Digital Energy

Smart grids need smart analytics. Quinbrook believes the digitisation of energy services will be an enabler of the Net Zero transition.

Investment Fund of the Year ESG Investing Awards 2021

Awarded February 2021, the only winner among more than 90 finalists in 17 investment fund categories. The award is not indicative of future performance. Quinbrook is not a paid subscriber to ESG Investing nor did it pay as a condition of eligibility. ESG Investing awards are made based on nominations by market participants, including Quinbrook, and assessed by a panel of independent judges comprising financial market professionals, academics and independent experts.

Expected reduction in energy costs if digitisation fully deployed

About our Digital Energy focus

As power markets become more decentralised and are required to respond faster and more flexibly, Quinbrook believes the opportunities arising from a digitised ‘smart grid’ become compelling. From automated site assessments, ongoing asset management via digital twins and predictive maintenance to the automated optimisation and dispatch of flexible assets into traded power markets using machine learning, digitisation is becoming increasingly present in the energy sector.

The IEA estimates that digital data and analytics can reduce power system costs in several ways. The overall savings from these digitally enabled measures could be in the order of USD 80 billion per year over 2016-40, or about 5% of total annual power generation costs based on the enhanced global deployment of available digital technologies to all power plants and network infrastructure.

Quinbrook and its managed portfolio companies are increasingly deploying new digital tools and platforms to take full advantage of the benefits that digitisation offers.

Key Points

Advanced locational mapping and site assessment tools are being developed and deployed by Scout and Primergy in the US
Energy Locals has built the market interface for the world’s largest residential Virtual Power plant, the SA VPP.
Automated bidding via machine learning and dispatch optimsiation is being deployed across Quinbrook’s global battery storage portfolio.