with our energy analytics team to showcase the latest capabilities of Scipher™ suite of renewables software for wind and solar PV, mixed in with battery storage analytics at Vestas booth #D-F30.

With Scipher.Vx+, you'll get multi-OEM asset monitoring, remote turbine operations, live monitoring of KPIs, downtime analytics and reallocation, grid monitoring, solar PV and Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) monitoring, providing an all-in-one comprehensive asset management software solution.

Latest features, including customizable PBA and work order management, make it easy to manage assets and track performance; grid monitoring and OEM event log features help you quickly rectify any deviations from your pre-defined limits.

We're offering a limited number of personalized demos during the conference, so schedule your spot now to experience the power of Scipher™ in action.

Connect with our asset management and predictive maintenance team at OMS 2023

deepak.prabhu@utopusinsights.com (Deepak Prabhu) — Tue, 14 Feb 2023 10:42:05 GMT

Our team at Utopus Insights is excited to attend the upcoming ACP Operations, Maintenance and Safety conference from March 1-3, 2023 in Orlando, FL. We will be showcasing our Scipher™ suite of renewables software for wind and solar PV, mixed in with battery storage analytics at Vestas booth #501.

At the conference, our team of experts in asset tracking and performance, and predictive maintenance, will be available to meet with you to discuss how our solutions can help you focus on your top business needs as your efficient digital partner. We look forward to sharing our expertise and learning from other industry leaders at the conference. Schedule Demo !

Maximizing Wind Farm Efficiency with Scipher.Vx+ Grid Monitoring Feature

Thu, 02 Feb 2023 05:39:29 GMT

As the mix of renewables in the mainstream electricity mix increases, a key challenge for wind farm operators is to ensure the maximum efficiency of the turbines while minimizing downtime and breakdowns. This is where Scipher.Vx+ grid monitoring feature comes in, providing an all-in-one solution for real-time asset monitoring and data analysis.

To optimize wind farm efficiency, it is essential to have access to comprehensive data that tracks all events and losses associated with the turbines. Scipher.Vx+ grid monitoring feature centralizes data from various assets, including wind farms, PV plants, and battery storage, eliminating the need to connect to multiple SCADA solutions. This feature allows users to categorize events based on their nature and frequency, enabling them to focus on the most important ones that require immediate attention to minimize losses.

With Scipher.Vx+ grid monitoring feature , users can monitor real-time and 10-minute data from all sources using a single URL. This includes generation statistics, key performance indicators (KPIs), asset status, and other vital indicators across the entire portfolio in real time. The feature allows for immediate response if an issue is found, preventing extended downtime and reducing potential losses.

Scipher.Vx+ grid monitoring feature provides wind farm operators with a powerful tool to maximize efficiency and minimize losses. By centralizing data from various assets and providing real-time monitoring capabilities, this feature empowers users to make informed decisions and take immediate action to prevent downtime and breakdowns.

GADS Reporting: Optimizing Wind Farm Management and Minimizing Downtime Losses

Mon, 02 Jan 2023 04:10:35 GMT

The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) requires power plant operators to report their performance data through the Generating Availability Data System (GADS) . This system allows NERC to monitor the reliability and availability of power generation

facilities. Scipher.Vx+ offers a GADS reporting feature that streamlines the reporting process and provides valuable insights for power plant operators to optimize their performance.

Scipher.Vx+ GADS reporting feature provides a comprehensive solution for wind power operators to report their performance data to NERC. The feature streamlines the reporting process by automating data collection and submission, reducing the risk of errors and saving time for operators using our energy analytics software .

The feature also provides valuable insights for operators to optimize their performance. By analyzing the GADS data, operators can identify trends and patterns that indicate potential issues with their power plant equipment. They can also track their performance metrics against industry benchmarks to identify areas for improvement.

Scipher.Vx+ GADS reporting feature provides power plant operators with a comprehensive solution for reporting their performance data to NERC and complying with regulations more efficiently. Streamlining the reporting process provides valuable insights for optimizing

performance, and ensures compliance with NERC regulations. By leveraging the insights provided by the GADS data, operators can improve aseet performance, increase power generation, reduce downtime, and ultimately increase their power plant and profitability.

Connect with us at WindEnergy Hamburg

deepak.prabhu@utopusinsights.com (Deepak Prabhu) — Thu, 01 Sep 2022 12:40:19 GMT

Michael Wilkinson, Chief Product Officer, Utopus Insights, will speak on "Digitalization in Renewables: Enabling a Smart Phase of Efficient, Scalable Asset Management.", the session will focus on the value creation from digital tools that assist with O&M at your fingertips, learn about the role of digital tools for daily monitoring of entire asset portfolio to anomaly detection and easier root cause analysis, automated performance reporting, to smooth contractual relationship management.

Join us for a LIVE demo at the Utopus Insights booth #A1.236. Our team will showcase advancements in our Scipher suite of software products to help optimize renewables performance. Register for a convenient time that fits your schedule.

Meet us at ONS 2022

deepak.prabhu@utopusinsights.com (Deepak Prabhu) — Tue, 16 Aug 2022 12:29:46 GMT

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How Utopus Insights Reduced Data Processing Time from Weeks to Hours

deepak.prabhu@utopusinsights.com (Deepak Prabhu) — Fri, 12 Aug 2022 13:13:31 GMT

Going Serverless on Amazon Web Services

Renewable energy analytics provider Utopus Insights (Utopus) wanted to generate more computing power so that it could improve the performance of Scipher, its industrial Internet of Things (IoT) analytics solution platform that assesses the performance of wind and solar energy assets using data in near real time. When the company initially launched the platform, it ran the solution on premises, which required ongoing investments in hardware to scale its infrastructure to meet increasing demand.

To meet its data processing needs, Utopus explored going serverless and decided to migrate to Amazon Web Services (AWS) in 2018. A year later, Utopus became fully native to the cloud, which has helped it scale quickly, accelerate its time to market, and achieve compute cost optimization. The company has maintained high availability on Scipher and reduced the time that it takes to process data from weeks down to hours. By working on AWS and expanding its data processing capabilities, the company can focus on innovating its digital solutions and facilitating the global transition to clean energy.

Exceeding Data Processing Capacity on Premises

Founded in 2017, Utopus aims to accelerate the integration of renewable energy into the modern grid by optimizing energy production using data analytics and insights. Utopus serves over 235 customers globally and holds over 90 granted and pending patents across its suite of products, ranging from asset management coverage to power forecasting insights. This suite is underpinned by the company’s platform, Scipher, which collects data from wind and solar assets to drive reporting and actionable insights using machine learning (ML). Using this solution, businesses can proactively monitor their assets worldwide and predict maintenance needs or part failures, helping to increase the longevity and performance of their renewable energy assets.

When launching Scipher in 2017, Utopus used an on-premises data center to power its digital solutions and process petabytes of energy data at any given time. As more customers adopted its solution, the company faced challenges in quickly scaling its infrastructure. “The amount of data that we had exceeded our processing capacity,” says Ziad Rida, technical director of architecture at Utopus. “Our main goal was to ingest the data and make it available for data science.” In 2018, Utopus engaged AWS to accelerate its data processing capabilities and optimize its compute resources. To test the viability of working in the cloud, the company developed proofs of concept working alongside the AWS team. Utopus received resources and technical training with subject matter experts, and it kicked off its cloud migration that same year. “AWS helps us scale more rapidly than we could have on our own,” says Michael Wilkinson, chief product officer at Utopus. “At a time when both climate change and energy security are urgent global concerns, making data-driven innovations on AWS is the key to unlocking reliable, smart solutions both superfast and at scale.”

Taking a Serverless-First Approach to Scale to Demand

When migrating to AWS, Utopus opted for fully managed, serverless solutions when possible. “Using serverless solutions on AWS means that we don’t have to worry about scalability, manageability, installation, or configuration,” says Rida. For instance, the company adopted Amazon Kinesis Data Streams , which companies use to easily stream data at virtually any scale. On average, the company streams 7 TB of data through Scipher every day.

After streaming its data, the company processes it using AWS Lambda , a serverless, event-driven compute service that companies use to run code for virtually any type of application or backend service without provisioning or managing servers. “AWS Lambda is highly scalable and very powerful,” says Rida. “We can manage latency, make our processing faster, and decide how much we want to spend.” Using AWS Lambda, the company processes over 200 billion signals from wind and solar sources every day, and in under 2 hours, it can process the same amount of data that would have taken 2 weeks to process on premises. By gaining deeper and timelier insights, its customers can improve the performance of their renewable energy assets and minimize their carbon footprints.

Decarbonizing the Electricity System on AWS

Utopus completed its migration to AWS in 2019 and continues to try new services to improve the performance of Scipher. To further reduce its time to market and introduce new capabilities, Utopus is trialing AWS IoT Greengrass , which helps companies build IoT devices faster. The company aims to accelerate the adoption of renewable energy across all industries. “Frankly, we couldn’t be doing the work of trying to decarbonize the electricity system without using AWS,” says Wilkinson.

Ream more here .

Meet our team at Mexico Wind Power 2022

Mon, 21 Mar 2022 13:59:29 GMT

Mexico Wind Power 2022 | Centro Citibanamex, Mexico | March 23-24, 2022

Our Wind and Solar PV performance analytics and diagnostic experts are headed to Mexico Wind Power 2022 . Meet Gabriel Eslait and Dawson Laabs at the Vestas booth to learn how Scipher software helps asset managers and operators extract extra MWh using data insights.

To schedule a private 1:1 session for a customized demo on Performance Diganostics and Power Forecasting produdcts, ping us at growth@utopusinsights.com to schedule a demo.

Join us at WindEurope Annual Event 2022

Thu, 17 Mar 2022 08:05:17 GMT

WindEurope Annual 2022 | Bilbao Exhibition Centre - Bilbao, Spain | Booth #3-E51

Our product and business team at Utopus Insights is looking forward to meet industry members in person at the WindEurope annual event. We hope you’ll stop by our booth #3E51, to talk about digitalization in wind and solar PV, and learn more about how optimizing asset management at scale delivers ease-of-use and cost-efficient operations.

Drop by out booth 3-E51 and learn more about our digital offerings for comprehensive wind and solar asset management, or schedule a 1:1 personalized demo.

Our team of renewable energy analytics experts will showcase more on:

Monitoring and asset management of wind and solar PV assets in a single platform
Improving remote monitoring efficiency to increase MW asset per engineer to manage
Root cause analysis (RCA) tool for production loss, actionable insights for AEP loss, and O&M cost reduction
Power and weather forecasts using Scipher.Fx, to deliver accurate 5 minutes up to 14 days ahead forecasting
Advanced user interface to visualize and analyze forecast data.

To schedule a private 1:1 session for a customized demo on Performance Diagnostics and Power Forecasting products, email at growth@utopusinsights.com or register here

Q&A with Viento Blanco: How Scipher.Vx+ simplifies wind asset management

aimhd@vestas.com (Ali Suhail Mohammed) — Thu, 17 Feb 2022 11:36:50 GMT

In this Q&A, we asked Pablo Polanco, Head of Trading & Operation at Viento Blanco on using Scipher.Vx + for performance diagnostics and monitoring, and how it's become an integral part of asset management and day-to-day operations.

Overall, what do you like most about Scipher.Vx+?

Our existing SCADA software did not have analytics in depth, and showed us things we already knew. But Scipher.Vx+ goes beyond that and gives us more tools to check wind turbine performance that saves us time and effort, freeing up my resources to focus on other critical tasks. I like that multiple team members can monitor real-time operations of our wind turbines, which is very insightful for our daily operations. It simply wouldn't be possible without Scipher.Vx+.

Is there a specific instance you can recall where you felt your operations problem or concern was resolved because of using Scipher.Vx+?

Yes, we were having some issues with the power curve of one turbine in our wind farm, and we managed to realize about this problem only because of Scipher.Vx+, which I wasn't able to track with our existing tools. A couple of months before having access to Scipher, I realized that the performance of one wind turbine wasn't the same as the others, and I was not able to figure it out through the OEM either. Instead, Scipher.Vx+ has the turbine analysis/diagnostics function that lets you see the power curve of the wind turbines over a certain timeframe when you specify the date range. You can see the historic data of two wind speed sensors, and with the tool we realized one of the sensors was not working. We replaced the sensor and everything was back to normal. Without the tool, it would have taken more time to find the issue and some extra time and effort to keep digging to see what the problem was...so this saved us valuable time.

Which feature do you use the most?

I like to track the generation from the previous day and previous week, availability etc, and I get the daily, weekly and monthly reports which I can share with executives, which otherwise would take up too much of my time. Scipher.Vx+ gives me the ability to do other things, than spend time on the little tasks that take time but are necessary on a regular basis to track asset operations. And I can see our operations team using this even more on a daily basis for sure, as Utopus expands on the capabilities in the future.

About Scipher.Vx+

Scipher.Vx+ delivers centralized, comprehensive SaaS-based asset visualization product that shows real-time status, operating performance of every wind and solar PV asset in your portfolio at any time, anywhere in the world. Monitor live wind data of both SCADA and Condition Monitoring System (CMS) signals in one product.

Connect with our renewables software experts to schedule a 1:1 demo.

We are headed to ACP O&M and Safety Conference

Fri, 28 Jan 2022 06:22:56 GMT

This year we are headed to the ACP Operations & Maintenance and Safety Conference at Coronado, CA.

Meet our team at booth #315 to learn about how you can increase your revenue and reduce your costs with Utopus Insights Scipher solutions.

Learn more about Scipher analytics product suite for driving asset management at scale, performance monitoring, diagnostics, and power forecasting.

To schedule a private 1:1 session for a customized demo, email at growth@utopusinsights.com

Automation & Digitalization In Solar O&M

Thu, 13 Jan 2022 16:18:09 GMT

Our Solar PV energy analytics team is headed to Intersolar North America, January 13-15, 2022!

Global cumulative solar PV installations are expected to grow to 1,243 GWdc by 2024. While demand has been strong, power purchase prices across the globe have been dropping considerably in recent years. Expiring incentives and other dynamics are putting pressure on the entire value chain, including the operations and maintenance (O&M) segment. Solar O&M is a labor-intensive industry, in which between 80% to 90% of OPEX is labor cost. As such, asset owners are increasingly looking to automation as part of an O&M cost reduction strategy for their continuous expanding fleet, and to efficiently manage the complexity of large solar power plants spread across 100s of acres of land.

Feng Zhang, Product Director, will be presenting on the topic " Automation and Digitalization in Solar O&M," and in this session, we will discuss:

Challenges and opportunities in adoption of digital technology for solar plant operations
Limitations to conventional asset management in detecting and identifying issues
How automation can optimize the entire O&M value chain
Case study review: comprehensive loss breakdown analysis for a solar farm with battery storage
Tips for identifying and contracting with technology vendors
Pathways to reduce O&M costs through automation and predictive maintenance

To learn more about our digital offerings for comprehensive solar and wind asset management, or schedule a 1:1 personalized demo, email growth@utopusinsights.com .

Increasing renewables reliability with demand forecasting and battery storage

Wed, 01 Dec 2021 12:47:36 GMT

One important piece of the energy transition puzzle is how to optimally integrate energy storage technologies to make renewable energy more reliable and available on demand, overcoming its variable nature. The cost of batteries has decreased rapidly in the last decade and this trend is projected to continue to 2045 and beyond . This decline has facilitated various applications by integrating batteries with electricity generation and distribution. For example, utilities have used batteries to store cheap energy during off-peak hours and dispatch it during peak hours to effectively mitigate that daily solar generation and demand patterns do not overlap. This is known as “lift and shift” or peak shaving. Studies indicate that in countries where gas is imported, battery storage is now the cheapest new-build technology for peaking.

With peak shaving, the goal is to reduce the peak load as prices are higher during those hours. Charging the battery with the maximum possible solar energy is important as it is the cheapest and one of the most sustainable sources of energy.

As data scientists working in renewable energy, we like challenging ourselves, as well as contributing to the scientific world. Earlier this year, with data science collaborators, we participated in the Presumed Open Data Challenge organized by Energy Systems Catapult, a technology and innovation center in the United Kingdom and Western Power Distribution, a UK utility. The goal was to develop an optimal battery scheduler that takes the most solar energy from the Newton Downs Solar Plant, a local community solar farm, and is then used to reduce peak demand from the local grid, utilizing the stored solar power.

We stood fifth in the competition which comprised 55 teams from 72 organizations and 15 countries.

The team utilized electric demand, solar PV generation, and weather data going back several years to design an optimal scheduler for a battery storage device. We were measured on a combination of how much clean energy was fed into the battery, and how much this clean energy in the battery can support the evening peak demand.

Our refined methodology divided the problem into three steps: demand forecasting, solar forecasting and the battery scheduler. In the demand forecasting step, we trained a machine learning model on historical data and generated a demand forecast for the following week. Similarly, in the solar forecasting step we trained another machine learning model and predicted solar output for the following week. In the next step, we proposed a battery scheduler that could ingest the previously generated forecasts and output an optimal schedule. The innovative part of the paper lies in minimizing the impact of errors in solar and demand forecasts to accurately optimize the battery scheduler.

Our final back-tested modeling approach had an even stronger result and got published in the Energies journal . The results published proved to be highly competitive and create a good basis for product development within Utopus Insights.

The future energy system will be decarbonized and electrified, and this is an increasingly complex system that can no longer be controlled by humans and analogue technology. This is a good example of how advanced algorithms and analytics are now enabling the energy transition.

