2020 in Review
For the energy transition and the environment, 2020 has in fact been a stellar year. A locked-down, pandemic-struck world cut its carbon dioxide emissions this year by 7%, the biggest drop ever. Renewable energy capacity is expected to increase by 4% this year globally, according to the IEA. In fact, the industry set a new global record of installed capacity and is on track to account for 90% of all new electricity capacity.
Although in 2020 we missed the much-valued face time with our clients, Indigo also had a great year. This review highlights some media we received, research and publications we were involved with, and some client accomplishments.
A few of our favorite achievements from 2020
Indigo in the Media
We joined the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and LF Energy Foundation on the Advisory Board podcast series from Engerati for a future focused conversation, listen to the Podcast “Embracing disruption: how utilities can future-proof investment” here
Our views on how digitization is helping utilities run smoothly during COVID-19 were featured in Engerati. With power companies experiencing up to 40% of employees working remotely, automation technologies are becoming more central to operations. Read here
Our views on how stronger asset intelligence can position utilities for a more resilient future were featured in a Utility Dive and PrecisionHawk playbook and in particular our analysis of how effective asset management can reduce operational expenses by as much as one-third. Read more here
The Indigo Leadership Team was at DISTRIBUTECH in January and launched our four 2020 research themes and strategic imperatives for the utility industry around Data Monetization, Technology Convergence Planning, Centralized and Decentralized M&D and High-Value Analytics Deployments. See here
Indigo Research & Publications
In Q2 we launched our Indigo Insights Innovation Series of papers. These five papers cover some of the most pressing digital and strategic technology decisions power companies face in the coming years. Download here
Our research on the combination of energy use cases that emerge at the intersection of AI, Cloud Computing and Blockchain was featured in the latest Journal of Distributed Computing. See here
Our research was featured in the IEEE journal Transactions on Engineering Management in a piece that proposes a novel cybersecurity architecture for smart metering systems, based on a blockchain solution that significantly enhances data security. Read here
Our research on managing EV charging stations from different energy suppliers through a standard method of payment facilitated by Distributed Ledger Technology was featured in the Future Internet Journal. Read here
Our insights on new energy software technologies were featured in the MPDI IoT Journal in a piece “AI and Blockchain Integrated Billing Architecture for Charging the Roaming Electric Vehicles”. See here
Building on our 2018 research on the “The Utility Data as a Service Opportunity” we release our research in a paper “Strategies to Monetize Energy Data – How Utilities can increase their Earning per Byte” where we highlight the utility data monetization imperative and how utilities can build the right strategies to take advantage of the opportunity. Read more here
Sample Clients and Research Partners
Most importantly, our favorite accomplishment of 2020 is that we continue to work across a range of energy transition projects for our valued clients and research partners. This year we were involved in several exciting energy technology related projects. For example we worked to commercialize utility products, helped rollout EV charging infrastructure, created and implemented analytics strategies, reviewed technology roadmaps, conducted market intelligence, built robust application requirements and performed economic analysis on investments.
We will be releasing our 2021 research imperatives shortly. Look out for reports, podcasts and insights from the team. In the meantime check out our Indigo capability primer “Transformation Tools for Utilities”.
Finally, in 2021 the IEA forecasts a record 10% renewable capacity increase due to delayed projects getting underway and growth in markets that were strong before the pandemic. With that in mind, we wish all of our clients, partners and industry associates a happy holiday and a wonderful 2021