Asset Management Best Practice Guidelines (Version 2.0)

A skilled workforce is key for the solar industry to work. This is especially the case for service providers such as Asset Managers, who rely on their personnel’s skills to a large extent to deliver quality services to their clients. It is essential that AM providers have human resources with the relevant qualifications to perform the tasks detailed in this document in an efficient and responsible manner. This report includes a useful skills matrix for Asset Managers, see Annex A.

It is not easy to determine the exact skills and profile that an Asset Manager should have. However, two major groups of skills are required:

The first group is technical skills. In this group there are two different types of employees. Those who have academic studies in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering and those who have practical field experience and relevant electrical and technical qualifications.

Key technical skills are:

• Management and policing the effective service provision of O&M providers
• Familiarity with faults/alerts and necessary action
• Ability to interpret events into meaningful information for Asset Owners
• Ability to provide reports and present options to Asset Owners
• Knowledge of EH&S and familiarity with on-site for inspections.

Therefore, ideally, the Technical Asset Managers will have previous experience in the EPC or O&M of solar assets. However, with the right training programme, Asset Managers can develop the skill set needed.

The second group is commercial and financial skills. This group requires people qualified in financial management and accounting through academic studies and those who have acquired their qualifications by actively working in the sector.

Key commercial and financial skills are:

• Management of incoming and outgoing accounting flows
• Monitoring income and cost streams and comparing them to a baseline scenario (i.e. P50, P90, etc.)
• Forecasting the financial impact of specific technical interventions (preventive or corrective) on the assets
• Financial management and reporting
• Loan management
• Knowledge of legislative and regulatory changes that might have a financial impact on the client.

Therefore, previous experience in investment accounting and financial management are useful.

It is important to note that different countries and markets have distinct requirements for the qualifications and skills necessary for Asset Managers in both key groups to operate. It is important that Asset Managers map those requirements with the help of experts and consider them in their HR hiring requirements.

As the industry develops, technology is advancing rapidly, which requires Asset Managers to be trained regularly on new best practices. Such new best practices are increasingly related to the digitalisation of AM. As data and digital systems become more critical for effective AM, it is expected that Asset Managers will soon need to employ specialised personnel with skill sets and academic background that combine knowledge of energy data and information systems.

Considerations about the organisation structure

The asset management team is typically multi-disciplinary, since it has to cover both financial administrative and technical activities.

In light of this, the organisation structure of an Asset Manager should be designed to allow specialists to be involved on each task while at the same time ensuring constant interaction among the various team members. This avoids “grey areas” in the scope of work of the various divisions and applies  an integrated approach to asset management.

In particular, when structuring the team, it is advisable to:

• Introduce the role of Portfolio Manager, i.e. professionals with a 360-degree view of the portfolio under management and the ability to facilitate team interaction, identify synergies, and ensure the adoption of a holistic approach to asset operation and optimization;
• Avoid the presence of multiple sub-teams, as this can result in difficult internal communication and confusion about the allocation of responsibilities;
• Introduce the role of a cross-country Chief Operating Officer in the event that  the Asset Manager operates in several jurisdictions, making it possible to achieve standardization, coordination, and knowledge sharing wherever possible.

In addition, taking into account the importance of digitalization and the continued evolution of the asset management activity, the organization structure should also mirror the “software structure” as well as allow innovation to happen (either by dedicating some team members to innovation or by identifying “champions” on each team that drive and manage relevant changes)

• Understand the basics of solar photovoltaics and at the highest level understand how a solar plant functions.