Renewable Energy
The global energy & resources consulting industry grows. Energy & resources consulting market continued to grow. Relatively stable commodity prices and an easing of some cash flow constraints allowed clients to boost their consulting budgets and increase investment amid the growing pressure to reimagine business models.
Demand for operational improvement capabilities-a stalwart of energy & resources consulting work in recent years also grew at a healthy pace.
From a geographical perspective, the exploration of new business models was also on the agenda, with the growing interest in large-scale alternative energy projects as well as smaller-scale renewable generation boosting demand around distributed energy and smart grids.
Our main focus in Europe where the sustainability and renewable agenda-and thus business model transition-is even further advanced with growing experience in getting EU subsidiaries for REP.
There was growing demand around business transformation and renewables strategy in the GCC and Asia-Pacific too. While much of this work was initially focused in China and the GCC, sustainability increasingly came onto the agenda in Australia and India, albeit not in a meaningful way.
Development stages of renewable energy projects In order to carry out the development of a renewable energy project, it is necessary to do prospect work, as well as obtain permits, authorizations, and licenses to legalize everything and provide technical, legal, and economic feasibility to the project in question. That is, a project under development will go through different phases until its achievement.
The development of a renewable energy project begins with the study and analysis of its technical and financial feasibility. First, strategic markets are identified to provide attractive investment opportunities.
The stability of the legal framework in the energy sector of the country in which each project is to be developed is of paramount importance, in order to obtain clarity both in obtaining permits and in procedures for the sale of energy.
Once an opportunity for the development of renewable projects has been identified, its location will be studied and the availability of natural resources in the area will be analyzed, such as solar radiation, wind speed and wind direction, hydrogen production cost or access to sufficient fuel to establish a biomass plant. In this phase, the available energy resources and the possibilities of success in the later development of choosing the right technology are evaluated.
Once the available resources are observed, it is necessary to focus on the technical design to obtain the permits, licenses and authorizations necessary to operate in the plants. It is at this point that all these permits will be processed and a follow-up will be made to obtain them.
Here we find multiple procedures and formalities. The powers to issue licenses and permits are distributed, the Autonomous Communities and local entities such as municipalities.
We emphasize that the procedure of all the development and of the time periods varies according to the technology and the country in which we develop the project. In photovoltaic projects one of the first steps is to request the Access Point or Connection to the electricity company and for wind is to perform measurements of wind, at least for a year.
We can say that this phase.
Subsequently, once the work is executed, the processing must be continued, ending with the final registration in the registry of facilities under a special regime, along with other permits linked to the execution of the installation.
Appropriate structures are created to carry out renewable energy projects and the necessary Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) are incorporated, on which Due Diligence is carried out.
Due Diligence is a process that seeks information to assess and target the final price of a business acquisition transaction and the requirement of guarantees.
In this case, we speak of an External Audit of all aspects related to the project. The characteristics of the project will be analyzed and evaluated, both technical (technical project study, EPC analysis, and O&M, evaluation of components, production, performance, and availability, etc.), as legal and financial (study of the legal and tax structure, analysis of assets and liabilities, recalculation of income, etc.).
Due Diligence assesses the risks of the project in all its aspects and, in some cases, measures are proposed to mitigate or eliminate them.
After defining the design of the project, it will go to the construction phase. This consists of the construction and installation of the plant, comprising all the civil works to condition the land and make the pipelines, civil works of the interconnection of the plant with the electrical distribution or transport networks, carry out the rest of the necessary civil work, and the reception and assembly of all equipment. Once all these works are finished, it is certified that the plant has been executed as planned. Otherwise, the modifications must be justified and documented.
One type of contracting used extensively in the development and execution of projects is the contract EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction).
EPC contracts are generally associated with operation and maintenance contracts (O&EPC contracts are generally associated with operation and maintenance contracts (O&M)-. This ensures the investor the correct operation of the plant during its useful life.
Working closely with your business, we are able to develop effective energy and carbon management strategies that combine a good understanding of environmental legislation with in-depth knowledge of financial and technical considerations. Our approach uses a tried and tested methodology adapted to each client’s specific needs.
Understanding where and when you consume energy is the first step towards effective management. Based on data collected within your business or through your utility provider, we are able to analyse your organisations consumption and emissions patterns and highlight potential savings opportunities.
Internal and external benchmarking is one of the best ways to identify potential financial and efficiency opportunities. Through a simple exercise, we can determine the energy intensity of facilities within your real estate portfolio and compare this with ‘best in class’ benchmarks both inside and outside of your business.
The technical and commercial feasibility of your ideas. If this is the case, we can assist you by undertaking a high-level or detailed feasibility study to identify and scope suitable schemes and their likely financial benefits.
Procuring energy management services or renewable energy solutions can be complicated. Very often technical jargon and statistics complicate an otherwise simple procurement process. We can help by preparing specifications and undertaking data collection in support of your procurement process, or we can simply assist with tender evaluations and recommendations.
Investment in renewable energy projects or large energy efficiency retrofits is often accompanied by financial or operational risk. A proper due diligence exercise ensures that such risks are identified early in the project lifecycle, and are subsequently monitored and managed to minimize or eliminate exposures. If you are investing in large energy efficiency or renewable energy project and require support with your due diligence program we can help to evaluate projects’ risks and returns.
Very often businesses or investors need an independent technical opinion before investing in a particular energy retrofit or renewable energy scheme. This work is typically undertaken by an independent engineer and may cover areas such as validating the appropriateness of the technology being proposed, validating energy savings and outputs or evaluating maintenance reserve funds.
Calculating and validating energy savings after an energy retrofit can be complicated and potentially contentious. Using approved international protocols, we are able to support clients with the development of their M&V program, ensuring that contract savings and associated payments are accurate and transparent
