Accenture and Microsoft to speed-up energy transition for UK utilities

Accenture has partnered with Microsoft to help the UK to accelerate its energy transition. The two companies, in conjunction with their joint venture, Avanade, will help utilities and energy companies transform the energy system. The aim is to lower the cost of decarbonising the supply and demand of electricity by leveraging open data, artificial intelligence (AI) and a digital workforce. Accenture, Microsoft and Avanade will provide their expertise across the Internet of Things, digital twins, industry transformation, cloud, data and AI to support the UK's low-carbon ambition. The three companies are already working with SSE Renewables to help the utility to reimagine its operations. Analytics, AI and data visualisation capabilities are being deployed on Microsoft Azure for scalability and speed to enable SSE Renewables to generate actionable operational and commercial insights from diverse data sets. This helps SSE Renewables to be more cost-effective and increase the reliability and life of its renewable generation assets. The company is also using AI to ensure wildlife is not adversely affected by its new wind farms. Accenture, Microsoft and Avanade's integrated approach to UK decarbonisation focuses on the following goals:

• Help utility and energy clients decarbonise the supply of energy by reducing the cost of renewable generation by up to 25% and increasing its role in system balancing - managing fluctuations in the production of electricity - while ensuring nuclear plays its role effectively as a continuous supplier of base-load electricity. The lifetime costs of offshore assets can be reduced, for example, by implementing remote inspection using drones and AI.
• Support the cost-effective electrification of energy demand. This includes enabling 50% of the new electricity demand for transportation and heating to contribute to balancing a system where more than 70% of the power generated is from renewable sources. For example, this could involve incentivising the charging of electric vehicles when the wind is blowing.
• Efficiently match supply and demand for an electricity system that is zero-carbon by 2025 and help clients realize a 20% reduction in the cost of meeting increasing electricity demand through innovative approaches to network design, construction and operation - for instance, by creating digital twins of physical assets.

Rachel McEwen, chief sustainability officer at SSE Renewables, said, "The scale of the net-zero challenge is so great and the significance of achieving it so important, we need all hands on deck. The energy system - electricity in particular - must be completely decarbonised very quickly, so that trickier sectors like heat and transport can reach zero carbon emissions. The answer to all the technological, market and regulatory challenges that result cannot possibly come from a single organisation or sector. Partnerships, like the one between Microsoft and Accenture, are essential in bringing together an electricity utility like SSE with business and digital technology transformation specialists." Toby Siddall, a managing director and lead for Accenture's Resources business in the UK and Ireland, said, "The UK's targets for net-zero push focus onto the energy and utilities sectors through which the most significant impacts on decarbonisation can be made. The time for action is now, and it will require innovative new approaches, solutions and ecosystems. "Our integrated approach to decarbonisation stems from a mutual belief that data and digital transformation are essential in enabling the transition to a low-carbon future, and it can lead to growth, new skills and competitiveness for the UK. We believe it is a perfect focus for this collaboration between Accenture, Avanade and Microsoft, which can help drive the step changes needed." Clare Barclay, CEO at Microsoft UK, said, "Last year, Microsoft announced we would be carbon negative by 2030 and remove our entire carbon footprint by 2050. A fundamental way in which we aim to achieve these targets is through technological innovation. Likewise, we pledged to develop and deploy digital technologies to help others reduce their carbon footprints. As part of our commitment to creating a greener and sustainable world, we are proud to partner with Accenture and Avanade to deploy technologies to help UK-based utility companies transform the generation, storage and supply of clean energy." Andy Gillett, general manager of Avanade U.K. and Ireland, said, "A massive transformation is underway in the energy sector fueled by rising expectations of both consumers and employees and a growing focus on sustainability. At Avanade, we're seeing significant demand for cloud-based solutions, which are helping deliver results at huge scale, while reducing cost. Innovative solutions that put data at the heart of the business improve speed to market and benefit the environment, delight our clients, inspire our people and help us continue to make a genuine impact." This story was originally published on Smart Energy International