Thank you to Energy Systems Catapult and Western Power Distribution for the great challenge and to Utopus Insights for the continuous support to innovate and advance renewables into the electric grid!

Join Utopus Insights at Australia Wind Energy Summit

aimhd@vestas.com (Ali Suhail Mohammed) — Mon, 29 Nov 2021 06:33:52 GMT

Utopus Insights is pleased to sponsor Australia Wind Energy Summit, coming up July 19-20, 2021. Top renewable energy industry executives and industry leaders will take the stage to share their views on Australia’s wind energy transition, including how digitalization plays an increasingly prominent role.

The rapid growth of renewable energy in the Australian power mix has added new levels of complexity to the power generation and utilities business. Greater reliance on big data and advanced analytics can help market participants create long-term value and avoid being outmanoeuvred by fast-moving technologies and competitors. As a renewable developer, owner, operator, OEM representative, technical or commercial service provider, you wouldn’t want to miss this.

Join the conversation with Shekhar Kamath, General Manager, Business Development, Utopus Insights on Dec. 8 at 4:00 pm Melbourne time for a panel discussion with industry leaders, providing a forward-looking view on how data analytics plays a crucial role in the renewable value chain.

[Panel Discussion Topic] Optimizing the Performance of Wind Energy Portfolio in Australia

When: 16:10-17:00 Melbourne Time, Dec. 8, 2021 | MCEC

Optimal wind asset operations are key to ensure high generation performance and favourable financial returns. How does this benefit ageing operational wind turbines as well as newly installed farms?
Discussion on route maps, comprising turbine inspections, turbine engineering, wind resource and operational SCADA data analytics disciplines.

Panelists:

Shekhar Kamath, General Manager, Business Development, Utopus Insights
Chris Baldwin, Wind Operations Manager, Meridian Energy Australia
Pedro Vozone, Technical Head of Wind Farm Projects, RES
Michael Sherry, Director, Wind Product and Business Development, GreenPowerMonitor

Moderator:

David Millar, Founder and Director, Millennium Energy Solutions

P.S: Don’t miss out on 1:1 Networking: Make use of virtual networking platform, and connect with our Utopus Insights energy analytics experts for a 1-1 session on how our products can help you get more value from your renewable assets

Join us at CLEANPOWER 2021 Conference

Wed, 24 Nov 2021 12:55:55 GMT

This year we are headed to the CLEANPOWER 2021 Conference at Salt Lake City, Utah.

Meet our team at the Vestas booth #2327 to learn about how you can increase your revenue and reduce your costs with Utopus Insights solutions.

Learn more about Scipher analytics product suite for performance monitoring, diagnostics, and power forecasting. Leverage digital solutions to make informed decisions on operations and maintenance, complying with regulatory requirements, minimizing imbalance costs, and optimizing power bidding strategies.

Schedule a private 1:1 session for a customized demo or RSVP to one of our open demo sessions at booth #2327.

Demo Session Options:
Dec. 07 at 11.30 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Dec. 08 at 11 a.m.

We look forward to connecting at CLEANPOWER 2021!

Join us at WindEurope ElectricCity 2021

aimhd@vestas.com (Ali Suhail Mohammed) — Fri, 19 Nov 2021 16:20:19 GMT

A decarbonized future will see energy systems evolving. With more demand for installed capacity, and more system flexibility, renewable plant owners will face new challenges when trying to ensure stable output of power, and when balancing power output with market demand. Addressing these challenges requires a smarter approach toward asset management, building efficiencies into operations, maintenance and asset management. Paving the way towards this future, Vestas is driving digital innovation across the turbine value chain, from modelling the integration and control of renewables assets in the future energy system in our R&D process, to applying data insights to enable a proactive approach to operations and maintenance.

Join us for a Fireside Chat at ElectricCity 2021, Markus Rieck, Senior Vice President, Service and Michael Wilkinson, Chief Product Officer, Utopus Insights will talk on topic. Building a scalable asset management environment

Session Objectives

What the future energy system will look like, and how the demands on asset management will evolve
Technological possibilities and achieving smarter assets for wind operators
Driving digital innovation across the turbine value chain through digitalization

We look forward to meet with you at Wind Europe Electric City, 2021.

Nov. 24, 10:30-11:00 CET; Vestas booth #D-F30

Join us at Wind+Digital Summit 2021

aimhd@vestas.com (Ali Suhail Mohammed) — Tue, 02 Nov 2021 11:47:58 GMT

The Wind+ Digital Summit, powered by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), brings together engineers, data scientists, project managers, manufacturers, and industry leaders looking to digitally transform their business, best practices they can leverage, and how they can accelerate their transformation.

Why Attend?

This virtual event is designed to provide you with the critical insights needed to successfully build intelligent operations that function with the speed and resilience required for today’s energy market conditions.

Learn how industrial organizations are adopting these new technologies to increase productivity and revenue, reduce costs, improve collaboration, mitigate risks, and predict fringe scenarios.
Explore the tools organizations are using to make informed, precise decisions across industrial enterprises—including design, manufacturing, quality, service, repair, maintenance, and more.
Network with wind, solar, and energy storage experts from a diverse range of disciplines as you unlock the potential of industrial digital transformation.

Feng Zhang, Product Director, Scipher.Vx+ will be representing a panel discussion Bang For Your Buck: Using Data to Drive Asset Optimization

Data and analytics are some of your most valuable assets for wind farm optimization, and both can be highly effective when it comes to efficiency and reliability. But you need more than that for your wind farm to reach its full potential. Learn how to make the most of your data and how to beat the odds and guarantee value for your wind projects with a cross-functional approach to data and analytics.

Alexandra Arntsen , Lead Data Scientist, NRG Systems
Francisco Artuza , Wind Engineer, ENEL
Emily Marino , Executive, Product Management, GE Renewable
Mark Young , Director, Renewable Technical Operations, Americas, BlackRock
Feng Zhang , Product Director, Utopus Insights
Moderator: Cegeon Chan , VP, Energy Analytics & Measurements, DNV

Use our code WDSPN to receive a complimentary pass of $149 value

Embracing the Digital Revolution: Transforming Asset Management and Operations in Wind and Solar Energy

deepak.prabhu@utopusinsights.com (Deepak Prabhu) — Tue, 02 Nov 2021 06:29:55 GMT

The renewable energy sector has witnessed a remarkable transformation over the past few years, with wind and solar power leading the charge. As these clean energy sources continue to gain momentum, technological advancements are driving a digital revolution in asset management and operations and maintenance (O&M). The integration of digital tools and technologies is reshaping the industry by enhancing efficiency, reducing costs, and optimizing the performance of renewable energy assets. Lets explore how a digital-first approach is revolutionizing asset management and O&M practices in the wind and solar industry.

Enhanced Data Acquisition and Analytics:

Digitalization has revolutionized the way data is collected, analyzed, and utilized in asset management and O&M practices. Advanced sensors, remote monitoring systems, and IoT devices are enabling real-time data acquisition from wind turbines and solar panels. This data, combined with artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) algorithms, empowers asset managers to gain deep insights into the performance of renewable assets.

Scipher.Vx+ by Utopus Insights, offers a cutting-edge renewables data analytics software. Scipher.Vx+ utilizes advanced data analytics and visualization techniques to unlock actionable insights from vast amounts of data collected from wind and solar assets. This enables asset managers to identify performance bottlenecks, optimize maintenance schedules, and predict and prevent equipment failures, leading to enhanced efficiency and reduced downtime.

Remote Monitoring and Control:

Digital technologies have facilitated remote monitoring and control capabilities, allowing asset managers to access and manage renewable energy assets from anywhere. Cloud-based platforms provide real-time visibility into the performance of wind and solar farms, enabling swift response to issues and reducing the need for on-site visits.

Utopus Insights' Scipher.Vx+ platform plays a crucial role in enabling remote monitoring and control. This advanced platform allows asset managers to remotely monitor the performance of renewable energy assets, access real-time data, and control operational parameters. With Scipher.Vx+, operators can leverage predictive analytics to identify anomalies and potential failures, set up automated alerts and notifications, and take proactive measures to optimize asset performance. This remote control and monitoring capability significantly reduces costs associated with manual inspections and increases operational efficiency.

The advent of digital-first asset management and O&M practices, with innovative solutions like Utopus Insights' Scipher.Vx+ and Scipher.Fx platforms, has transformed the wind and solar energy industry. By leveraging advanced data acquisition, analytics, remote monitoring, asset managers can optimize the performance of renewable energy assets, reduce costs, and enhance safety. These digital solutions bring a new level of efficiency, reliability, and sustainability to the industry, driving us closer to a cleaner and more sustainable energy future.

Q&A with Ayumu Suzuki, Product Owner, Scipher.Fx

aimhd@vestas.com (Ali Suhail Mohammed) — Tue, 28 Sep 2021 13:23:37 GMT

1. What made you join Utopus Insights at this stage in your career? What do you hope to bring to the organization, and gain in experience?

Having worked in the previous company for 12 years I was looking for a new challenge, and the opportunity to be part of developing and growing a relatively new product, Scipher.Fx, was very exciting. I have been impressed with the state-of-the-art digital platform developed at Utopus Insights.

2. Based on your decade-plus renewables experience in power forecasting, how have you seen customers evolve in their approach to digitalization in their day-to-day functioning?

Working in power forecasting has always been interesting, as you get to work with customers throughout the energy value chain, from wind/solar farm owners, energy traders, utility and grid operators. I have seen customer requirements evolve over the decade, which is typically led by government incentives and regulations, as well as technology advancements.

Ayumu Suzuki, Product Owner, Scipher.Fx

Customer requirements are typically region-specific. In growth markets in Africa and Asia, I have seen new regulations being introduced for power producers to submit forecasts to the energy off takers with accuracy incentives. In more mature markets across Europe, I have seen changes in energy trading mechanism, such as the shift from dual to single imbalance price mechanism to better award market participants who are helping to reduce the overall system balance costs, rather than minimizing their own portfolio’s overall imbalances.

On the topic of digitalization, I think the customers have evolved to put more focus on it to increase the value of their assets through smarter operations, and this also contributes to the bigger picture of enabling reliable integration of renewables to the grid. I believe that renewables power forecasting has been around for nearly two decades, so it’s one of the older digital services that has been supporting the growth of renewables. The advancements in data science and data engineering is enabling us to continuously improve forecast capabilities and develop new features to serve the evolving customer requirements.

3. What would you say to those who are considering a career in renewables software? Why should they join?

I would highly recommend it as its a very rewarding industry to work in. I’m proud to be part of the organization that is focused on helping the growth of renewables, and seeing the technical advancements and innovation in the industry is very exciting.

P.S We are hiring! Explore exciting career opportunities in data science and more…

Utopus Insights at Dubai Expo 2021

aimhd@vestas.com (Ali Suhail Mohammed) — Mon, 27 Sep 2021 06:38:35 GMT

Utopus Insights is headed to Dubai Expo 2021, from October 4-7, 2021!

Jointly with our parent company Vestas, Utopus Insights will be hosting a roundtable session for fellow industry members on the topic of Digitalization In Renewables: Rewards and Challenges. The session will be hosted by Shekar Kamath, General Manager, Utopus Insights and Davide Bottaro, Head of Service Sales and Contract Management, Vestas, at the Denmark Pavillion on October 7, 2021.

In this session learn about how Big Data and Analytics plays a crucial role in the utilization of vast amounts of data generated by wind turbines and solar PV, to improve performance and reduce operation and maintenance costs, and there is huge potential for using these techniques to significantly improve performance and reduce the costs of future renewable energy systems.

To register for the session http://bit.ly/Register07Oct21

Full agenda available here https://bit.ly/3un1qZm

If you’re headed to Dubai Expo 2021, and are interested to learn more, we’d love to connect! You can also send an email at growth@utopusinsights.com to set up a conversation.

Q&A with CS Energia: How Scipher.Fx helps with accurate power forecasts

Tue, 14 Sep 2021 03:39:23 GMT

In this Q&A, we asked Robert Cymbalak, Management advisor, and analyst at CS Energia on using Scipher.Fx for power forecasting and how it's become an integral part of asset management and day-to-day operations since new power forecasting regulation was introduced in Poland.

What problem did you try to solve with Scipher.Fx and what was the best part of using our tool? Who (profile) or which team in your company uses Scipher.Fx the most?

Since January 2021, power forecasting obligation has been introduced in Poland. Forecast data must be sent to the network operator on a daily basis. Additionally, the accuracy of the forecast has a positive impact on balancing costs. I am responsible for operational activities, including forecasting. Scipher.Fx definitely made my job easier. I no longer have to start each day with the preparation of production forecasts, because I get them by e-mail at a fixed time. This is a big time saver for me.

What features / functions are most useful for you in your daily work?

First of all, the fact that I get the production forecasts directly by e-mail, comes very handy. Scipher.Fx has a very user-friendly portal for me to compare the power forecasts with the actual power produced. And the availability planner, which I use to plan work orders for optimized output with better planning

How would you rate your overall experience with Utopus Insights in terms of product value and customer engagement?

I have been really impressed by the commitment level from Utopus Insights to resolve any issues. Your operations and customer service team is always ready to help. I was the first Utopus customer who needed a specific file required in Poland from one of the operators. Utopus Insights created this file, taking into account all suggestions from us. As a customer, this was a very positive experience, because many companies talk about listening to their customer. I can vouch that the team at Utopus truly does, and acts on feedback and input to benefit their customer. Anyone can sell a product or tool, but not everyone has good service.

About Scipher.Fx

Scipher.Fx provides advanced wind and solar PV forecasts to help energy managers, power traders, market data analysts and asset owners make more informed decisions with greater confidence to comply with regulatory requirements, minimize imbalance costs, and optimize power bidding strategies.

Our proprietary machine learning models leverage historical and real-time measurement data combined with the best Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) models worldwide to deliver highly accurate power forecasts that serve your business needs.

How Scipher.Fx helps in managing assets within trading, and energy utilities:

Users in the intraday markets can adjust their power bids, taking advantage of the short-term correction we perform, based on the actual turbine status.
Users in the day-ahead markets get highly accurate forecasts, based on models that take into account historical turbine behavior, turbine availability and scheduled downtime, to minimize market penalties.

Interested to learn more about Scipher products for wind and solar PV asset management and performance diagnostics ? Connect with us to schedule a 1:1 session with our renewable energy analytics experts.

Utopus Insights at HUSUM Wind 2021

aimhd@vestas.com (Ali Suhail Mohammed) — Thu, 09 Sep 2021 06:59:29 GMT

Utopus Insights is headed to HUSUM Wind, from September 14-17, 2021! We’ll be in Hall 4, Vestas Booth No. 4C09.

Utopus's powerful suite of SaaS products enable real-time asset visualization across an entire portfolio, state-of-the-art predictive maintenance for wind plants, and top-performing wind power forecasting. With a global team combining decades of deep renewable energy industry experience, we understand our customers' challenges and concerns, we speak your language, and we work with you to enhance the value you get out of our software in your day-to-day operations.

You can also meet the team from Utopus Insights, Magne Borgund, Chief Growth Officer, and Malgorzata Bartkowski, Sales manager to learn how Scipher platform leverages the power of data science and analytics, machine learning and meteorology to help Independent Power Producers (IPPs), OEMs and utilities maximize renewable energy output.

If you’re headed to HUSUM Wind, and are interested to learn more, we’d love to connect! You can also send an email at growth@utopusinsights.com to set up a conversation.

Code Red: Why a climate change focus is now everyone’s business

Tue, 24 Aug 2021 04:12:31 GMT

It seems that every week there’s a new extreme weather record being broken. The latest IPCC report confirms again that we are changing our climate and are already experiencing the effects. Based on an extensive review of a collection of 14,000 studies, approved by 195 countries, we know that the extreme weather events that have been occurring with increasing ferocity and velocity over the last few years are no coincidence.

In the past we might have been tempted to push this to the back of our minds or think of it as something to deal with in the future. But now the impacts are increasingly observable to all of us, and we have to stop just sounding alarms, and instead put our money where our mouth is. . For me, one of the most sobering points in the report is that we will most likely experience an ice-free Arctic at least once by 2050. That’s within the next three decades i.e. within the lifetime of many of us.

A recent UK Met Office report confirmed that the climate is already observably both wetter and hotter than was experienced 30 years ago. This means the impact is evident from one human generation to the next.

The year 2021 could be the most important one ever for tackling climate change. In November world leaders will come together in Glasgow (a year later than planned due to COVID) for the United Nations Climate Conference COP 26 to agree upon new targets and actions.

The previous COP in Paris in 2015 was a game changer when the world’s governments committed to actions to limit the average global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius, and the hopes are high for Glasgow. But the scale of work to be done is huge and governments will need to have even higher ambitions. The world needs to halve emissions by 2030 to stay on track to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

When it comes to our ability to influence climate change, energy is one key element. But how can we make an impact and what do we need to do to enable that?

As part of the run-up to COP 26, I was privileged to represent Utopus Insights in a UN working group on Innovation, Technology and Data and present the work as part of the Ministerial Thematic Forums discussion on better data for low carbon energy. The purpose of the work was to make recommendations to governments on how we can collaborate on energy innovation to achieve the carbon reduction targets. The reports have now been published and you can read more about the work and see the key recommendations in the Theme Reports here .

