The Path to Digitization for the Energy Sector

The appetite for solar, wind, thermal, and other green “fuels” to power modern daily life continues to grow worldwide. As it does, so does the need to manage, organize, and make use of the large volume of data that comes along with it on a daily basis. 

"Big data and machine learning have already begun to revolutionize many industries, from fashion to transportation, and now it's changing the way we think about and use solar energy," Daniel Neiditch wrote for Entrepreneur.com. The same holds true for other renewable energy sources.

Those changes are translating into significant opportunities for renewable energy companies, many of whom have already jumped on the digitization bandwagon. To get the most out of the information at their disposal, energy companies must become digitally mature. Indeed, with the explosive growth predicted for clean energy in the coming years, digital readiness will provide a sizable boost to renewables firms.

The right intelligent document management system can help green-energy suppliers digitally transform in preparation for continued demand for their products. Here are some of the ways digitized document management will benefit the energy sector.

Benefit #1: Improved Compliance

The energy sector in the U.S. faces increased attention today, given the federal policy goal of 100% carbon-pollution-free electricity by 2035. Though tax incentives and government workarounds abound for renewables, the spotlight is likely to remain on green energy sources in the coming decades means compliance and transparency will become more important than ever before.

Strict regulations within the energy sector require most energy companies to retrieve, compile, and integrate data from multiple internal and external sources and to provide accurate, timely information regarding both day-to-day operations and the overall state of the business. Manual processes and paper-based storage systems increase the risk of non-compliance considerably.

Fortunately, digital transformation, of which a purpose-built, digitized document management system is an integral part, can do a lot to help keep a renewable energy organization compliant. 

Having data that is “born digital” rather than created on paper, for example, goes a long way toward ensuring a company is compliant with all applicable regulations, whether at the local, state, or federal level. Ripcord's Canopy software can digitally create documentation regarding the purchase or sale of specific sites, the construction of projects on those sites, the scheduling and outcome of inspections, and more, all in an organization's secure, cloud-based instance. There, data is classified, indexed, and organized for searchability so that whenever the need arises, an authorized user can call up any desired data point from among hundreds of thousands of documents (or more). That means when a compliance deadline looms, an inspector arrives, or funds are on the line, the required information is available with a sub-second search.

Benefit #2: Increased Efficiency and Waste Reduction

Renewable energy organizations, by their very mandates, are meant to reduce pollution and waste, not contribute to these problems. A document digitization platform can help such companies become digitally mature. Ripcord's AI-powered technology, which enables robotic process automation and various smart processes, saves effort, time, and energy. Keeping records and other data digital means far less paper, which means less waste and saving more valuable resources. 

What's more, Ripcord's technology is also able to “understand” and classify both structured and unstructured data, and do so quickly and efficiently. Less time means less drain on the grid, which means more savings, in both energy for the world and cash for the company. 

Benefit #3: Better Data Management 

With a high-quality document management platform seamlessly integrated with its existing systems, a renewable energy organization can get the most out of its own data, a potential source of trapped insights and business opportunities. A business with multiple, non-integrated content management systems (or, perhaps worse, paper-based filing systems or no system at all) is likely to be not only highly disorganized but also in possession of myriad valuable, unknown documents and data points.

Just imagine the potential innovation, cost-savings, and business expansion possibilities that could lie therein, if only the company's documentation were properly and efficiently organized. 

What's more, the right data management platform can accelerate existing processes, upping organizational efficiency, and making the business more responsive to regulatory and customer queries and requests. This means a more resilient, future-ready firm. 

There is power in your data. Ripcord can help you unleash it. Schedule a demo today to see what Ripcord can do for your renewable energy company.