Openlink Surveys Renewable Energy Participants: 70% Interested In Technology To Effectively Manage And Optimize Volatility

Best practices nod to Openlink solution which includes functionality for accurate forecasting, portfolio optimization and effective modeling

New York – March 5, 2012 – Openlink Financial LLC (Openlink), a leading provider of energy, commodities, trading, and risk management (CTRM/ETRM) solutions, released findings from a recent webinar which surveyed senior energy and commodities industry professionals focused on renewable energy sources. The survey revealed industry participants’ priorities and greatest challenges with renewable energy sources, such as wind, hydro, or solar in their physical assets portfolio.

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Industry professionals revealed in the survey that their top interests centered on being able to effectively model renewable assets that have the propensity for high volatility (44%), while having an optimization model which incorporates complexities and constraints was second (26%). Also of note was their desire to forecast short to long term within unpredictable circumstances (21%) and the ability to meet reserve requirements across short and midterm horizons (9%).

Gary Hunt, President at Tech & Creative Labs, confirmed, “These findings are consistent with clients’ experience in the marketplace. Each type of renewable energy resource requires analysis to optimally manage their complexities to extract full value.”

Survey results supported this with 57% of respondents stating they had challenges forecasting with accuracy and planning for reserves.

More specifically, participants’ responses illustrate a clear need for real-time data (see below):

• Forecasting in the short and long term with accuracy 30%
• Planning for the right level of reserves 12%
• Ability to perform economic dispatch/unit commitments in near real-time 19%
• Compliance with evolving regulatory requirements 11%
• Optimizing across whole portfolio to make the best decisions 28%

Dr. Markus Seiser, Managing Director of Openlink’s Optimization Division, commented, “As the renewable energy market evolves and matures, market participants will need more advanced technology to leverage opportunities. This includes an enterprise portfolio view that can cover all asset classes and clearly illustrate the way these assets interact with each other (e.g., gas storage vs. flexible purchasing options). Our sophisticated clients drive our technology roadmap, and renewables are no exception.”