It would be easy to take a pessimistic view and think that think we’re doomed. However, the good news (and I am an optimist) is that beyond just reports and meetings, governmental action is already underway: The Biden administration in the U.S. wants the power grid to be carbon neutral by 2035, and China has a commitment to Net Zero by 2060. In the UK, coal has been phased out and the electricity system operator, National Grid, predicts that we’ll see the first hours and days of 100% renewable electricity generation around 2025. (When I started my career, the sceptics were telling us the electricity system would collapse if we exceeded 15% renewables!).

As an employer, and business leader, this serves as an important reminder that our work (even in software companies like Utopus Insights) can make an impact. Many of us spend a significant proportion of our waking hours at work, or thinking about work, so we’d better make sure we’re doing something worthwhile with our effort.

I’ve been doing a lot of interviews for new team members recently and it’s clear that a company’s mission is one of the key motivators for choosing one employer over another. For me, there is no more important a mission than decarbonization of the energy system. It’s the reason why I come to work and I see daily how that resonates in our team. Together, we can each make a difference, through our work, and our passion.

Join Utopus Insights at O&M and Safety Virtual Summit

aimhd@vestas.com (Ali Suhail Mohammed) — Thu, 12 Aug 2021 07:14:07 GMT

Utopus Insights is pleased to sponsor American Clean Power, O&M and Safety Virtual Summit, coming up August 23-25, 2021. Top renewable energy industry executives and industry leaders will take the virtual stage to share their views on North Americas wind energy transition, new technologies and how digitalization plays an increasingly prominent role.

Meet our business and product teams at the virtual summit to learn how data analytics plays a crucial role in the renewable value chain.

Freeing up resources: Give your team the gift of time with data insights

Thu, 08 Jul 2021 10:41:47 GMT

As a wind or solar PV farm operator, you likely ask yourself day in and day out how to improve energy production and reduce O&M (Operations & Maintenance) cost. Is there any performance improvement potential? How are my assets performing compared to others? Can we improve our operational efficiency without adding costly resources to the mix?

Meanwhile, you have also likely heard of, and may be tired of buzzwords like data science (Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence) thrown around as the panacea to save the world from climate change while improving your AEP (Annual Energy Production).

In reality, data science is useless without proper domain context. Ninety percent of anomalies identified by the application of data science only on turbine operational data yields something false. Yes, 90 percent!

The good news is that with the help of the right digital partner with domain knowledge, you can start building the DNA and processes, to take advantage of the vast amount of data your assets already generate. They are the building blocks that can unlock insights you didn’t know was possible and provide unprecedented transparency about your assets.

"Our customers get a clear understanding of their turbine operations, and most importantly, can pinpoint areas of improvement when compared with peers."

At Utopus Insights, with the backing of a strong, collaborative parent company, Vestas, we combine our in-depth turbine OEM-specific knowledge, turbine design data, O&M records, and cutting-edge data science technology to provide timely and actionable insights to maximize your wind farm performance. As an example, partial performance loss is often an area overlooked by turbine performance. It is counted as available; however, it does not generate as much as energy as it should be. It also confuses your power curve analysis (that is exactly where data science without domain knowledge fails as an example).

So, here's how we suggest the best approach. First things first: get a clear baseline view of current operations. This is where Utopus Insights provides industry standard methods quantified by measurable KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) such as:

Time-based asset technical availability
Time-based operational availability
Comprehensive loss break down, including power curve loss, partial performance loss, availability, and downtime loss

To ensure the highest quality input to track KPIs and loss analyses, Utopus Insights has developed proprietary data cleansing methods incorporating both data science and in-depth domain knowledge to filter noisy operational data. Hence the KPIs and production loss are calculated using only the most relevant, clean data, giving our customers highest confidence in our insights generated. Also, the filtered data are available in Scipher™ platform, along with various performance and downtime analytics tools, allowing your in-house analytics team to focus on the real production-impacting issues, not the data quality issues which typically consume 80% of data analysts’ time.

In addition to our high-confidence operational analyses, our Scipher™ data platform manages 100+ GW of wind turbine assets alone. We can provide KPIs and production loss benchmarks at a portfolio, wind farm, OEM, turbine model, turbine age, as well as component level, and even by the specific type of loss level, such as unscheduled maintenance, degradation, icing, and noise curtailment. Our customers get a clear understanding of their turbine operations, and most importantly, can pinpoint areas of improvement when compared with peers.

After customers identify areas of improvement for their wind farms, they can also get prescriptive corrective actions using the Scipher platform.

For example, partial performance is separated out from power curve analysis so that true performance problem causes such as blade contamination, pitch setting, etc. can be identified, while partial performance loss is calculated and accounted as turbine health problem and further breakdown to specific turbine components. After proper cleansing and categorizing of the data, we build a supervised learning model based on domain knowledge, and our advanced machine learning and AI algorithms identify potential production loss issues with high precision and recall.

It takes a combination of our unrivaled expertise in domain knowledge, vast data sources from a huge global fleet, and industry leading data science and analytics to cultivate actionable insights to maximize your wind farm production and reduce O&M cost.

Join us at Next Generation Wind 2021

aimhd@vestas.com (Ali Suhail Mohammed) — Tue, 25 May 2021 06:51:40 GMT

Michael Wilkinson, Chief Product Officer will be participating on a panel discussion

Next Generation Wind by WindPower Montly, co-sponsored by Utopus Insights will held on June 3 & 4, 2021.

Michael Wilkinson, Chief Product Officer, Utopus Insights will be on the panel with renewable industry leaders sharing insights on how advanced data analytics play a significant role in optimizing O&M, and reducing the frequency of unplanned outages through better monitoring and forecasting capabilities.

Panel Discussion Topic - Optimising Revenue Streams: How Can You Make the Most Out of Your Asset?

Best practice for data and data analytics to optimise your fleet
How to secure more data in order to improve your analytics and understanding?
Hedging tools & Spot Pricing: How do you protect revenues when the wind doesn’t blow?

Speaker Panel:

Michael Wilkinson, Chief Product Officer,Utopus Insights
Ingo Ermel, Investment Manager, Encavis AG
Christophe Lepaysan, CEO, Epsiline
Stuart Donnelly, Head of Smart Energy, Falck Renewables
Matthew Lennie, Machine Learning Engineer, Renewable Energy, Spire Weather

If your organization is on a digital transformation journey and considering data analytics solutions, please connect with us at growth@utopusinsights.com for a demonstration of how our fleet and asset visualization, performance diagnostics, forecasting can help achieve your business goals.

Utopus Insights at Wind Digital Solutions Summit

aimhd@vestas.com (Ali Suhail Mohammed) — Thu, 08 Apr 2021 07:21:50 GMT

Growing demand in energy consumption has pushed developers, owners, and operators look to renewables as a reliant and clean source of energy, to meet global energy demand. With growing renewable capacity across the world, farm operators are being faced with a deluge of data from wind turbines sensors. Given the uncertainty and complexity associated with wind energy systems and generation, Big Data and Analytics plays a crucial role in the utilization of vast amounts of data generated by wind turbines, to improve performance and reduce operation and maintenance costs, and there is huge potential for using these techniques to significantly improve performance and reduce the costs of future wind energy systems.

Michael Wilkinson, Chief Product Officer, will be participating on a panel discussion " Driving Value from Data: Accelerating Data-Driven Innovation," with other renewable industry leaders to discuss how data analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and the internet of things is driving innovation throughout the data lifecycle.

Join us at Wind Digital Solutions Summit hosted by The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). The panel discussion is scheduled for April 21, 2021 at 1.45 PM EST. Register here: https://bit.ly/3fTwY3I

Infigen Energy selects Utopus Insights power forecasting service to enhance operational performance

aimhd@vestas.com (Ali Suhail Mohammed) — Mon, 15 Feb 2021 16:04:06 GMT

Photo courtesy of Infigen Energy - Lake Bonney Wind Farm, Australia

VALHALLA, New York, Feb. 15, 2021

Utopus Insights is pleased to announce a five-year deal signed with Infigen Energy to deliver power forecasting software for 198 MW wind farm capacity in South Australia. Scipher.Fx, the Utopus Insights predictive analytics software, forecasts renewable energy power output 5 minutes to 14 days ahead for wind and solar assets, helping asset owners and operators accurately plan their operations, and deliver sufficient and reliable renewable energy to the market.

The contract to deliver short-term (5-minute ahead) forecasting for Infigen’s Lake Bonney 2 and 3 wind farms follows a successful Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) self-forecasting pilot project at the two farms, in partnership with parent company, Vestas. Utopus Insights had successfully used data from its short-term self-forecasting service for that pilot to generate customer cost-savings, outperforming the forecasting system of incumbent AWEFS in accuracy.

This new deal validates the success of the ARENA pilot. Infigen Energy is a developer, owner and operator of renewable energy generation assets in Australia, with a wind farm portfolio with installed capacity of 668 MW.

“We rely on Utopus’ short-term wind forecasting to improve operational and commercial outcomes for two of our wind farms. Setting up self-forecasting with Utopus has been a positive experience and we value the relationship we’ve built and look forward to the next 5 years working with Utopus,” said Matt Dickie, General Manager, Infigen Energy.

“We’re thrilled that Infigen has entrusted us as their renewable energy digital services provider for more informed business decision-making in their day-to-day operations, and maximized profits,” said Shekhar Kamath, General Manager, Business Development, Utopus Insights. “We look forward to cementing this partnership for the long term, using data science to make renewable energy more predictable and cost-competitive.”

For Utopus Insights media inquiries, please contact:

Sonu Munshi

Director of Communications

sonu.munshi@utopusinsights.com

About Utopus Insights

Utopus Insights is a data-driven energy analytics Software as a Service (SaaS) company that develops global digital solutions to accelerate the integration of renewable energy into the modern grid. Headquartered in New York, with development centers and sales presence across North America, Europe and Asia, we seek to accelerate an era of reliable, clean and cost-effective energy worldwide. Utopus Insights is a wholly owned subsidiary of Vestas. Learn more at www.utopusinsights.com and follow us on social media:

Solar PV and wind energy - power forecasting rules and tools

deepak.prabhu@utopusinsights.com (Deepak Prabhu) — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 05:50:13 GMT

Enhanced power forecasting capabilities combined with digitalization and data analytics can help integrate more renewable energy by enabling operators to more intelligently match energy output to meet demand.

In this webinar, learn more about recent changes in power forecast submission policy and regulations as well as available, proven forecasting software from Utopus Insights that will help operators submit accurate forecasts to the grid authorities. Also, engage with a panel of industry experts who will discuss what this means for the Polish market, and beyond.

Speakers:

Zbigniew Wojciech Wasielewski, Prezes Zarządu, ALTER Energia
Przemysław Kałek, Partner, Radzikowski, Szubielska i Wspólnicy
Asko Kampinga, Owner, Asko Wind
Grzegorz Skarżyński, Partner, Tundra Advisory
Malgorzata Bartkowski, Customer Success Manager, Utopus Insights (host/moderator)

When: 10-11 AM CET; Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021

W hy Attend:

Learn about the changes in forecasting regulations in Poland and the actions that is needed to support accurate forecasting
Introduction to Scipher.Fx, accurate power forecasting product that delivers 5-minute to 14 days ahead forecasts
Hear from industry experts on the value realized through digital tools for power forecasting

Utopus Insights Announces Two New Key Executives; Chief Product Officer and Chief Operating Officer

aimhd@vestas.com (Ali Suhail Mohammed) — Thu, 04 Feb 2021 09:16:45 GMT

Renewable energy analytics domain leader Michael Wilkinson joins as CPO, José Sebastiao elevated to COO

VALHALLA, N.Y., February 4, 2021 - Utopus Insights, a leading renewable energy data visualization and analytics software provider, announced today the appointment of two key executives in its leadership team that will help strengthen its position as an industry innovator.

Michael Wilkinson has joined Utopus Insights as Chief Product Officer. He most recently served as Global Segment Director for Energy Digitalization at DNV, where he was responsible for digital products and services across the power and renewables sector. Wilkinson brings strong global, commercial focus in the development of digital technology and data analytics, and will lead all product development and strategic roadmap activities to strengthen Utopus Insights' position as a leader in the renewable energy data analytics space. Wilkinson will report to CEO Chandu Visweswariah.

Michael Wilkinson, Chief Product Officer

"I'm thrilled to join Utopus Insights, a company that combines my passion for digital technology and data analytics, with the overarching ambition to be a part of the solution to tackle climate change. I strongly believe that digitalization is a key enabler of the energy transition, allowing renewables to move us towards a net-zero-carbon future, and I'm delighted to be leading product development with such a strong team that can play a major role globally," Wilkinson said.

Visweswariah described Wilkinson joining Utopus Insights as "a truly landmark event."

"With his rich experience, technical rigor and depth, track record of delivering results and leadership skills, I am confident that our Product team will achieve a quantum leap of innovation under Michael's stewardship, resulting in great benefits to our customers," Visweswariah said.

Wilkinson brings with him nearly two decades of renewable energy experience. He started his career developing Condition Monitoring Systems for offshore wind turbines. In 2007, he joined renewable energy consultancy, Garrad Hassan, which ultimately became DNV, serving in technical, market development and senior management roles. A prolific thought leader and presenter, he is passionate about the role of digitalization as a key enabler of the energy transition from fossil fuels to a lowcarbon global economy. Wilkinson resides in the United Kingdom.

In addition, José Sebastiao was appointed as Utopus Insights' new Chief Operating Officer. Sebastiao, in his previous role as Vice President, Operations, handled the deployment and reliability of digital products, supporting global customers' asset operations. Sebastiao replaces Co-founder Kevin Warren, who is transitioning to the role of Chief Financial Officer.

Sebastiao, who reports to Visweswariah, will focus on managing the Operations team to enhance customer integration activities, and will continue to collaborate closely with the Executive Leadership team on strategic corporate initiatives.

"I'm delighted to welcome José Sebastiao into the C-suite. He has already been leading Product Operations for the last four months, so I know that the organization is in good hands. I cannot think of anyone who embodies our values more or drives harder towards the goals of our mission than Sebastiao," Visweswariah said. "With these two appointments, we are well-positioned to chart an ambitious course in our future business pursuits."

José Sebastiao, Chief Operating Officer

"It is a privilege to serve Utopus Insights in this leadership capacity. As COO, I will continue to focus on better serving and creating value for our customers while improving our operations," Sebastiao said. "I am excited to be part of the energy industry digital journey and for where the company is headed."

Prior to joining Utopus Insights, Sebastiao served as Director at PwC in their Capital Projects and Infrastructures practice, where he liaised with utility customers in the development and execution of complex infrastructure projects. He has extensive experience in large commercial project management for Fortune 500 companies, as well as operations and maintenance of electric facilities and key infrastructure projects.

About Utopus Insights

Learn more at www.utopusinsights.com and follow us on social media:

www.linkedin.com/company/utopusinsights

For Utopus Insights media inquiries, contact:

Sonu Munshi
Director of Communications
sonu.munshi@utopusinsights.com

Streamlining Asset Monitoring: How Scipher.Vx+ Live Monitoring Feature Saves Time and Effort

Mon, 01 Feb 2021 14:43:04 GMT

As an IPP with a large portfolio of wind and solar PV assets, monitoring real-time information and key KPIs can be a challenging and time-consuming process. With multiple sources and technologies, eliminating bad data points and normalizing good ones can take countless hours. Live Monitoring with Scipher.Vx+ solves this problem by centralizing all data from various assets into a single URL.

The Live Monitoring page in Scipher.Vx+ allows users to view generation KPIs, asset status, and other vital indicators in real-time, improving asset performance and increasing efficiency. With real-time asset monitoring, any issues can be immediately identified and resolved. This saves the user time and effort by automating the process of eliminating bad data points and normalizing good ones.

By streamlining asset monitoring, the Live Monitoring feature in Scipher.Vx+ is a valuable tool for IPPs and operators. Scipher.Vx+ enables to easily monitor all wind and solar PV assets and quickly respond to any issues that arise, resulting in improved performance and increased efficiency.

To learn more about Scipher.Vx+ capabilities and how it can support your team in day-to-day asset management and O&M activities, drop us an email at growth@utopusinsights.com for 1:1 demo with our energy analytics experts.

How accurate short-term forecasting is a game-changer for renewable generators

deepak.prabhu@utopusinsights.com (Deepak Prabhu) — Tue, 26 Jan 2021 03:03:25 GMT

Self-forecasting in Australia’s National Electricity Market (NEM) allows semi-scheduled generators the opportunity to 'self-forecast' their electricity production and more closely meet their dispatch target. By doing so, they can reduce their exposure to Frequency Control Ancillary Services (FCAS) ‘Causer Pays’ costs and support grid stability and reliability. The body content of your post goes here. To edit this text, click on it and delete this default text and start typing your own or paste your own from a different source.

In this webinar, you can engage with a panel of industry experts who will discuss self-forecasting in the NEM in light of a groundbreaking AI-driven short-term forecasting trial by Utopus Insights at Infigen Energy’s Lake Bonney 2 and 3 wind farms in Australia, which improved forecasting accuracy by more than 25% compared to the Australian Wind Energy Forecasting System (AWEFS) forecasts by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO).

