Asset Management Best Practice Guidelines (Version 2.0)

Welcome to Version 2.0 of SolarPower Europe’s Asset Management Best Practice Guidelines. Building on a successful Version 1.0 published in December 2019, this update incorporates even more industry experience, delivering a mature document and a forward-looking vision for the solar Asset Management segment.

While Operation and Maintenance (O&M) service providers take care of the solar power plant on a technical level, Asset Managers are responsible for the commercial and financial management of a solar investment and the supervision and control of technical activities. They manage a company or a portfolio rather than a power plant, often across different geographies, dealing with a variety of regulatory frameworks and business models. Asset management is also defined as the coordinated activities of an organisation to generate value from its assets (ISO 55000).

With the professionalisation and globalisation of solar investors and investment portfolios, service quality expectations have been rising steadily, putting increasing requirements on Asset Managers, who are expected to continuously improve the return on investment via various processes including revenue optimisation, cost reduction, financial restructuring, contractual renegotiation and technology adaptation. To achieve this, Asset Managers are increasingly expected to transition from simple tools such as self-made spreadsheets to advanced digital Asset Management Platforms, which enable efficient and effective management of wide and diverse solar portfolios.

SolarPower Europe published Version 1.0 of the Asset Management Best Practice Guidelines to support the solar industry in achieving these goals. Version 2.0 wishes to bring the success of the first edition further by incorporating even more industry experience from two dozen leading solar experts, including Asset Managers as well as O&M providers, asset owners, technical advisors, digital solutions providers and more. Over the course of the past year, existing chapters of the first version have been extensively discussed, enhanced and refined in the Lifecycle Quality Workstream. Version 2.0 features a new, dedicated chapter on risk management in the operational phase and a useful skills matrix for Asset Managers in the annex. Reflecting the latest market and technology trends, we have added several new sections in the existing chapters around topics such as lifecycle lessons learnt, value-added services, revamping & repowering, management of unsubsidised projects, challenges in multi-jurisdictional and global portfolios, data format and aggregation, and digital twins. Finally, we also developed the Asset Management Best Practice Mark, a voluntary quality label for Asset Management providers that comes with a useful self-assessment checklist available at www.solarbestpractices.com.

2020 was a milestone for our community on multiple fronts. The former “O&M Task Force” became the “Lifecycle Quality Workstream” to reflect its broadening scope: in the past year, another major achievement of the Workstream was the development of the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) Best Practice Guidelines and in the future we have the ambition to develop best practices for more segments across the project lifecycle. The dissemination of the best practices around the world has also continued: we published the French-language Tunisian edition of the O&M Best Practice Guidelines and we are working on Indian and African editions.

We thank our members for their extraordinary engagement and support. We will continue the work in 2021 and invite interested stakeholders to join us in our endeavour to develop and disseminate best practices across the solar project lifecycle.

Members of the Lifecycle Quality workstream

SolarPower Europe would like to thank the members of its Lifecycle Quality Workstream for their support to this report.

Legal information

Chair of the SolarPower Europe Lifecycle Quality Workstream: Adele Ara, Lightsource bp.

Vice-Chairs of the SolarPower Lifecycle Quality Workstream: Ralph Gottschalg, Fraunhofer CSP; Alden Lee, ABO Wind.

Coordinator of the SolarPower Europe Lifecycle Quality Workstream: Máté Heisz, SolarPower Europe.

Contact: info@solarpowereurope.org.

Contributors of Version 2.0: Adele Ara, Lightsource bp; Walter Barbarotto, BayWa r.e.; Giuseppina Casanova, BayWa r.e.; Paolo V. Chiantore, BayWa r.e.; Juan Fernandez, Sonnedix; Vincenzo Giorgio, Bird & Bird; Ralph Gottschalg, Fraunhofer CSP; Máté Heisz, SolarPower Europe; Grant Hilti, Heliospekt; Will Hitchcock, Above Surveying; Edmee Kelsey, 3megawatt; Thomas Lebreuilly, Akuo Energy; Etienne Lecompte, Powerhub; Alden Lee, ABO Wind; David Lewis, Akuo Energy; Pierpaolo Mastromarini, Bird & Bird; David Moser, Eurac Research; Esther Munoz, Iberdrola; Constantinos Peonides, Alectris; Martina Pianta, 3E; Eliane Pohl, Greenbyte; Ali Rahmati, Fronius; Pedro Rocha, Voltalia; Wolfgang Rosenberg, TCO Solar; Maria Sabella, Relight Energy Services; Thomas Sauer, EXXERGY; Aleksis Schäfer, greentech; Claire Schön, Alteso; Elaine Teo, Heliospekt; Filipa Ximenes, Voltalia.

Supported by: the Solar Trade Association (STA).

Acknowledgements: SolarPower Europe would like to extend a special thanks to all members that contributed with their knowledge and experience to this report. This would never have been possible without their continuous support.

Project Information: The SolarPower Europe O&M Task Force officially started its work in April 2015, and it became the Lifecycle Quality Workstream in 2020, to cover O&M, Asset Management and EPC. It operates through frequent exchanges and meetings. The Workstream’s flagship reports are the O&M Best Practice Guidelines, the Asset Management Best Practice Guidelines and the EPC Best Practice Guidelines, which reflect the experience and views of a considerable share of the European solar industry today. There has been no external funding or sponsorship for these reports.

Disclaimer: This report has been prepared by SolarPower Europe. It is provided to recipients for general information only. Nothing in it should be interpreted as an offer or recommendation of any products, services or financial products. This report does not constitute technical, investment, legal, tax or any other advice. Recipients should consult with their own technical, financial, legal, tax or other advisors as needed. This report is based on sources believed to be accurate. However, SolarPower Europe does not warrant the accuracy or completeness of any information contained in this report. SolarPower Europe assumes no obligation to update any information contained herein. SolarPower Europe will not be held liable for any direct or indirect damage incurred by the use of the information provided and will not provide any indemnities.

Design: Onehemisphere, Sweden.

ISBN: 9789464073423.

Published: November 2020.