Canada has long been at the forefront of renewable energy, with two-thirds of its energy coming from renewable sources. The country’s electricity mix is one of the cleanest in the world, largely thanks to hydropower. However, the renewable sector is not limited to hydropower, as there has been significant growth in solar, wind, battery storage, small modular reactors, and electric vehicles.
With nearly 200 renewable technology projects registered in Canada, valued at over $116 billion, the industry is booming and supporting over 115,000 Canadian jobs. From decarbonization to decentralization, renewable companies are navigating a new reality and creating a new ecosystem that allows for innovative approaches to energy production, storage, and distribution.
While all renewable energy companies share the common goal of delivering clean, renewable energy solutions, they are facing business opportunities and challenges in engineering, manufacturing, procurement, supply chain management, people management, and finance. These challenges make it difficult to operate and scale a business efficiently, highlighting the opportunity for scalable and cost-effective solutions that support the industry’s growth.
To stay ahead in this dynamic and evolving industry, renewable energy companies require unparalleled visibility and insights into their financing, projects and operations. From land acquisition to asset construction and into maintenance and operations, they need a centralized data model that facilitates intelligent business insights. This empowers everyone within the organization, from the executive suite to the field, to make informed decisions and drive the company forward.
One area where renewable energy companies face unique challenges is with supply chain management for new and ongoing development projects. Unlike traditional companies, they cannot simply order parts or materials with a short delivery time. Some materials required for renewable energy projects, such as graphite, have order lead times of up to 72 months. Developing renewable energy solutions introduces engineering requirements for storage, transportation, and integration of natural resources into the production process. Ensuring the efficient and effective development and implementation of renewable assets requires careful management of the supply chain to avoid delays or wasted materials.
The introduction of new materials and processes in the renewable sector has also led to the emergence of new suppliers. While established suppliers may have a track record of quality control, the same cannot be said for new vendors. This raises questions and uncertainties about the quality control processes and guarantees that must be embedded into the supply chain. Companies cannot afford delays or wasted resources due to unprepared vendors and suppliers. Therefore, it is crucial to have a robust supply chain management system in place to mitigate risks and ensure smooth operations.
Whether small or established, many renewable energy companies are creating new revenue streams and building piecemeal business approaches leveraging specialized technologies designed to address the problem in hand. They are innovating our cleaner futures, but their business processes are not as innovative, maybe even executed manually, which puts a strain on their operations. Companies need a seamless platform that allows them to manage all their engineering, manufacturing, procurement, supply chain management, people management, and finance data in an integrated format while they focus on their core business without worrying about IT risks. They need to worry about building our future today and lean on partners to support their business process concerns.
No matter where a renewable company is on their journey in the energy transition, SAP has solutions that can optimize and automate core business processes that will enable and empower companies to maximize their potential. True end-to-end insights and seamless integration will “power” success.
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