Speakers:

Stephanie Easton, Manager - Operations Control Centre, Infigen Energy
Jonathon Dyson, Managing Director, Greenview Strategic Consulting
Shekhar Kamath, General Manager, Business Development, Utopus Insights
Hugh McKenzie, Business Manager, Aftermarket Upgrades, Asia-Pacific, Vestas (moderator)

When: 3-4 PM AEDT; Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021

Why Attend:

Learn why renewable generators should care about self-forecasting - How the market needs will be fulfilled using renewables, by injecting certainty to power forecasts - Get insights on the models that Utopus Insights developed to submit self-forecasts, used by AEMO for farm dispatches
Hear directly about Infigen Energy’sexperience and learnings during the ARENA pilot; the value realized through self-forecasting, and how other operators can derive similar benefits
Understand how to leverage digital solutions to minimize FCAS penalties – implementation and future use cases
Better understand short-term power forecasting’s return on investment potential for your organization

Three questions we will answer:

How will self-forecasting save money for renewable generators? What is the potential impact on hybrid projects?
How does self-forecasting impact NEM grid operations?
What is the the future outlook for short-term forecasting in the NEM and beyond?

Energy Hour with Vestas on Digitalization and Global Energy Transition

deepak.prabhu@utopusinsights.com (Deepak Prabhu) — Tue, 01 Dec 2020 09:11:14 GMT

Digitalization accelerates the Global Energy Transition - A panel discussion on how this impacts the Renewable Value Chain

In the face of widespread disruption driven by economic progress, regulatory changes and large-scale investments, the renewable energy sector is increasingly adopting digital technologies to transform how business is conducted.

The rapid growth of renewable energy has added new levels of complexity to the power generation and utilities business. Greater reliance on big data and advanced analytics can help market participants create long-term value and avoid being outmanoeuvred by fast-moving technologies and competitors.

Join the conversation with Magne Borgund, Chief Growth Officer, Utopus Insights; Mercedes Cobos, Head of Business Development, Utopus Insights; Manuel Reiband, Head of Commercialization, Service Plant Solutions, Vestas and Joel Igba, Head of Data Analytics Development, Vestas on December 3 at 2:00 pm CET , as we share a forward-looking view on how Digital Transformation plays a crucial role in the renewable value chain.

To reserve your spot, register here

Who is this session for – Renewable developers, owner, operator, OEMs, technical or commercial service provider

Vestas Energy Hour Agenda:

Plant Zero Operation - Covering Vestas WT's own electricity requirements with feed-in management curtailments yourself (11 am – 12 pm CET)
Measurement concepts for the delimitation of electricity quantities (1 pm – 2 pm CET)
Digitalization accelerates the Global Energy Transition - panel discussion on how this impacts the Renewable Value Chain (2 pm – 3 pm CET)

Utopus Insights at WindEnergy Hamburg 2020

aimhd@vestas.com (Ali Suhail Mohammed) — Wed, 25 Nov 2020 09:34:05 GMT

Utopus Insights Analytics Team is attending WindEnergy Hamburg, virtual conference on Dec. 1-4.

Connect with us to learn about our asset management platform for renewable data visualization, performance monitoring and analysis, and power forecasting, to capture deeper insights.

If you’re attending the conference, and are interested to learn more, we’d love to connect! You can also send an email at growth@utopusinsights.com to set up a conversation.

Offshore Wind Summit 2020

aimhd@vestas.com (Ali Suhail Mohammed) — Sun, 01 Nov 2020 09:47:02 GMT

Venkata Krishan, Executive Director, Business Development, is speaking on a panel about the future of big data, along with other renewable energy leaders at the 'Offshore Wind Summit.' The American Society of Mechanical Engineers is hosting the event on November 5 from 1 to 1:40 p.m. EST.

Panelists: Steve Ross, Data and Digital Business Lead, Catapult; Bruce Hall, CEO, Onyx InSight. Moderator: Susan Peterson, Senior Vice President, Digital Transformation, Wintershall Dea.

Renewable Energy Digital Week

deepak.prabhu@utopusinsights.com (Deepak Prabhu) — Mon, 19 Oct 2020 09:01:33 GMT

Utopus Insights is participating at Renewable Energy Digital Week 2020. Visit our virtual booth and meet our asset management expert Nishesh Pand it, Business Development Manager to learn how data analytics products can help you optimize wind and solar PV assets and extract greater value.

Utopus Insights at Brazil Wind Power

aimhd@vestas.com (Ali Suhail Mohammed) — Wed, 14 Oct 2020 08:58:30 GMT

Representing our parent company Vestas at Brazil Wind Power 2020, Gabriel Eslait , Senior Sales Manager, LatAm, will share how data analytics is playing a key role in helping position renewables even more strongly for the future.

J oin the conversation! https://lnkd.in/eeWVah8

How Infigen Energy improved Grid Stability and Revenue Flow with Energy Analytics for Short-Term Forecasting

deepak.prabhu@utopusinsights.com (Deepak Prabhu) — Wed, 07 Oct 2020 12:10:34 GMT

Many countries and enterprises are diversifying their energy mix with renewables as a way to address climate change. However, intermittent renewable resources present challenges because variability in wind and solar generation can cause an imbalance between supply and demand in the power grid. Power forecasting tools based on advanced data analytics can help accurately predict these fluctuations to reduce any imbalances and also lower generator market penalties. Collectively, in Australia in 2019, renewable power generators paid a whopping USD182 million in total Frequency Control Ancillary Services (FCAS) penalties.

A rtificial Intelligence-driven technology being deployed in Southern Australia offers an example of the successful use of these forecasting techniques. The Lake Bonney Stages 2/3 project by Utopus Insights, completed in partnership with Infigen Energy, ARENA and Vestas, represents an industry-leading solution that is both essential and differentiating, and led to a 26% reduction in causer pays factor for Infigen. Our forecasting models performed well early into the project to show results for Infigen, and we were the first wind power self-forecasting service to qualify on their behalf.

The solution improves the accuracy of power output forecasts in real time, making renewable energy more cost-competitive vis-a-vis conventional energy sources, and enabling customers to make strategic and more profitable decisions about the energy they generate.

Lake Bonney Stages 2/3 Project

In March 2019, the Australian Renewable Energy Agenc y (ARENA) awarded funds to develop a new short-term wind power forecasting solution for Infigen Energy’s Lake Bonney Stages 2 and 3 wind farms in Southern Australia. The funding was part of ARENA’s Advancing Renewables Program. The solution was developed by Vestas (Australia’s largest wind energy solution provider), together with its wholly-owned energy analytics digital solution provider, Utopus Insights .

The overarching goals for the project were to more accurately forecast energy generation from wind power plants at a 5-minute ahead dispatch interval, reduce power dispatch uncertainty for wind generators, and improve system stability by enhanced anticipation of supply from renewable sources.

Picture Courtesy - Infigen Energy: Lake Bonney Farm 1

This class of forecasting solutions can also yield bottom line effects for power plant operators by minimizing financial penalties for inaccurate forecasts and increase revenue opportunities through more intelligent and strategic data-driven decisions about selling energy into spot markets. Wind and solar farms are penalized for failing to meet required energy generation levels. Moreover, they can be required to curb generation to match overly conservative forecasts, thus impacting their revenues. Inaccurate supply forecasts or failure of generators to meet targets can result in power system instability and higher operating costs. Being able to better predict power generation is a valuable tool in calculating the real-time value of energy, and also an important segue into a world where wind and solar energy are rapidly becoming integral sources of electricity.

Our Solution - Advanced Data Science Methodologies Used

In total, Utopus Insights developed four core, diverse models that were submitting self forecasts used for farm dispatches by AEMO. All four models performed better than AWEFS in terms of Mean Absolute Error (MAE) and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) at Lake Bonney 2 and 3 for most of the time. This was especially demonstrated at higher power production ranges, with only a few exceptions and for limited periods of time. Our industry-differentiating, SCADA-only model outperformed AWEFS forecasts, using existing infrastructure and not requiring any additional, cumbersome hardware. Our SaaS solution was effective in delivering the needed power forecasting accuracy requirements.

The availability and redundancy of the deployed data pipeline were instrumental in ensuring data ingestion from the assets with minimum delay and rapid recovery in the event of unwarranted system issues. With a robust data pipeline and data curation strategy, it was possible to deploy an AI-based algorithm to generate, deliver and submit forecasts via an API in compliance with Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) requirements.

Utopus Insights Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution was built using state-of-the- art cloud technology and infrastructure, to ensure that data security and scalability take the utmost importance, along with additional tools that empower the customer to understand the provided forecasts better.

Picture Courtesy - Infigen Energy: Lake Bonney Farm 2

Project Success Points

In order to carry on its energy transition journey, Australia has continued to grow its renewable energy penetration year-over-year. Specifically, ARENA’s Advancing Renewables Program , aiming to improve system stability, is acting as a catalyst. Accurate short-term forecasting helps AEMO achieve better dispatch planning, and also helps Independent Power Producers (IPPs) reduce their FCAS liability.

Infigen, Vestas, and Utopus Insights collaborated over this funded pilot with the aim to achieve both reliable and accurate short-term forecasts. The Australian Wind Energy Forecasting System (AWEFS) is the baseline over which self-forecasts (forecasts submitted by the participant) performance gets assessed, both from a reliability and accuracy perspective.

The machine learning model performance metrics used were Mean Absolute Error (MAE) and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) for the evaluation of the unconstrained self-forecast. Example: the actual power any farm is capable of producing, irrespective of any curtailment.

What started as a pilot project to test short-term forecasting, has developed into a solution from Utopus Insights that can now serve power producers in the Australian NEM, and can serve customers globally in the future as market regulations evolve.

To learn more about Short-Term Power Forecasting Solution, visit the page at https://www.utopusinsights.com/power-forecasting

Read more about how we reduced Causer Pay Charges by 26% in Australia. Download Report here

Magne Borgund named Utopus Insights' Chief Growth Officer

deepak.prabhu@utopusinsights.com (Deepak Prabhu) — Mon, 28 Sep 2020 17:50:29 GMT

VALHALLA, New York, Sep. 22, 2020 - Utopus Insights announced the appointment of Magne Borgund as Chief Growth Officer.

We’re pleased to announce the appointment of Magne Borgund as Chief Growth Officer at Utopus Insights. Borgund, in his previous role as Interim Head of Growth, has brought about tremendous change in shaping the Growth team for success, and forging a strong business strategy with Vestas, our parent company. He will continue to report to Chandu Visweswariah, Founding President and Chief Executive Officer.

“I am delighted by our Board of Directors’ decision, and I couldn’t imagine a better person to lead our sales and business development. Magne’s rich industry experience, combined with an open, collaborative approach to expanding on business opportunities, will help us remain a leading force in the digital analytics space for years to come,” Visweswariah said.

Borgund described being promoted to CGO for Utopus Insights as “a true honor.”

“The Growth team is made up of talented colleagues with broad experience in the renewable space, as well as deep software know-how. Product development within Utopus, supported by strong collaboration with our parent company, Vestas, has enabled us to take a giant leap in terms of standing out as a provider of innovative solutions for the renewable industry,” Borgund said.

“With the renewable industry growing by 150-200+ GW per year, subsidies phased out or removed entirely across the globe, developers and owners of renewable assets are embracing technology to make use of innovative software to reduce LCOE and future-proof their business for maximum return on investments. I am proud to be part of a company that contributes to accelerating the renewable transition globally with the power of digital transformation,” he added.

Borgund joined Utopus Insights in 2019, as Vice President, Sales, in the EurAf (Europe & Africa) region.

He has a CEMS Master's in International Management and Master of Science from the Norwegian School of Business Administration and the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland.

Prior to joining Utopus Insights, Borgund had spent 12 years with the Norwegian energy giant, Statkraft, in roles including cross-border trader across 25+ borders in Europe, establishing and running a 24/7 desk for operations, and optimization of Statkraft's renewable portfolio in the United Kingdom.

About Utopus Insights

Utopus Insights, Inc. is a New York-based energy analytics provider with deep expertise in the energy industry. Headquartered in New York, with a regional office in Bengaluru, India, we deliver customized SaaS solutions that help customers gain digital awareness and asset foresights to lower costs and unlock untapped revenue. With a portfolio of 100+ issued or applied patents, we combine domain expertise with advanced data science and meteorology to offer a suite of innovative digital products. We have a highly experienced team with data science, power engineering, software development, and meteorology expertise. Our products accelerate the global transformation to a clean and reliable grid powered by renewables. Learn more at www.utopusinsights.com.

Vestas and Utopus Insights demonstrate cost-saving success of their open market five-minute self-forecasting pilot

aimhd@vestas.com (Ali Suhail Mohammed) — Fri, 25 Sep 2020 13:59:20 GMT

Photo courtesy of Infigen Energy - Lake Bonney Wind Farm, Australia

Melbourne, 25 September 2020

Vestas and its digital solutions subsidiary, Utopus Insights, have successfully used the data from their five-minute self-forecasting pilot to produce customer cost-savings. Inaccurate supply forecasts, along with unreached output targets by renewable generators, can result in power system instability and higher operating costs, particularly in energy markets like that of Australia. As part of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency ’s (ARENA) Advancing Renewables Program, this 12-month pilot provided a solution to this industry shortfall.

Such data can be especially useful for Australian wind and solar farms which are penalised for failing to meet required output levels in the National Electricity Market (NEM). The pilot was trialed at Infigen Energy’s Lake Bonney Wind Farm 2 and 3, a 198 MW project powered by Vestas in South Australia.

The data was used by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) for real-time dispatch decisions while also demonstrating increased accuracy when compared to the current Australian Wind Energy Forecasting System’s (AWEFS) five-minute forecast.

“Thanks to Vestas and Utopus Insights’ self-forecasting data, we expect we will achieve cost savings at Lake Bonney 2 and 3, assets with 198 MW of nameplate capacity,” said Matt Dickie, General Manager, Operations, Infigen Energy. “We will therefore continue to utilise this energy data solution at Lake Bonney Wind Farm 2 and 3.”

The solution applied advanced data science techniques to high-resolution wind turbine SCADA data, granular short-term hyperlocal weather forecasts, and meteorological data to deliver greater accuracy in energy forecasts.

Through the provision of such information, both AEMO and the market can expect a more accurate and transparent forecast of supply, system constraints and pricing. As a result, data like that of the trial can also provide increased grid stability.

“With a decrease in operating expenses coupled with a greater proportion of low-cost renewables in the energy mix, the wholesale cost of energy is expected to reduce, benefitting the Australian consumer,” said Peter Cowling, Head of Vestas Australia and New Zealand. “Furthermore, as a result of the introduction of the Five-Minute Settlement rule in Australia’s National Energy Market, the need for energy solutions like our accurate short-term forecasting will become more apparent."

“The convergence of renewable energy and machine learning has the potential to positively impact the world and radically alter the way we look at the energy sector in the future – where “smart” renewable energy is the most sustainable way forward,” said Chandu Visweswariah, CEO, Utopus Insights.

“From an energy market standpoint, improved power output accuracies allow stakeholders to sharpen intra-day energy bid strategies, making renewable energy more reliable, and profitable,” said Shekhar Kamath, General Manager, Sales, Utopus Insights.

“Self-forecasting allows renewable generators to take advantage of the wealth of operational data produced by our assets. This results not only in financial savings but also in improved dispatch for the broader market. The improved efficiency of our assets produces savings for consumers and positions Infigen to invest in additional low-cost renewable generation,” Dickie of Infigen Energy added.

Learn more about Utopus Insights Short-Term Power Forecasting Solution at www.utopusinsights.com/power-forecasting

Discover more about the benefits of the Vestas-Utopus Insights self-forecasting trial at https://arena.gov.au/projects/lake-bonney-stages-2-3/ .

For Utopus Insights media inquiries, please contact:

Sonu Munshi

Director of Communications

sonu.munshi@utopusinsights.com

For Vestas media inquiries, please contact:

Kilani Fisher

Marketing & Communications ANZ

klafs@vestas.com

About Utopus Insights

About Vestas

Vestas is the energy industry’s global partner on sustainable energy solutions. We design, manufacture, install, and service wind turbines across the globe, and with more than 115 GW of wind turbines in 81 countries, we have installed more wind power than anyone else. Through our industry-leading smart data capabilities and more than 98 GW of wind turbines under service, we use data to interpret, forecast, and exploit wind resources and deliver best-in-class wind power solutions. Together with our customers, Vestas’ more than 25,000 employees are providing global sustainable energy solutions to power a bright future.

For updated Vestas photographs and videos, please visit our media images page on: https://www.vestas.com/en/media/images

We invite you to learn more about Vestas by visiting our website at www.vestas.com following us on our social media channels:

About Infigen Energy

We provide Australian businesses with firm supplies of clean energy. By combining intermittent renewables with fast-start firming assets, we offer our customers reliable and competitively priced clean energy. Our fleet of renewable energy assets is among the largest in Australia. In addition to our owned assets, we contract the output from other renewable operators, enabling us to serve a growing number of customers. Our portfolio of fast-start firming assets enables us to manage the risks associated with the intermittency of renewable generators. www.infigenenergy.com

ARENA Short-Term Forecasting pilot in the NEM: An interview with Utopus Insights, Vestas, and Infigen

deepak.prabhu@utopusinsights.com (Deepak Prabhu) — Thu, 24 Sep 2020 18:05:38 GMT

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) awarded funds in March 2019 to develop a new short-term wind power forecasting solution for Infigen Energy’s Lake Bonney Stages 2 and 3 wind farms in Southern Australia. The funding was part of ARENA’s Advancing Renewables Program. The solution was developed by Vestas (Australia’s largest wind energy solution provider), together with its wholly-owned energy analytics digital solution provider, Utopus Insights . A short-term forecasting trial at Infigen Energy ’s Lake Bonney 2 and 3 wind farms improved forecasting accuracy by an average of 26% when compared with AEMO ’s forecasting system.

