Roberto Tundo, BaxEnergy Executive Vice President
How companies can overcome fragmentation, investment risk, and system volatility by adopting intelligent energy technologies
The renewable energy sector is in a constant upwards spiral of growth and evolution. These changes have brought on a new set of priorities, especially around the importance grid stability and smooth integration of renewable energy sources. The latter is a challenge to most countries, although each of these geographies has its additional new unique set of obstacles to overcome.
Businesses are at the forefront of the decarbonisation revolution, and it is essential for them to understand these differences in order to navigate them and advance in their shift towards sustainability.
Thankfully, technology is evolving fast enough to turn these country-specific challenges into opportunities. From asset performance management software to battery energy storage systems, these solutions will reinforce efforts made by both the private and public sectors to keep moving towards a sustainable, strong and stable grid.
One Country, One Challenge
Businesses in the renewable sector, regardless of where they operate, face the same challenges: intermittency of power, securing investment, grid integration and stability. Nevertheless, all countries have different geographical and historical experiences, that bring with them a unique set of obstacles.
We can find good examples of this on both sides of the pond. In the United States over the last few years the renewable energy market experienced a boom that was supported by state and federal policies like the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). This policy has driven unprecedented growth in since it was created, but recent legal and political challenges as well as regulatory inconsistencies across the many states brought high levels of uncertainty, which have slowed down momentum and, in some extreme cases, taking companies to bankruptcy.
In May this year we saw the US government approve the Big Beautiful Bill, which is threatening to reverse a lot of the progress made in energy storage, wind and solar projects that would have before been eligible for tax credits established by the previous US administration. These big political changes are also making investors more risk-averse and have already started reversing the progress made.
On the Iberian peninsula, Spain has become a world leader in renewable energy, with one of the largest solar and wind power capabilities in Europe and beyond. Unfortunately for the country, as impressive as its fast-paced adoption of clean power has been, it has also exposed severe vulnerabilities in its grid’s resilience. These were brought to light during the peninsula-wide blackout that took place in April this year, which brought to attention the need for robust balancing and backup mechanisms.
Sitting in between these two, the United Kingdom faces its own challenges and network connection delays, with projects taking years to connect to the power grid. The UK government recently announced the National Energy System Operator’s (NESO) new plan to reform grid connections and unlock billions in investment, as part of the organisation’s efforts to prioritise clean energy projects through a new fast-track queue.
The UK’s Contracts for Difference scheme is another good example of a successful initiative to support low carbon electricity generation. Launched ten years ago by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to incentivise investment into renewable energy, it has so far resulted in 128 renewable electricity projects being developed across three signed CfD contracts, which are delivering enough power to light up 11 million homes – a total of 9.6GW.
Key opportunities for the sector
The biggest opportunity for the renewable energy sector lies in the merging of clean energy with advanced technology that turns intermittent renewable generation into high-value and reliable power. As countries race toward net-zero targets, the scale of deployment needed is enormous and companies that can deliver projects efficiently and integrate them smoothly will become market leaders.
I believe that there are two pieces of technology that will be central to this transformation. The first one is Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), which will be key to provide fast-response power to optimise its distribution while ensuring the grid remains stable. In turn, this transforms renewable plants from mere energy suppliers into flexible resources that can replace traditional power plants’ roles. Supported by AI, real-time controls and data analytics, businesses will be able to sustainably optimise their assets’ performance, by increasing the value of each megawatt.
Secondly, intelligent control platforms, such as Asset Performance Management (APM) software, will be key. These platforms integrate multiple energy assets into a unified control layer, participation in ancillary service markets, enabling predictive analytics and efficiency optimisation. It’s not only large established market players who can access APMs – community projects and smaller-scale operators have many platforms available that offer these services, providing the opportunity to start optimising and optimising their assets
APMs bring data-driven decision-making to businesses who might have otherwise relied on spreadsheets or disparate OEM platforms by lowering the barriers to entry. Users have the opportunity to onboard their assets within minutes, integrate data from wind, solar, and battery systems all in one place as well as design and configure custom dashboards. Major players and small IPPs are equally empowered by the ease of use and scalability APMs bring with them, which will be increasingly important as the sector keeps growing.
There are changes ahead
Despite the growing pains the renewable energy sector is experiencing, we are now going through a time full of opportunities. Solutions are being developed for the range of challenges different countries are facing, some through policy and other through technology. These results will benefit businesses across borders.
Finding ways to tackle these obstacles is key for governments who want to support businesses’ efforts to decarbonise. Technology and innovation are essential parts of this journey – the most durable long-term solution to address reliability and sustainability simultaneously is for businesses is to embrace BESS and APM. This technology will be essential in the next few years as the sector continues to mature and sets itself up as a reliable and sustainable energy source. Furthermore, in a market that is becoming more dynamic, AI and decentralised energy systems will enable renewable operators to play a role in grid balancing.
Businesses navigating the renewable transition face growing complexity, from policy reversals to grid instability. But through effective control platforms and scalable energy storage, companies can transform these risks into a competitive edge. The winners will be those who integrate fast, scale smart, and embrace data-led sustainability.
This article appeared in the October 2025 issue of Energy Manager magazine. Subscribe here.