Here's an excerpt from a Q&A by ARENA with Utopus Insights, Vestas, and Infigen Energy on the pilot outcomes, learnings and what this means for the Australia renewable energy market.

Interview With:

Utopus Insights:

Shekhar Kamath, General Manager, Business Development
José Sebastiao, Director Of Portfolio Management And Customer Integration

Vestas:

Hugh Mckenzie, Business Manager Fleet Optimization, Vestas Asia Pacific
Peter Cowling, Head Of Vestas Australia and New Zealand

Infigen Energy:

Matt Dickie, General Manager, Operations

WHAT WERE THE KEY DRIVERS FOR VESTAS AND UTOPUS INSIGHTS TO DEMONSTRATE THE ABILITY TO SELF-FORECAST?

VESTAS : Self-forecasting in the National Electricity Market (NEM) provides semi-scheduled generators with the opportunity to more accurately predict their electricity production and more closely meet their dispatch target. By doing so, they can reduce their exposure to Frequency Control Ancillary Services (FCAS) ‘Causer Pays’ costs and contribute to stabilising the grid. Across Australia and New Zealand, Vestas currently services 3.7 GW worth of projects. Within a focus on the NEM, Vestas is positioned to play a key role in shaping a grid that is less reliant on FCAS and better equipped to absorb more renewables in its energy mix. Equally important is improving the business cases of renewable asset owners in the NEM, which we hope will lead to further investment in renewables, lower power prices for consumers and ultimately a reduction in carbon emissions.

UTOPUS INSIGHTS: Utopus Insights used the self-forecasting trial under ARENA’s Advancing Renewables Program, as an opportunity to explore and push the boundaries of Machine Learning by making renewable energy production forecasting as accurate as possible. The team strived to make renewables more dispatchable in the power market, and to improve the accuracy of five-minute forecasting, which is going to be increasingly important in the coming years, not only in this region, but worldwide. Self-forecasting is a clear fit in our mission to deliver digital solutions to Independent Power Producers (IPPs), farm owners and operators to maximize asset output. The ability to self-forecast helps renewable power producers minimize their exposure to financial penalties associated with 5-minute intermittent resource forecast requirements, which we have now proved to be among our strongest digital solution service offering.

WHAT RESULTS ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF ACHIEVING IN THE TRIAL?

UTOPUS INSIGHTS: T he fact that we were able to deliver commercial value early on to Infigen has been the most important achievement. Our forecasting models performed well early into the project to show results for the customer, and we were the first wind power self-forecasting service to qualify on behalf of Infigen Energy. What started as a trial project to test short-term forecasting, has developed into a solution from Utopus Insights that can now serve power producers in the NEM, and can also serve future global customers as market regulations evolve.

VESTAS: In addition, we’ve demonstrated that renewables have the capacity to contribute to greater power system security via data driven technology.

DID THE BENEFITS OUTWEIGH THE COSTS FOR SELF-FORECASTING FOR INFIGEN?

VESTAS: It was estimated by Infigen that the Causer Pays Factor (CPF) at Lake Bonney 2 and 3 reduced by 26% due to the more accurate self-forecast. The estimated cost saving was $198,000 (or $1,000 per MW) annually based on the median 28-day cost reductions. Infigen did however note that there has been a large historical variance in both the CPF and Regulation FCAS charges over varying 28-day evaluation periods at both wind farms, which makes it hard to narrow the estimated savings. Following the trial, Infigen and Utopus Insights have continued their partnership, with the Self Forecast continuing to be supplied as a Software-as-a-Service subscription. The estimated cost savings outweigh the costs of the subscription.

I NFIGEN: The results we’ve seen have made a compelling case to Infigen that an ongoing subscription is worth the cost. It is very pleasing to see the financial benefits that the Vestas and Utopus Insights self-forecasting solution has been able to achieve for Lake Bonney 2 and 3 Wind Farms.

HOW DOES IMPROVED SHORT-TERM POWER FORECASTING BENEFIT THE NEM AND, ULTIMATELY, THE AUSTRALIAN CONSUMER?

VESTAS: Accurate short-term power forecasting improves the value capture of renewable energy asset investments while contributing to a more secure power system. When the supply of electricity more accurately meets the demand, in other words, when the forecasted production meets actual production, there is less reliance on high cost FCAS. With less FCAS required and a greater proportion of low-cost renewables in the energy mix, the wholesale cost of energy is expected to reduce, benefitting the Australian consumer. With the introduction of the 5-minute settlement rule in the NEM, the importance of accurate short-term forecasting will become more apparent. We look forward to the rule change and expect the Australian consumer to further benefit from lower power prices.

UTOPUS INSIGHTS: Utopus Insights’ aim is to offer an advanced forecasting solution that can reduce generator dispatch uncertainty, lower the operational cost of balancing energy supply and demand, and limit energy price volatility and regulatory complexity. Our solution will help deliver sufficient and reliable renewable energy to the market. Australia is leading the world in many ways. Creating an industry-leading product for that market is essential and differentiating, making renewable energy more competitive against conventional energy sources. Such a product also enables customers to make smarter and more profitable decisions about the energy they generate.

INFIGEN: Self-forecasting allows renewable generators to take advantage of the wealth of operational data they have of their assets. This results not only in financial savings but also in improved dispatch for the broader market. Being able to reduce dispatch uncertainty encourages more efficient electricity dispatch and can reduce the amount that reserves are called on to balance supply and demand within the network. Improved market efficiency results in savings for Australian consumers. Moreover, the improved operational efficiency of renewable energy enables companies like Infigen to invest in additional low-cost renewable generation.

As published on ARENA . Read the full interview here .

Wind In 2040: Where will we be in 20 years’ time?

deepak.prabhu@utopusinsights.com (Deepak Prabhu) — Wed, 26 Aug 2020 08:55:41 GMT

Over the last decade, the wind industry has seen exponential growth across the world. Shawn Lifrage, Vice President, Sales, Americas will discuss the future of wind with renewable energy leaders at Financing Wind on September 3 on the topic "Wind In 2040: Where will we be in 20 years’ ti me?"

Register for a spot here - https://lnkd.in/ddFMbgM

Race To Net Zero: How best to cut emissions?

aimhd@vestas.com (Ali Suhail Mohammed) — Tue, 25 Aug 2020 08:52:53 GMT

Supporting long-term decarbonization for climate stability and adoption of digital technologies for a data-backed emissions reduction are key for the U.S. to achieve net zero emissions. Join Chandu Visweswariah , CEO, Utopus Insights, for a Lightning Talk with renewable industry leaders on "Race To Net Zero: How best to cut emissions?" at the upcoming Financing Wind North America virtual event.

Panel members include: Marcus Krembs , Head of Sustainability, Enel, North America and Stuart Murray , Head of Energy Management Consulting, AFRY

Reserve your spot today: https://bit.ly/3hdx8AJ s here. To edit this text, click on it and delete this default text and start typing your own or paste your own from a different source.

Utopus Insights at Financing Wind North America 2020

deepak.prabhu@utopusinsights.com (Deepak Prabhu) — Mon, 17 Aug 2020 07:23:22 GMT

We’re pleased to be sponsoring and participating in the Financing Wind North America , September 2-3. Utopus Insights is joining as a Leadership Sponsor , and this years’ event will be virtual and loaded with sessions featuring the wind industry’s most prominent leaders and executives.

Chandu Visweswariah , Founding President and CEO, Utopus Insights will be joined by Marcus Krembs , Head of Sustainability, Enel and Stuart Murray , Principal Head of Energy Management, AFRY Management Consulting for a Lightning Talk on " Race To Net Zero: How best to cut emissions ?". In this session p articipants will learn more on the role of wind as firms and countries plan for net-zero; what role PPAs are set to play and what technology innovations will help firms to reach these goals.

Shawn Lifrage , Vice President, Sales, Americas at Utopus Insights, will also participate in a panel discussion on " Wind In 2040: Where will we be in 20 years’ time? ". This session will look at the big questions for wind in the next two decades. Shawn will be joined by Holly Burnett , SVP, Natural Power; Steve Ryder , CFO, Clearway Energy; David Sale , CEO, Goldwind Americas, and the session will be moderated by Elise Zoli , Partner, Jones Day

Financing Wind North America is crafted around the growth of US onshore and offshore wind, led by renewable energy industry experts. Be a part of the Financing Wind North America, register for your complimentary online ticket today. Register here: https://bit.ly/3hdx8AJ

The Power of Predictive Analytics: How Scipher.Fx by Utopus Insights is Simplifying Renewable Energy Forecasting

deepak.prabhu@utopusinsights.com (Deepak Prabhu) — Wed, 01 Jul 2020 13:00:02 GMT

The grid is a constant balancing act of supply and demand, and sudden shifts in either can threaten reliability and safety. Without intervention, supply and power surges will ripple down the wires and potentially damage power equipment. Conversely, if demand exceeds supply, brownouts and blackouts ensue.

Wind and solar energy depend on the weather to determine their output, which can vary moment to moment. Spread out over a large geographical area with many renewable systems connected, these supply blips are largely smoothed over. But at a localized level, for both the system owner and the distribution grid, variability is a necessary concern.

Enhanced forecasting capabilities combined with digitalization and data can help integrate variable renewables by enabling operators to more intelligently match energy output to meet demand so less clean energy can be curtailed, and system value can be maximized. Smart controls, inverters and energy storage can also be utilized with enhanced predictive capabilities when the sun is shining, and the wind is blowing to optimize system performance and efficiency.

Asset management and performance are critical to ensuring that large renewable energy systems connected to the grid are not disruptive to operations and reliability, and instead are part of the solution to grid variability by matching dynamic output to dynamic demand. In competitive marketplaces, power forecasting can also enable more efficient and exact bidding, maximizing revenue potential and shortening return on investment.

The constantly fluctuating nature of renewables is well suited to digitalization, and by applying data analytics and forecasting, systems can be better managed, and performance optimized across an entire portfolio of renewable assets.

Scipher.Fx by Utopus is a scalable, secure, and flexible energy analytics platform designed for accurate renewable energy forecasting. The software is a comprehensive wind and solar PV power forecasting tool that helps renewable asset framer owner, operators, and power traders to make better informed decisions. Scipher.Fx helps comply with regulatory requirements, minimize penalties and imbalance costs, and optimize asset O&M activities based on high yield production forecasts. The product’s proprietary machine learning models leverage historical measurement data from solar and wind farms to predict intra-day and next-day available power forecasts.

Webinar: Digitalisation: What will wind farms look like in 2025?

deepak.prabhu@utopusinsights.com (Deepak Prabhu) — Sun, 07 Jun 2020 19:06:22 GMT

For several years we’ve heard a lot about the digitalisation of the energy sector. Over the past few month’s digital solutions and alternatives in different operations have become a major talking point and a necessity to ensure continued operation. As such, a range of digital solutions have been deployed in wind farms and have gradually been changing wind operation and maintenance (O&M). But do you know to which extent the wind sector is digitalised today? And which of these solutions will be truly shaping the future of wind in the next five years?

Join Magne Borgund, Head of Growth, for a panel chat with other renewable industry leaders in the next edition of WindEurope Sofa Talk on Tuesday titled "Digitalisation: What Will Wind Farms Look Like In 2025?"

Panel Members:

• Vasiliki Klonari, Senior Digitalisation & System Integration Analyst, WindEurope (Moderator)

• Jamie Stapleton, Global Digital Portfolio Manager, ABB

• Jonas Corné, CEO & Founder, Greenbyte

• Nicolas Quievy, Senior Wind Technology Manager, Engie

• Magne Borgrund, Head of Growth, Utopus Insights

When:

June 16, 2020 at 3 PM CEST

Webinar: Wind Asset Management & Optimization: Accelerating Long Term Value Creation for Wind Farm Owners.

deepak.prabhu@utopusinsights.com (Deepak Prabhu) — Sun, 03 May 2020 18:48:43 GMT

Join Venkata Krishnan, Country Manager, Utopus Insights for a WindInsider webinar on the topic: Wind Asset Management & Optimization: Accelerating Long Term Value Creation for Wind Farm Owners.

When:

Jun 03, 12:50 PM - 01:15 PM

Key Topics:

O&M Contract Management, Going from Digitisation to Innovation, Actionable insights through digitalization, Capturing ‘Good’ Data to Drive O&M Strategy, Performance improvement of wind assets, Need for New Disruptive AI Platform which Embeds Multiple Data Streams with Engineering Expertise

Industry Leaders Panel Discussion Topic: Opportunities and Challenges for Wind O&M in 2020

Panel Members:

Mr. Dinesh Majithia, Head Asset Management, Sprng Energy
Mr. Venkata Krishnan, Country Manager, and Executive Director, Business Development, Utopus Insights
Mr. Sanjay Kulkarni, AVP, Renew Power
Mr. Rajiv Samant, Chief Operations Wind, Tata Power
Mr. Rudresha KS, AVP Operations, Vena Energy
Mr. P.Rajenthiran, VP & Head of Services,Siemens Gamesa

Beyond the Weather: How Scipher.Fx Advanced Analytics Can Help You Improve Your Power Forecasting

Mon, 02 Mar 2020 03:42:03 GMT

Scipher.Fx is a comprehensive software solution designed to support power forecasting for renewable energy portfolios. With its flexible forecast configurations and delivery methods, advanced analytics user interface, seamless ingestion of data, and additional features, Scipher.Fx is an essential tool for renewable energy professionals who want to maximize their renewable energy portfolios and reduce costs.

Here are the top 5 ways Scipher.Fx can help with power forecasting:

Accurate Forecasting

Scipher.Fx uses advanced analytics algorithms to predict energy output accurately. By considering factors such as weather, temperature, and other environmental factors, Scipher.Fx can provide accurate power forecasting up to 14 days into the future.

Flexible Forecast Configurations

Scipher.Fx offers flexible forecast configurations that enable renewable energy professionals to update their forecasts multiple times per day and up to every 5 minutes. The software also allows users to choose the time resolution and time horizon of their forecasts, from 5 minutes ahead to 60 days ahead. This flexibility ensures that users have accurate and up-to- date information to make informed decisions.

Advanced Analytics User Interface

Scipher.Fx offers an advanced analytics user interface that enables users to visualize their forecasts, maintenance schedules, and detailed forecast accuracy analysis, including error KPI calculations. This interface provides users with a clear view of their renewable energy portfolios and enables them to make informed decisions.

Flexible Forecast Delivery Methods

Scipher.Fx offers flexible delivery methods for forecasts, including API, sFTP, FTP, and email. Users can also visualize their forecasts on the user interface. This flexibility enables users to access their forecasts in the way that best suits their needs.Advanced Analytics User InterfaceScipher.Fx offers an advanced analytics user interface that enables users to visualize their forecasts, maintenance schedules, and detailed forecast accuracy analysis, including error KPI calculations. This interface provides users with a clear view of their renewable energy portfolios and enables them to make informed decisions.

Seamless Ingestion of Data

Scipher.Fx supports all manufacturer makes and models, via OPC, sFTP, and API. This seamless ingestion of data ensures that users can easily incorporate data from all their renewable energy assets into their forecasts.

In addition to the above, Scipher.Fx also offers the following features to support power forecasting:

Add Maintenance Schedules: Users can add maintenance schedules via the Scipher.Fx user interface, FTP, or email. This enables users to automatically adjust their power forecasts based on maintenance activities.

Operational Weather Forecasts: Scipher.Fx provides users with operational weather forecasts for wind speed, wind direction, temperature, pressure, irradiance, precipitation, icing, and lightning warnings upon user request. This information is critical for accurate power forecasting.

Suppression Schedule: Scipher.Fx offers a suppression schedule via the user interface (currently for Australia only). Users can set a suppression flag to a forecast to control forecasts submitted to the market regulator.

Meet Utopus Insights team at Mexico Wind Power 2020

deepak.prabhu@utopusinsights.com (Deepak Prabhu) — Tue, 25 Feb 2020 08:12:51 GMT

Utopus Insights will be at the Mexico Wind Power 2020 conference to share more about Scipher, our renewables asset management platform, and our SaaS #dataanalytics products. To locate us, drop by Vestas at booth number 418.

To book a demo with our asset management experts Gabriel Eslait, Senior Sales Manager and Carlos Mañas Escorza, Customer Success Manager, send an email to growth@utopusinsights.com

Event Date: March 4, 2020 - March 5, 2020

Meet Utopus Insights team at AWEA OM&S 2020

Tue, 25 Feb 2020 08:06:10 GMT

In 2019, Utopus Insights took a giant leap as a company, rolling out energy analytics SaaS products to more than 200 customers across 46 countries, spanning 22 GW and 10,000+ turbines.

This year we are headed to the AWEA O&M and Safety Conference.

To learn more about how you can increase your revenue and reduce your costs with Utopus Insights solutions. RSVP for our product demo sessions to learn more about how accurate, insightful data-driven SaaS applications allow renewable asset owners and operators to optimize performance, improve operational efficiency, and gain a competitive digital edge.

Options:

Feb. 26 at 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
Feb. 27 at 10 a.m.

Join us for a panel session with Chief Growth Officer, Balki Iyer

Feb. 26, 2020: 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. at Upper Grande

Topic: Tag Naming Standardization, Myth or Reality?

Panel: Neil James – Apex Clean Energy Inc.; Morten Bülow – SCADA International; Charles E. Henderson – Stacker Group LLC; Balki Iyer, Utopus Insights

We look forward to connecting in California!

Utopus Insights at WRISE Leadership Forum

deepak.prabhu@utopusinsights.com (Deepak Prabhu) — Mon, 10 Feb 2020 08:41:19 GMT

We are a proud sponsor of the 2020 Women of Renewable Industries and Sustainable Energy (WRISE) Leadership Forum, a platform that encourages women leaders to advance in the workplace.

Meet Utopus Insights team members Suma Gopal, Manager CRM and Sonu Munshi, Director of Marketing and Communications at the Leadership forum in Austin, Texas.

When: February 18-20, 2020

Rogério Zampronha Named to Utopus Insights Board of Directors

Fri, 07 Feb 2020 17:43:15 GMT

Zampronha, President, Vestas LATAM South, joins Utopus Insights Board of Directors

VALHALLA, New York, Feb. 7, 2020 - Utopus Insights confirmed and announced the appointment of Rogério Zampronha to its Board of Directors on Friday.

Zampronha, President, Vestas LATAM South, replaces Rasmus Lundsgaard Nielsen, who formerly served as Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy and M&A at Vestas.

“I am very excited to join the Utopus Insights Board of Directors. The energy sector is undergoing a huge transformation through digitalization, and Utopus is well-positioned to lead this process, so it is a great opportunity to be part of this journey.”

Christian Venderby, Board Chairman and Executive Vice President, Service at Vestas, said he is delighted to have Zampronha join the Utopus Insights Board.

“Rogerio’s vast experience, first as a successful software entrepreneur, and more recently, as the successful leader of the complex LATAM business for Schneider Electric and now Vestas, brings a strong combination of skills and experience which will benefit Utopus as we now gear up to capture the full potential of our Scipher products,” Venderby said.

Vestas, the largest wind turbine manufacturer in the world, acquired New York-based Utopus Insights in February 2018. Utopus Insights operates as an independent company with its own Board of Directors, with two representatives from Vestas on the Board.

Rogério joined the Vestas LATAM office in Brazil in 2015 with the mission of implementing the company’s strategic roadmap in the region. Prior to that he served as President of Schneider Electric Brazil.

Chandu Visweswariah, Founding President and CEO, Utopus Insights, who also serves on the Board, said, “We are fortunate to have someone of Rogerio’s caliber and rich experience join the team at a time of rapid growth for us as a company. I look forward to a fresh and strategic perspective from Rogério. His commercial experience will enable us to scale new heights,” Visweswariah said.

Zampronha has more than 20 years of experience in the finance and energy industries. He began his career in investment banking, followed by a couple of successful business ventures, including Soft Brasil, focused in the areas of telemetry, industrial automation, manufacturing management and process optimization. Schneider Electric bought Soft Brasil in 2010.

Within three years, Zampronha was appointed as Schneider’s President for Brazil, following which he was closely involved in several acquisition and integration processes for several companies, including two technology firms.

Zampronha holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from São Paulo University (SP/Brazil) and an MBA from IMD (Lausanne/Switzerland).

About Utopus Insights

Utopus Insights at Japan Wind Expo 2020

deepak.prabhu@utopusinsights.com (Deepak Prabhu) — Mon, 03 Feb 2020 09:06:57 GMT

In 2019, Utopus Insights took a giant leap as a company, rolling out energy analytics SaaS products to more than 200 customers across 46 countries, spanning 22 GW and 10,000+ turbines.

This year we are headed to the Wind Expo 2020, Japan. Learn more about how you can increase your revenue and reduce your costs with Utopus Insights solutions. Meet our energy analytics expert Shekhar Kamath, General Manager, Business Development at Booth A12, co-located with Vestas.

Also, join Shehar Kamath for a session on "Transforming asset data to insights with digital technologies in the wind sector" and learn more about how accurate, insightful data-driven SaaS applications allow renewable asset owners and operators to optimize performance, improve operational efficiency, and gain a competitive digital edge.

When: February 26-28, 2020

Where: Tokyo Big Sight, AOMI Hall, Japan

Why is Wind + Storage Getting Short Shrift?

Mon, 09 Dec 2019 15:54:29 GMT

Hybrid plants combining wind, solar and batteries can reliably supply electricity during peak-demand hours.

Competitive markets are wonderful crucibles of innovation. With decades of accumulated manufacturing experience for portable electronics, lithium-ion battery prices have steadily dropped. As a result, larger battery products for electric cars and buses have emerged, making them more affordable and paving the way for grid applications.

The early versions of energy storage systems were relatively small. With declining battery prices, their size and volumes have grown, opening up new markets. A few now store enough energy to manage the variable nature of wind and solar energy over the course of a day. Even larger systems are in planning and development, but progress is still gated by battery costs.

Looking a few years ahead, our scientists at Utopus Insights studied the characteristics of hybrid power plants that combine wind and/or solar power with battery storage.1 While the industry has focused almost exclusively on pairing solar with batteries, we found, to our surprise, that wind pairing offers unique benefits.

With solar pairing, there are many days when it is not possible to meet a target power commitment during peak hours. In most of the cases we studied, wind pairing yields many fewer missed days.

In hindsight, these results make sense. Peak hours typically start when the sun is setting, yet the wind may continue to blow. Thus, solar requires more “lift and shift” because a larger proportion of the energy supplied during peak hours must be provided by discharging storage.

Significantly, we found that for a given battery capacity, combining wind and solar further improves the ability to meet peak demand. Reliability is improved because the two energy sources complement each other temporally.

Just as choosing a judicious mix of stocks and bonds may reduce the volatility of our financial investments, diversifying renewable energy sources and pairing them with the right amount of battery storage is a good way to make sure we have enough energy during peak hours.

The optimal mix of wind and sun depends, of course, on the local climate and timing of peaks.

As a wholly owned energy analytics subsidiary of Vestas Wind Systems, the world’s largest wind turbine manufacturer, the generation forecasting and storage optimization that we are developing will be crucial in enabling such hybrid plants to achieve their maximum value. Hybrid plants can reliably supply electricity during the hours of peak demand, eliminating the need for expensive gas-fired “peaker” plants. This would be the beginning of the end of fossil-fired electricity production .

The timeline of this coming transition is tied directly to the rate at which battery costs will fall. The cost of battery packs for electric vehicles, as tracked by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, has declined at an annual rate of about 20 percent since 2010. While most observers predict that this rapid decline must soon slow, we believe that conditions are in place for continued rapid cost reduction.

We’ve evaluated the available data on the cumulative manufacturing volume versus cost (the experience curve) for various applications of lithium-ion batteries. Batteries for portable electronics exhibit a high learning rate (defined as the percentage cost reduction for each doubling of manufacturing volume) of about 30 percent.

The supporting data goes back to the mid-1990s. Newer applications, such as battery packs for electric vehicles and battery systems for utility-scale storage, are believed to have much lower learning rates on the order of 18 to 20 percent. However, we believe the data demonstrate a convergence of these learning rates to the long-established electronics learning rate of about 30 percent, as manufacturing volumes have become significant.

In fact, battery packs for electric vehicles now dominate the annual global demand for all lithium-ion batteries, which many analysts agree will lead to lower battery prices for utility-scale storage. If our analysis of the learning rate is correct, and with manufacturing volumes driven by the booming and increasingly competitive market for electric vehicles, we project continued battery cost reductions at a compounding rate of roughly 20 percent per year for some years to come.

Utility-scale energy storage will benefit from the associated cost reductions and battery technology improvements. And lower costs will make battery storage ubiquitous in our electricity supply networks, not least at the source — the power plant.

So where are the wind + storage plants?

That brings us back to the question: Why do so many of the newly announced power plants pair solar power with battery storage, to the exclusion of wind?

We fear that in many regions around the world, current government incentives for renewable energy investment, established well before the emergence of utility-scale battery storage, may be distorting this growing market. For example, in the United States the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for solar power includes investment in battery storage, while the Production Tax Credit (PTC) for wind does not.

Furthermore, the ITC will step down to 10 percent of project cost by 2022 and then stay at that level, while the PTC is set to expire in 2020. Recently the U.S. wind industry, represented by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), has been advocating to include wind in the ITC tax code, looking for more parity in how wind and solar are incentivized.

Globally, we need to ensure that subsidies and credits do not introduce perversity or impediments to true progress; they should encourage investment in the application of storage, but not favor specific technology or design choices. Regulations must also be carefully considered. As an example, storage is classified as generation in many markets, preventing transmission and distribution operators from owning or operating storage assets at points in the electricity system where they could be most useful.

Policy makers, legislators and regulators can promote these welcome changes by rethinking market design and investment incentives to encourage the integration of new energy storage technologies and allow market forces to establish their true value.

As the benefits of the clean energy transition become more evident, we urge exploration of larger policy changes. For example, a phased elimination of subsidies for fossil fuels, a gradually increasing carbon tax or price, and increased funding for research and development of energy storage technologies that extend or complement the capabilities of lithium-ion batteries.

Clean fuel-free sources of energy are beginning to replace fossil fuels in powering our electrical grid. Increasingly affordable lithium-ion batteries are accelerating that trend — transforming sun and wind into reliable sources of power. Indeed, these versatile batteries can store electrical energy from any source when it is plentiful and release it when it is scarce. They can be located strategically to reduce congestion on transmission lines. And, of course, they provide ancillary services that improve power quality and reliability. These multiple benefits can be monetized and combined, which adds to the attractiveness of the investment.

These developments herald the powerful economic forces that will drive the coming energy transition. Given our forecast for continued rapid battery cost reduction, we anticipate remarkable progress over the next several years. New wind and solar power plants will routinely be paired with battery energy storage, and older plants will be retrofitted.

Industry planners and managers should anticipate rapid change in the generation and distribution of electrical power, as well as faster electrification of transportation, heating and industrial processes, currently still dependent on fossil fuels. An electrified energy sector, powered in large part by sun and wind, will be a big step toward a cleaner world with more abundant and sustainable energy, thus fulfilling an urgent environmental imperative.

1: For geographic locations in various climates, we modeled the ability of wind + battery; solar + battery; and solar + wind + battery systems to generate various fractions of nameplate power during 4 hours of peak demand. For each case, we assumed a battery capable of discharging at multiple fractions of nameplate power for duration of 2, 4, and 6 hours.

This article was first published on The Green Tech Media .

Why the Renewable Energy Industry is Going Digital

Fri, 08 Nov 2019 11:31:14 GMT

Digital Transformation in the Renewable Energy Space

The renewable energy industry is witnessing an unprecedented amount of changes. Emerging policies, expanding investment interest, and advancing technologies are driving the growth of renewable energy across the globe. Interests in sustainable development and a global aim to drive policies to tackle climate change are pushing countries to speed up the adoption of renewables.

According to a report from IRENA, the global trend showcases a strong growth in renewable energy capacity which continued in 2018, with 171 GW added globally to the energy mix.

Rising power consumption demands bring a great focus to optimizing assets and driving better metrics for operators. For most operators, downtime, operational inefficiency, and unreliable/inaccurate forecasting cost countless kilowatt-hours and impact revenue.

Asset downtime and under-performance have always been a challenge in the renewable industry. When a turbine experiences unexpected operational issues, farm operators need to dispatch engineers to diagnose and fix the issue. Anomalies often go undetected until they’re discovered in the course of scheduled maintenance. Farm operators inadvertently shave years off the lives of turbines and incur millions of dollars in losses because of the schedule-based maintenance process, which provides an incomplete assessment of asset health.

Absence of real-time information to perform preventative maintenance can lead to catastrophic failures that could easily be avoided. And a lack of data-driven forecasting leaves wind farms unable to adapt to changing weather patterns and grid demand.

As with any other industry, having a competitive edge depends on having a data-driven procedure to make informed business decisions and measuring risks. The same data-driven procedure implies managing renewable assets to operate new levels of productivity.

Data Analytics the way forward:

Industries are sitting on huge amounts of data that have the power to unlock way more value than is potentially being realized from existing assets and resources. Better planning with investment in the right technology can go a long way.

With advanced data analytics, farm operators can have a better understanding of the relationship between various signals and causes of failure. This identification of failures can now be done with good lead time, thereby improving operational efficiencies and reducing cost. Another aspect of improving operation and maintenance is to move from scheduled maintenance to predictive maintenance. This helps customers focus their attention on areas that need immediate help, with algorithms guiding the priority.

At Utopus Insights, our 'digital intelligence' leverages the power of advanced data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence to unlock insights from vast amounts of IoT data including sensor, smart meter, and weather data, delivering software products that are descriptive (historic data and real-time visualization), predictive (energy and weather forecasting), and prescriptive (asset health for optimal maintenance and uptime).

Scipher™, o ur energy analytics platform and application suite, enables renewable energy asset owners, operators, and utilities to optimize their financial interests and increase reliance on typically intermittent renewable energy sources. Enhanced forecasting capabilities improve asset predictability, promote reliability, and augment maintenance operations to lower costs and extract additional revenue.

Scipher.Vx Intuitive, interactive and customizable energy asset, data visualization and performance monitoring.

Scipher.Fx Renewable energy forecasting powered by advanced energy-specialized weather forecasting.

Scipher.Rx State of the art prescriptive analytics that enables proactive asset maintenance.

To know more about how Scipher™ can empower you with your data, drop a note to growth@utopusinsights.com and let our renewable energy analytics experts transform your Re assets.

Highlights of the Asia Clean Energy Summit 2019 Wind Energy Conference – Unlocking the Wind Potential in South East Asia

Thu, 07 Nov 2019 13:45:52 GMT

A summary by Global Wind Energy Council

On 31 October 2019, energy industry leaders gathered in Singapore for the Wind Energy Conference at the Asia Clean Energy Summit (ACES). The conference, co-organized by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) and the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore (SEAS), featured dialogues on regulatory challenges, project financing and the latest technological advancements in the wind sector.

The day began with the signing of a series of agreements between GWEC and regional partners, with the objective to accelerate the decarbonisation of South East Asian markets, which are currently reliant on fossil fuels. The initiatives for increased cooperation aim to deliver the tremendous potential of wind and renewable energy across the region.

Balki Iyer, Co-Founder & Chief Growth Officer of Utopus Insights pointed out that “while the energy industry lags behind in analytics and digitalisation maturity, there is a wave of change. Decarbonisation, digitization and decentralization are now accelerating the energy transition.”

To read the highlights of the conference, visit the link https://t.co/3dqaREKsYA

Five reasons to attend the Asia Clean Energy Summit 2019.

Fri, 18 Oct 2019 16:09:30 GMT

Asia Clean Energy Summit (ACES) is Asia’s leading event focusing on clean energy technology, policy, and finance supported by leading government agencies, analysis institutes and businesses held in Sands Expo, Singapore from 30th October to 1st November 2019. ACES provides a platform for regional thought leaders in both the public and private sectors for collaboration and showcase innovative clean energy solutions within a vibrant ecosystem of technology focused companies, research institutes, and energy leaders.

1.Understand the Future of Renewables from Clean Energy Leaders

The Summit brings together a high-level forum of Energy leaders from the regional renewable space. This is a platform that will showcase top utility leaders, Manufactures and policy professionals exchange best practices while debating trends and solutions in the clean energy industry.

Here are our recommended sessions:

Disrupting energy: The future of renewable by Damian Chan - Assistant Managing Director, Economic Development Board
Panel Discussion on Opportunities and Challenges in Clean Energy Transition

2. Hear our from the industry leaders on Digital Transformation in the Renewable Energy Sector

The renewable energy domain is seeing the big shift with Digital transformation brought by the ever-changing technology landscapes, emerging technologies are creating dramatic changes every single day to the existing energy systems.

As the 4th Industrial Revolution blurs the lines between the physical and digital world, it also brings a transformational shift in the renewable energy industry by disrupting traditional market players. ACES gives a platform for Renewable energy thought leaders to share insights on how Enterprise Digital Platforms are facilitating SaaS solutions which integrates various parts of the renewable energy value chain.

Here are some of the interesting keynotes and panels to look forward to:

Data:Key to improving grid efficiencies and redefining energy models by Pierre Cheyron, CEO- ENGIE South East Asia
Deploying smart grids in decentralized power generation age by Chang Sau Sheong, Chief Executive Officer - SP Digital
Digitalising the grid: Renewable energy + big data by Sebastian Flucht, Senior Manager Business Strategy - BayWa r.e. renewable energy GmbH

3. Meet and engage with leading companies in the renewable energy domain

ACES expo will showcase some of the latest regional clean energy technologies and solution providers from across the world. This showcase is a complement to the Energy conference by providing an avenue for participants to learn about the latest developments in technologies.

This year Utopus Insights is proud to partner with ACES and would be showcasing Scipher, a data-driven analytics platform to power renewable energy assets to the maximum.

To experience Scipher, drop by booth number C1 or write to growth@utopusinsights.com

4. Pushing boundaries of Wind Energy In Asia

Asia hosts some of the fastest-growing economies in the world. With the ever-rising energy demands in these emerging economies, the adoption of wind energy is rapidly increasing in the region. ACES summit brings together industry leaders to present and discuss some of the challenges, opportunities, and trends in the Wind Industry.

Balki Iyer , Co-founder & Chief Growth Officer at Utopus Insights would be presenting on Performance Optimization With the Application of Digital Technologies in the Wind Sector and would be sharing his insights on a Technology Panel: Pushing the Boundaries with the Latest Wind Technologies: Bigger Turbines, Longer Blades, Higher Tower, Lower Wind Speeds, Deeper and Further into the Sea

Also, listen to William Gaillard Vice President of Sales, Vestas Asia Pacific talk on Global Wind Energy Development Status and Why South East Asia is the Missing Piece for Asia’s Energy Transition.

5. Meet the Experts from Utopus Insights

The right data analytics platform not only provides users with information but also arms the team with the tools to turn insights into action. Meet the experts from Utopus Insights Growth team at Booth C1 to synergize how Scipher - a powerful data analytics product suite to manage renewable energy assets and how the platform can help you leverage advanced data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence to unlock insights from vast amounts of IoT data including sensor, smart meter, and weather data.

To schedule a demo, meet the team at Booth C1 or drop an email to growth@utopusinsights.com

Utopus Insights at RE Analytics Conference

deepak.prabhu@utopusinsights.com (Deepak Prabhu) — Tue, 01 Oct 2019 09:36:20 GMT

Utopus Insights is proud to sponsor RE Analytics India 2019 as a Diamond Partner, a conference designed to deliver future-ready knowledge to the India renewable energy industry. RE Analytics Forum is a unique industry event designed to provide the best-in-class practical insights about the data management and monitoring, analytics & modelling, machine learning & artificial intelligence, IToT & weather analytics and much more in order to develop a clear overview of the forefront tools and techniques ensuring flawless project performance.

Join our India Country Manager Venkata Krishnan as he shares insights on "Why the Renewable Energy Sector Needs Big Data Analytics" at the SolarQuarter RE Analytics Conference. Also, listen to Rohit Mishra, Data Scientist at Utopus Insights speak on Weather & Forecasting Data: Models For The Future.

Utopus Insights at CanWEA 2019

deepak.prabhu@utopusinsights.com (Deepak Prabhu) — Mon, 30 Sep 2019 09:28:58 GMT

We're in Calgary for the CanWEA Annual Conference & Exhibition this week.

Want to learn more about #digitalization? Stop by the Vestas booth No. 519 to connect with our team or send us a note at growth@utopusinsights.com to set up a 1:1 session.

Utopus Insights at WINDPOWER 2019

Thu, 16 May 2019 19:58:47 GMT

The team is blowing into town with new demos, amazing features and tons of great info

Join us!

AWEA's WINDPOWER 2019 is headed to Houston and so is Utopus Insights! Next week we kick off one of the top tradeshows and conferences. Can you join us May 20-23rd?

We are excited to join WINDPOWER with our recently-announced IoT energy analytics platform, Scipher™ . Schedule a 1:1 session to learn more about how accurate, insightful data-driven SaaS applications allow renewable asset owners and operators to optimize performance, improve operations and gain a competitive digital edge.

Scipher currently ingests data from 32,000+ turbines, 65 GW of assets, curating 2.4 TB and 55 billion signals daily.

The Scipher software products suite is descriptive (historic data and real-time visualization), predictive (energy and weather forecasting), and prescriptive (asset health information for optimal maintenance and uptime).

Please click below to book a private meeting with us on the show floor in our dedicated meeting room.

Book a Meeting Now

LEARN FROM TWO EXPERT PANELS

Utopus Insights Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer Balki Iyer is speaking on two panels in Houston:

WINDPOWER: Staying Ahead of the Curve and Avoiding Costly Pitfalls in Predictive Analytics
Thursday, May 23 at 10:25 AM – 11:25 AM at Tech Innovation Station

RECHARGE Thought Leaders Forum - Digitization
Monday, May 20 from 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM at The Houston Club, Houston, TX

EXHIBIT & DEMO

Please visit our booth on the show floor co-located with Vestas

WINDPOWER 2019 Booth #2321

RECENT NEWS

RECHARGE Magazine recently featured a column by Balki Iyer of Utopus Insights where he discusses how "Renewables and the wider power system can't fulfill their potential without embracing digitalization."

Check out Energy @ Speed of Digital

We look forward to seeing you in Houston!

The Utopus Insights Team

Data: Wind Power's Wasted Opportunity

Mon, 29 Apr 2019 00:00:00 GMT

This article on RECHARGE features commentary by Balki Iyer

‘Digitalisation saves’ is becoming a mantra in the wind industry, but is enough being done with the data available? asks Darius Snieckus.

Chief Growth Officer and co-founder of Utopus Insights Balki Iyer comments on this important topic.

Read the full article here (subscription required).

Energy @ Speed of Digital

Wed, 03 Apr 2019 00:00:00 GMT

Contributed article by Balki Iyer, Chief Growth Officer, Utopus Insights

RECHARGE, a leading provider of business intelligence for the renewable-energy industries, recently published an article by Balki Iyer, our Chief Growth Officer and co-founder. Please see the excerpt below and click below to read the full article.

The role of digitalisation is ever increasing across the renewable energy industry and the evolving electricity industry landscape.

Between inexpensive hardware, cloud software and the low-entry barrier presented by the Internet of Things (IoT) players in recent years, digitalisation has made it possible for companies to identify efficiencies and explore avenues that they never thought possible even three years back...

Click here to read the full article.

Utopus Insights at WindEurope 2019

Fri, 29 Mar 2019 21:37:42 GMT

The Utopus Insights Team Blows Into Bilbao, Spain for WindEurope 2019 - Conference & Expo kicks off next week!

We are headed to Spain with 8,000 of the world’s most influential leaders in wind energy to celebrate the future of wind and all that it offers in the renewable energy market.

From April 2-4, you can find us co-located in the Vestas Booth, Hall 3 Stand C30.

Maybe most exciting is the public launch of our suite of wind energy analytics products, which have only been available to current customers of Utopus and our parent company Vestas. This product is the industry’s most advanced real-time environmental wind energy asset monitoring solution for sustainable energy production. Utopus’ Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offering that renewable energy original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and operators need to maximize production, reduce costs, and give their environmental devices a competitive advantage in the wind energy space.

WindEurope attendees will have a first glimpse at its capabilities during demo sessions on the show floor.

Our Chief Growth Officer, Balki Iyer, will be on-hand with his team to connect with customers and colleagues and discuss the demos. We are excited to see everyone who shares a passion for not just advancing wind energy, but for accelerating greater use of all forms of clean energy.

At Utopus, we believe the renewable energy industry can better leverage the power of data science and analytics, machine learning and meteorology to help Independent Power Producers (IPPs), Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and utilities win in this digital market. Our new powerful suite of integrated SaaS products enables real-time asset visualization across an entire portfolio, state-of-the-art predictive maintenance for wind plants, and top-performing, hyperlocal wind generation forecasting. These products plug into an integrated platform that works in harmony with your existing software, grows at innovation speed, and will enable your team to rapidly unlock new use-case value.

If you’re headed to WindEurope, and are interested to learn more, we’d love to connect! You can also send an email at growth@utopusinsights.com to set up a conversation.

See you in Bilbao!

Announcing Digitalization of Renewable Energy Seminar at WindEurope

Fri, 29 Mar 2019 21:32:01 GMT

Join us in Bilbao, Spain on the 3rd of April 2019

We’d like to take the opportunity of the WindEurope 2019 Conference & Exhibition in Bilbao to invite you to the Utopus Insights Seminar that takes place on the 3rd of April at 13:30 .

How is digitalization using smart data analytics making renewables more cost-effective, reliable and mainstream? Cloud software, powered by data science, machine learning, and hyperlocal weather forecasting capabilities is enabling efficiencies in the OPEX side of renewables, opening up possibilities to save money and find new revenue sources

Join us for an insightful, interactive seminar with Balki Iyer, Co-founder and Chief Growth Officer of Utopus Insights , an energy analytics digital solutions company, to learn more about how investing in digital technology for smarter operations is an imperative, how the industry is responding with exciting new pilots and solutions globally, and how OEMs, IPPs and other energy industry stakeholders can use the power of data to become more competitive .

The seminar will take place in a small group, so there is a limited number of participants. We kindly invite you to register via e-mail to Sonu Munshi ( sonu.munshi@utopusinsights.com ) or by using the registration link below.

Wednesday 3rd April

13:30 - 14:30 Utopus I nsights Seminar

We look forward to welcoming you in Bilbao!

RSVP by clicking here

Vestas and Utopus Insights to pilot energy forecasting solutions for renewable power plants in Australia

Mon, 18 Mar 2019 04:26:33 GMT

MELBOURNE, Australia, March 18, 2019 - With the increasing amount of renewable energy in the system, grid operators must address the challenge of balancing supply and demand from intermittent energy generation. One way of meeting this challenge is to use advanced forecasting tools to provide predictability in renewable energy generation in order to keep the grid stable.

In support of Vestas’ efforts to provide forward-looking renewable energy solutions, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) announced today that Vestas was awarded funding to develop a new short-term wind energy forecasting solution for Australia. The funding is part of ARENA’s Advancing Renewables Program.

The solution will allow ARENA to more accurately forecast energy generation from wind power plants, reduce wind generators’ dispatch uncertainty, and improve system stability by better anticipating supply from renewable sources through accurate weather forecasting. Such forecasting solutions can also benefit power plant operators’ bottom line by reducing financial penalties for inaccurate forecasts and increase revenue opportunities through making smarter, data-driven decisions about selling energy into spot markets in countries like Australia. Being able to better predict energy generation is a valuable tool in assessing the minute-to-minute value of energy and thus how to achieve maximum revenue for energy when selling into spot markets.

From both the system and power plant view, this forecasting solution is both an important stepping stone to a world where wind and solar energy become the dominant sources of electricity, and a part of Vestas’ efforts to provide a broad array of renewable energy solutions that provide benefits to energy systems as well as to customers.

The solution will be developed by Vestas together with its wholly-owned energy analytics solution provider, Utopus Insights. The solution will improve upon the Australian Wind Energy Forecasting System’s (AWEFS) 5-minute forecast and will be deployed and piloted at Infigen Energy’s Lake Bonney 2 and 3 Wind Farms, two co-located wind farms in South Australia.

"An important challenge in wind and solar power is predicting fluctuations in generation to ensure system stability by balancing the energy supply and demand in the market," explained Peter Cowling, Head of Vestas Australia and New Zealand.

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) is responsible for forecasting electricity generation from wind and solar farms across Australia. Incorrect supply forecasts or inability of generators to meet targets can result in power system instability and higher operating costs. Wind and solar farms are penalised for failing to meet required output levels, and conversely can be required to curtail generation to match overly conservative forecasts.

"We hope to offer a much more advanced forecasting solution that can reduce generator dispatch uncertainty, lower the operational cost of balancing energy supply and demand, and limit energy price volatility and regulatory complexity, " said Cowling. " O ur solution will help deliver sufficient and reliable energy to the market."

The solution will apply advanced data science techniques including deep learning to high-resolution wind turbine SCADA data, granular short-term hyper-local weather forecasts and meteorological data to deliver greater accuracy in energy forecasts. The solution will utilise Utopus Insights’ proprietary weather forecasting, coupling physical and statistical models with an industry-best 1 km² precision. This is a significant improvement on traditional global weather forecasts, which operate at coarser temporal resolution and 16 km² spatial resolution.

"While it’s true that renewable energy is intermittent, with the right digital intelligence, it is no longer unpredictable. Our solution unlocks the value of renewable energy as a predictable and reliable source of power," said Chandu Visweswariah, Founding President and CEO at Utopus Insights. "Between our deep experience in energy analytics, proprietary hyper-local weather modelling, and Vestas’ massive amount of turbine data, we are using the power of partnership to usher in a new era of energy digitalisation."

"From an energy market standpoint, Australia is leading the world in many ways; creating an industry-leading product for that market is essential and differentiating. This product will help with improving the accuracy of power output forecasts in real time, making renewable energy more competitive against conventional energy sources and enabling customers to make smarter and more profitable decisions about the energy they generate," said Balakrishnan G. Iyer, Co-founder and Chief Growth Officer at Utopus Insights.

After the 12-month development and trial phase, Vestas will share its learnings from the pilot with the energy industry, focusing on project challenges, learnings, forecast performance and self-forecast benefits for renewable generators and the broader market.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Sonu Munshi

Director of Communications, Utopus Insights

sonu.munshi@utopusinsights.com

Tel: +1 480-241-2482

Rebecca Zhang

Marketing manager, Vestas

rezwe@vestas.com

Tel: +61 472842499

The views expressed herein are not necessarily the views of the Australian Government, and the Australian Government does not accept responsibility for any information or advice contained herein.

About Vestas

Vestas is the energy industry’s global partner on sustainable energy solutions. We design, manufacture, install, and service wind turbines across the globe, and with 101 GW of wind turbines in 80 countries, we have installed more wind power than anyone else. Through our industry-leading smart data capabilities and 86 GW of wind turbines under service, we use data to interpret, forecast, and exploit wind resources and deliver best-in-class wind power solutions. Together with our customers, Vestas’ more than 24,600 employees are bringing the world sustainable energy solutions to power a bright future. Learn more about Vestas by visiting our website at www.vestas.com and following us on our social media channels:

· www.twitter.com/vestas

· www.linkedin.com/company/vestas

· www.facebook.com/vestas

· www.instagram.com/vestas

· www.youtube.com/vestas

About Utopus Insights

· www.twitter.com/utopusinsights

· www.linkedin.com/company/utopusinsights

· www.facebook.com/utopusinsights

· www.instagram.com/utopusinsights

Utopus Insights @ AWEA

Wed, 27 Feb 2019 00:00:00 GMT

Utopus Insights, a leader in energy analytics innovation, announced that it will be participating in the upcoming AWEA (American Wind Energy Association) Wind Project O&M and Safety Conference 2019 taking place this week in Coronado, CA. Individuals from across industry sectors and functional disciplines meet this week to set a vision and plan for continued and expanded operational excellence in the wind industry. Utopus has taken a leading role at the conference, which is the largest North American gathering of wind energy operational professionals and technicians. Join Utopus’ management team and industry experts to discuss operations & management, health & safety, workforce development, and quality assurance.

What: Utopus Insights at the AWEA Wind Project O&M and Safety Conference 2019

When: February 27 - 28, 2019

Where: Hotel Del Coronado | Coronado, CA

For: AWEA 2019 Attendees, Media and Industry Analysts interested in sustainable energy and analytics

Of particular note, Balki Iyer, Chief Growth Officer of Utopus, will be on a panel discussing the Strategy and Implementation of Predictive Analytics in Pavilion 1 on Thursday, February 28, 2019: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM. He will focus on will focus on the development and implementation of a digital strategy, its interaction with O&M strategy, and what are the key areas that an organization should consider when developing a digital strategy to ensure both short and long-term success.

If you’d like to schedule a briefing with the Balki or Utopus while in town, please growth@utopusinsights.com.

For more information about Utopus and its integrated suite of solutions to optimally plan and orchestrate energy systems by combining industry expertise with deep analytics to convert data into actionable insights that lower cost and increase asset value, please feel free to visit our website: www.utopusinsights.com .

Fashion, sustainability and planet health

Tue, 30 Oct 2018 17:44:54 GMT

Our CEO, Chandu Visweswariah, recently visited LIM College, a New York City-based higher educational institution for students in the global business of fashion. He discussed climate change and solutions to mitigate its impact.

As founding President of a mission-driven company that seeks to drive faster adoption of renewables in the energy industry, Chandu believes that educating oneself and others on climate change is a key first step for those looking to make a difference. As someone who lives in a zero-carbon home, he also advocates living a lifestyle with the lightest possible carbon footprint, and incorporating that ethos into the workplace.

After a broadly defined energy domain, fashion/garments contribute the most to global warming, he noted. Chandu was happy to learn that the new batch of students at LIM College is weaving sustainability into their garment design and manufacturing process, as part of a new course taught by Prof. Andrea Kennedy.

(Photo courtesy of LIM College: Chandu Visweswariah, seen in the front row, with the students he addressed as part of a course on sustainability).

"It was heartening to see the next generation caring so much about the environment, paying careful attention through the lecture, asking lots of questions, and then hanging around for almost an extra hour to learn more about the subject," he said.

Students will build concepts they learned from the lecture into their next assignment, in which they are designing a garment while keeping sustainability considerations in mind from a manufacturing and supply chain standpoint.

Chandu's main message to the students was that especially in light of the recent IPCC report on climate change , decarbonizing the economy is an imperative. Electrifying our energy needs including heating and transportation, and switching to renewable energy such as wind, solar, and hydro power, must be the way forward.

Below is an excerpt and link to a related blog posted on the LIM College website, authored by fashion student Michelle Williams:

"On Wednesday, October 17, LIM College's Sustainability and the Future of Fashion course took place in Fashionopolis, where professors and students heard special guest lecturer Dr. Chandu Visweswariah discuss climate change. The founding President and CEO of Utopus Insights , Dr. Visweswariah explained tangible practices brands can put in place to shift their factories and properties to renewable energy.

Dr. Visweswariah started his presentation with three simple questions:

- Is our planet imperiled?
- Can we save our planet?
- What is the solution?"

Read the complete blog here .

The future is calling: How will we answer?

Thu, 18 Oct 2018 22:56:54 GMT

Another year, another dire report on climate change… except something is different this time. Put aside the dense prose, acronyms and pedantic style, and what becomes clear is that the new United Nations Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report draws a clear line – a pivot point in the global conversation on humanity’s future. The report lays out in excruciating detail an irrefutable argument that it is time to act. Failure to limit warming to 1.5°C entails dire environmental risks. Can we stay under such a limit? The hard part, it turns out, is wanting to truly tackle the problem head-on.

Yes, it is true that the earth is warming at about 0.2 °C per decade over and above at least 1°C of past warming. The “business as usual” scenario gets us to 1.5°C of warming by about 2040. The Paris accord seeks to limit warming to 2°C, but what is less well-known is that Paris established a “stretch goal” of 1.5°C. For the purposes of this report, any increase beyond 1.5°C is termed “overshoot.” And while CO2 emission from burning fossil fuels is the single biggest cause of warming, there is a not-insignificant impact from non-CO2 sources like methane, nitrous oxide, black carbon and halocarbons.

None of this is new. What is a wake-up call, however, is the seriousness of the five dimensions of impact from global warming, innocuously dubbed “Reasons for Concern” by the IPCC. The risk impacts for all five dimensions have been upgraded by the IPCC since their previously issued fifth Assessment Report. For example, “unique and threatened systems” such as Arctic summer ice or warm-water corals were upgraded from “High” to “Very high” on the overshoot risk scale. Extreme weather events reached a “High” severity even at 1.5°C. An additional 4 inches of sea rise at 2°C is expected to impact an additional 10 million coastal dwellers. Risks to air quality, health, permafrost, species’ habitats and livestock are similarly upgraded.

But the report isn’t just about all that’s going wrong. It’s thankfully prescriptive in proposing a solution. Various scenarios are considered, including immediate reductions of human-induced CO2 emission to achieve net zero by 2055, net zero by 2040, and reducing vs. freezing the amount of non-CO2 emissions. As a practical matter, the report endorses just one way of avoiding overshoot: achieve net zero CO2 by 2040 while freezing non-CO2 emissions at 2030 levels. And here’s the second major wake-up call of this report: the “pathway” by which we achieve net zero is critical. We need to achieve drastic emission reductions as early as the 2020s. Early reductions are the most effective because emissions stay in the atmosphere for a long time. Waiting till 2030 and then over-achieving after that will not cut it. Our goose will be cooked by then! The time to quibble, argue, prognosticate or procrastinate is over – this report demands action!

The bottom line: overshoot implies serious risks, so we need to immediately and rapidly reduce emissions to avoid and mitigate risks. The enormity of the task ahead is not lost on me: a completely decarbonized economy by 2040 including electricity, transportation, heating and industrial processes.

As someone with a scientific background, I find this report to be powerful, based on unquestionable and compelling data, and put together by the smartest minds on the subject. Despite the grim scenario, I confess that I felt a frisson of excitement as I read the report. I lead a passionate, mission-driven energy analytics team that believes we can make a difference with innovation and we can fulfill a higher purpose with our renewable energy software products. We come to work every day to put analytics into action, to sell software products that enable a digitized energy system to integrate ever-higher fractions of renewable energy, and ultimately to help solve today’s most pressing global problem. This report gives us an even greater sense of purpose, drive and urgency!

Utopus Insights Team at WindEnergy Hamburg

Fri, 21 Sep 2018 19:34:57 GMT

The Utopus Insights Growth Team is attending WindEnergy Hamburg, the world's leading wind energy expo, that starts Sept. 25, 2018! We’ll be in Hall A.1 Booth No. 420.

Balki Iyer, Chief Growth Officer, Utopus Insights, looks forward to connecting with customers and colleagues

This event is a terrific opportunity to meet current and prospective customers, identify new hires and catch up with industry colleagues from all over the world. What’s especially energizing is that we all share a passion for not just advancing wind energy, but for accelerating greater use of all forms of clean energy.

We believe the renewable energy industry can better leverage the power of data science and analytics, machine learning and meteorology to help Independent Power Producers (IPPs), Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and utilities win in this digital market. We have a powerful suite of integrated SaaS products that enable real-time asset visualization across an entire portfolio, state-of-the-art predictive maintenance for wind plants, and top-performing, hyperlocal wind generation forecasting.

These products plug into an integrated platform that works in harmony with your existing software, grows at innovation speed, and will enable your team to rapidly unlock new use-case value.

With a global team built over 15 years’ work with leading energy companies worldwide, our core strengths include data science, data engineering, and renewable energy domain expertise. A store of over 90+ issued or applied patents adds a differentiated dimension of tech capacity to solve your issues. We understand the industry. We understand your challenges and concerns, we speak YOUR language, and we enjoy collaboration.

If you’re headed to the conference, and are interested to learn more, we’d love to connect! You can also send an email at growth@utopusinsights.com to set up a conversation.

See you in Hamburg!

Digitalization is helping renewables transition from tariff-aided growth to efficiency-aided growth

Tue, 28 Aug 2018 19:53:59 GMT

Using digitalization to make renewables more cost-effective, reliable and mainstream in the next five to 10 years is the mission of energy analytics software company Utopus Insights, recently acquired by Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas Wind Systems A/S.

Renewables Now talks to its Co-founder and Chief Growth Officer, Balki Iyer , to find out how US-based Utopus Insights, which continues to operate independently post the acquisition, intends to fulfill this mission by increasing the efficiency of renewable energy generation.

"We are at a pivotal point in the energy industry and in the history of the world in a broader sense," Mr Iyer says. "Driven by digitalization, we are experiencing a rapid growth of data and analytics in every aspect of the modern world."

In renewables-sourced power generation "we are transitioning from an era of tariff-aided growth to an era of efficiency-aided growth," Iyer says.

Read the full article here .

Utopus Insights Welcomes Neil Desai as Chief Product Officer

Wed, 08 Aug 2018 16:18:14 GMT

Brings record of strategic acumen, product success and team building

VALHALLA, N.Y., Aug. 8, 2018 – Utopus Insights is delighted to announce that Neil Desai has joined the company’s leadership team as Chief Product Officer. Desai’s successful 20-year career has been propelled by a combination of strategic technical expertise and collaborative, hands-on approach to delivering global IoT and big data platform solutions. As Chief Product Officer, he’ll be responsible for envisioning, creating and delivering Utopus Insights’ digital energy Software as a Service (SaaS) product solutions for customers worldwide.

Desai most recently served as Honeywell’s Vice President, Enterprise Architecture and Engineering, where he built and managed a global team of architects, software engineers and operations personnel. Under his leadership, the team successfully delivered an innovative global industrial IoT and big data platform to serve diverse consumer, enterprise, and industrial use cases. Desai also successfully launched multiple customer products for this platform. Previously, he had led Quest Diagnostics’ digital transformation program while spearheading a customer engagement and empowerment strategy.

“Neil’s talent, experience and values are a perfect fit for our company’s current and future needs,” said Utopus Insights President and CEO Chandu Visweswariah. “Neil’s rapid professional ascent has been driven by his ability to leverage technology and emerging trends to improve customer experience and gain competitive advantage. I look forward to working with Neil to grow our team and accelerate our product roadmap.”

In describing why he joined Utopus Insights, Desai observed, “There’s something special happening here at Utopus Insights. They have phenomenal core talent, great products and a strong product roadmap. I am excited to be a part of this and look forward to making a meaningful contribution to the company’s near- and long-term success.”

About Utopus Insights
Utopus Insights is a leading energy analytics company that combines deep expertise in renewable generation, electric transmission/distribution, state-of-the-art meteorology and the world’s most advanced data science to produce breakthrough analytics products. Headquartered in New York with a regional office in Bengaluru, India, our vision is to become the leading global provider of energy intelligence through data science and customer empowerment. Utopus Insights is an independent but wholly owned subsidiary of Vestas Wind Systems A/S. Visit utopusinsights.com and follow us on LinkedIn , Instagram and Twitter .

Utopus CEO on energy analytics in ReCharge

Tue, 08 May 2018 20:09:50 GMT

"Digitisation can unlock renewables’ vast potential"

"OPINION | A decentralised, decarbonised and digitised energy ecosystem can unlock the vast potential of renewable energy and stave off climate change..." Read more of Chandu Visweswariah's thoughtful opinion piece on the importance of analytics to the energy revolution in ReCharge: The Global Source for Renewable Energy News & Intelligence .

Company announcement from Vestas Wind Systems A/S

Fri, 02 Feb 2018 14:32:28 GMT

Vestas to acquire Utopus Insights, a leading energy analytics and digital solutions company for $100 million

The acquisition allows Vestas to seize digital opportunities and expand its service offering.

Vestas has entered into an agreement for the acquisition of Utopus Insights, Inc., an energy analytics provider with 15 years of experience in solutions development, a suite of innovative digital products, over 30 patents, and a highly experienced team with data science expertise in analytics, power engineering, energy software development, and meteorology.

The acquisition price for Utopus Insights is approx. USD 100m (approx. EUR 80m) on a debt and cash free basis. The consideration will be paid in cash from readily available sources. For 2017, Utopus Insights is, on a stand-alone basis, expected to report consolidated revenues below USD 10m (approx. EUR 8m). Utopus Insights will be included in Vestas' financial reporting from the time of closing, which is expected to take place within the first quarter of 2018 and is subject to necessary third-party approvals being in place.

As the global energy sector is transforming, Vestas is looking to offer customers digital solutions to deliver greater predictability, increased renewable energy production, more efficient operations, and better integration with energy grids. This transformation means energy systems and power plant owners must improve forecasting accuracy for renewable production, optimise output from each individual generation asset and orchestrate a portfolio of resources across multiple sites and equipment types. They must also do so in a cost-effective manner that ensures grid stability as renewable energy sources gradually replace conventional, fossil-fuel generated power plants. With this purchase, Vestas seeks to seize the opportunity afforded by this ongoing transformation to deliver faster, smarter, and more holistic solutions.

"Vestas' strategic objective is to accelerate the transition towards a fully decarbonised energy sector in the most efficient and cost-effective way possible - both for our customers and for our planet," said Anders Runevad, Vestas' Group President and CEO. "Acquiring Utopus Insights significantly improves Vestas' existing market-leading capabilities for advanced analytics and integrated energy software solutions. We will now be able to provide our customers improved forecasting, output optimisation and coordination between assets, and support the larger energy ecosystem's increased uptake of renewable energy."

US-based Utopus Insights has its origins in IBM's Smarter Energy Research Institute and has a rich pedigree in data science, software, utility operations, meteorology, and renewable and distributed energy. Utopus Insights currently offers five powerful novel software tools for the renewable energy industry and continues to develop new products based on its store of over 30 issued patents related to energy innovation. Vestas and Utopus Insights will also sign joint development agreements that support advanced predictive and prescriptive analytics products. Utopus Insights will continue as a stand-alone entity under Vestas Service, including separate branding.

"Utopus Insights' mission is to accelerate an era of distributed, reliable, clean and cost-effective energy", said Utopus Insights CEO, Chandu Visweswariah. "Combining with Vestas represents a quantum leap forward in our ability to accomplish that mission. The significant synergies gained from applying our breakthrough tools to Vestas' global-leading wind energy resources and existing offerings will demonstrably benefit customers and the grid. We are appreciative of the opportunity to work with a team and a company whose commitment, mission, vision and values align so perfectly with our own."

"Vestas can now provide customers with additional digital tools that can further leverage available data, increase their operational agility and help them make smarter decisions to lower their costs, increase their revenues and better manage their power plants", said Christian Venderby, Group Senior Vice President and Head of Service at Vestas. "Joining our unequalled experience and data repository with Utopus Insights' incomparable data analytics expertise creates a digital solution powerhouse that will enable us to meet and exceed our customers' needs".

For further background on digitalisation of energy systems, Utopus Insights, and Vestas smart data, please visit https://www.vestas.com/en/services/utopus-insights .

Contact details
Vestas Wind Systems A/S, Denmark

Investors/ analysts:
Patrik Setterberg, Vice President
Investor Relations
Tel. +45 6122 1913

Media:
Anders Riis
External Communications
Tel: +45 4181 3922
Email: anprr@vestas.com

Utopus Insights Team Attends DistribuTECH 2018

Fri, 19 Jan 2018 21:20:45 GMT

Hope to meet with you there!

Led by Balki Iyer, Utopus Insights Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer, Utopus Insights will be attending DistribuTECH 2018 next week in San Antonio, Texas (US), joining with leading system integrator Wipro at booth #1443. According to Balki, there is particular advance interest this year in Utopus Insights' real-time asset visualization tool Xplore and the company's wind and solar generation forecasting product HyperCast. "Customers need more situational awareness of their assets and want to maximize their revenue in a consistent manner…this can only be driven by digital awareness given the varied assets and technologies." He adds, "Our breakthrough tools and the deep, combined domain expertise or our team are critical differentiators. Our customers count on our results and really value the collaborative approach of our team." Look for Balki at DistribuTECH or email Shekhar.Kamath@UtopusInsights.com to set up a conversation.

Utopus Insights Solves Renewables Challenge

Thu, 11 Jan 2018 21:48:33 GMT

Wind integration success lowers costs to customers

https://www.engerati.com/energy-generation/article/renewables-integration/how-weather-forecasting-da...

Utopus Insights Industry Thought Leadership

Thu, 16 Nov 2017 22:13:15 GMT

We pride ourselves on our innovation and thought leadership. Our experts have participated in numerous industry events, sharing their insights and giving back to the professional community.

November 2017

Tarun Kumar (CTO), Aijun Deng (Chief Meteorologist) and Younghun Kim (Senior R&D Engineer), AWEA Webinar "Driving Hyper-Accuracy in Wind Energy Forecasting," November 7, 2017.

October 2017

Wander Wadman (Senior Post-Doctoral Fellow), "Breakthrough accuracy of shorter-term power forecasting using deep learning," 16th Wind Integration Workshop, October 25, 2017, Berlin, Germany.
Chandu Visweswariah (CEO), invited presentation at the Kentucky Annual Governor's Conference on Energy and the Environment, "Energy Transformation in Broad Daylight," October 19, 2017, Lexington, KY.

September 2017

Chandu Visweswariah (CEO), invited presentation and workshop at the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP) All Hands meeting, September 27, 2017 Manchester, NH.

August 2017

Chandu Visweswariah (CEO), invited speaker at Vermont Electric Power Company (VELCO) All Hands meeting, August 31, 2017, Rutland, VT.
Balki Iyer (Chief Growth Officer), invited speaker at the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) workshop "How ICT is poised to change electric utilities and the delivery of energy services," August 30, 2017, Washington, DC.
Chandu Visweswariah (CEO), invited panelist in the "Energy Solutions" panel, 41st Annual New England Governors' and Eastern Canadian Premiers' Annual Conference, August 28, 2017, Prince Edward Island, Canada (click here for a photo with Governor Phil Scott of Vermont, click here for a photo with Premier Wade MacLauchlan of Prince Edward Island).
Chandu Visweswariah (CEO), Monday think hour speaker at Synapse Energy, August 7, 2017, Boston, MA.
Chandu Visweswariah (CEO), invited speaker at the National Conference of State Legislatures, "The grid of the future," August 6, 2017, Boston, MA (click here for a photo of the NCSL ballroom).

July 2017

Chandu Visweswariah (CEO), panelist in the "Innovation Cycle: Solution Providers" panel at the Smart Electric Power Alliance's Grid Evolution Summit, July 26, 2017, Washington, DC.
Wander Wadman (Senior Post-Doctoral Fellow), "Correlation matters" poster covering a proceedings paper "Deducing historical correlations for realistic stochastic forecasting of intermittent energy sources," IEEE Power and Energy Society (PES) General Meeting, July 17, 2017, Chicago, IL.

June 2017

Ron Ambrosio (Chief Scientist), invited plenary presenter, "Transactive energy roadmap," GridWise Architecture Council Foundational Session, 4th International Conference and Workshop on Transactive Energy Systems, June 13, 2017, Portland, OR.
Ron Ambrosio (Chief Scientist, moderator) and Mark Yao (R&D Engineer, panelist, "System peak load management with transactive DER") in the "Transactive energy systems in practice" panel, 4th International Conference and Workshop on Transactive Energy Systems, June 13, 2017, Portland, OR.
Chandu Visweswariah (CEO), invited panelist at InnoGrid 2020+, "Enabling hard and soft technologies for the smart and sustainable energy system," June 26, 2017, Brussels, Belgium (click here for a photo of the panel at the event).
Chandu Visweswariah (CEO), Invited panelist at Gridwise Forum's "Changing Dynamics of Grid Operations" workshop on "Market-based solutions driving change" panel, June 7, 2017, Burlington, VT.

May 2017

Wander Wadman (Senior Post-Doctoral Fellow), invited talk "Deducing historical correlations for realistic stochastic forecasting of intermittent energy sources," Uncertainty Quantification seminar in the Scientific Computing research group at CWI, May 29, 2017, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Chandu Visweswariah (CEO), Kerrick Johnson (Chief Ecosystem Officer), "Weather analytics for DERs," North American Electric Reliability Corporation's (NERC) Essential Reliability Services Workgroup (ERSWG), May 26, 2017, Atlanta, GA.

February 2017

Chandu Visweswariah (CEO), keynote speaker at National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) Energy Policy Outlook Conference, "The role of data in a smarter energy future," February 9, 2017, Washington, DC.

Kerrick Johnson Joins Executive Team

Thu, 16 Nov 2017 22:13:15 GMT

Read the Vermont Business Magazine article welcoming Kerrick Johnson to the executive leadership team of Utopus Insights.

http://vermontbiz.com/news/2017/october/17/kerrick-johnson-joins-executive-leadership-team-utopus-in...