How to Develop Renewable Energy Software: Must-Have Features and Examples

The renewable energy industry market, which includes wind, solar and hydropower is projected (expected) to grow at an annual rate of 4.22% through 2029. This growth results in a number of new green energy ventures that raise investments despite the decline in global startup funding.

If you want to contribute to a sustainable environment, you’re in the right place. In this blog post, we will explore different types of renewable energy software, highlight key features, and showcase a prototype of our own turbine software. Let’s get straight to the point.

Renewable energy software market overview

According to the Oliver Wyman report, venture capital investment in clean energy startups has cooled down by 6% in comparison with previous years. Such a decline is mainly related to the spike in AI startups that attracted most of the capital, shifting the focus from climate-tech solutions. It’s not time to put your hands down, though. This industry still holds its position and remains strong compared to other startup areas that were influenced by inflation, rising interest rates, and economic instability.

Let’s review what climate-tech startup categories are raising most of the funding today. 

Battery storage

One of the bottlenecks of renewable energy sources is that they cannot produce energy 24/7. As the capacity of solar panels and wind power depends a lot on weather conditions, companies are developing new technological solutions to store excess energy generated during peak production hours. This explains the 8% rise in 2023 investment in battery technology and storage solutions and indicates that the sector requires more innovative methods for energy storage.

Hydrogen as a clean energy 

VC investment in low-carbon hydrogen technology is also booming. Hydrogen startup funding continues to grow, with around 24 startups raising over $1.4 billion in equity funding in 2024. These startups focus on developing electrolyzer solutions, hydrogen distribution stations, and even hydrogen-electric engines for flights. One of the factors that contribute to the growth of such solutions is the support of a government that introduces policies and incentives to push hydrogen energy production forward. Hydrogen energy startups continue to attract investors around the world, which makes this sector flourish.

Energy production monitoring

According to Fortune Business Insights, the global market size of carbon-accounting software will grow from $15.3 billion in 2023 to $64.4 billion by 2030. As companies strive for sustainability, they are looking for solutions that will help them reduce carbon footprints. Such products not only help them track the emissions but also implement solutions for clean energy. This leads us to the next type of climate-tech product – renewable energy software.

Renewable energy 

According to the McKinsey report, renewables will continue to grow and are expected to provide around 45 to 50 percent of generation by 2030 and 65 to 85 percent by 2050. Renewable technology allows for monitoring and managing energy production, planning budget, forecasting potential equipment failures, and getting reports on energy consumption.

Renewable energy software benefits

Before getting to the main features of green energy software, let’s dive deeper into the main benefits it brings to the table.

Increased energy efficiency and cost savings

By tracking energy consumption in real time, organizations can quickly spot any excessive energy use and optimize their operations accordingly. For example, they might use the energy during off-peak times when rates are lower.

Monitoring green energy production

Monitoring green energy production will help organizations analyze the efficiency of their renewable systems, get real-time data on renewable energy generation, and make the switch to renewable energy sources smoother.

Sustainability and regulatory compliance tracking

The software helps companies ensure regulatory compliance by tracking energy use and emissions. It also provides transparent reporting on energy consumption and carbon footprint, enhancing organizational sustainability.

Insightful analytics

Companies that have historical and real-time data at their fingertips will better analyze and track consumption patterns. As a result, they will optimize their renewable energy resources and distribute such energy sources as solar panels or batteries more efficiently.

Renewable energy software features

First of all, the functionality will differ depending on the type of renewable energy software. Usually, there are the following categories of clean energy products:

• Carbon analytics and accounting tools
• Grid solutions for power companies
• Battery technology and storage solutions
• Wind turbine software and solar renewable energy solutions
• Carbon capture and storage solutions

Let’s review their must-have features.

A centralized dashboard for monitoring all energy consumption

A centralized dashboard that provides a real-time view of energy use and storage, costs for all utilities, any anomalies in energy usage, and energy consumption goals tracking.

Utility tracking

Utility tracking provides a 360-degree view of your spending to identify ways to save costs, compare facilities, and detect any spikes in utility usage

Detailed reporting 

A customizable dashboard allows to generate details reports, charts, and graphs on expenses, current and avoided electricity use, carbon emissions, utility billing information, savings, etc. 

Predictive maintenance and troubleshooting 

A dashboard that allows tracking potential malfunctions, keeping logs, and scheduling alerts for maintenance.

Case study: Prototype management platform for wind farms and solar parks by Djangostars

To better demonstrate the concept of renewable energy software, we have developed a prototype management platform for wind farms and solar parks.

It operates in real time and helps organizations monitor, analyze, and manage energy production. With the help of this software, operators can track wind and solar plants via a remote data collection system and immediately react in case of any malfunctions. Here are the key features of this platform.

Performance monitoring

With performance monitoring, organizations can track such vital data as wind speed, rotor speed, temperature, and power output. This data is integrated right from the site and synchronized with a central server. It also stores information about the health of each asset, its maintenance schedule, and alerts when anything needs to be repaired.

Troubleshooting

Each asset has sensors that are connected to the software. With the help of predictive analytics and machine learning, operators may foresee potential malfunctions and receive real-time maintenance alerts.

Budget management

The budget management dashboard helps track energy expenses, calculate ROI, find any bottlenecks in budget planning, and optimize spending accordingly.

Reporting and data

With a reporting dashboard, companies can track their energy production as well as monitor energy generation trends.

Renewable energy software tech stack

Renewable energy solutions usually combine AI, machine learning, blockchain, and IoT to help organizations monitor energy consumption, make predictions, and analyze large amounts of data.

Artificial intelligence use cases

Here are the most common use cases of AI in renewable energy systems:

• Renewable energy generation forecast
• Analysis of energy consumption patterns to predict demand
• Energy consumption analytics
• Weather forecasting for more efficient energy production

IoT use cases

• Digital twinning of solar panels and wind turbines to monitor energy production in real-time
• Remote monitoring of energy flow with the help of sensors and wind turbine monitoring system

Machine learning use cases

• Solar and wind power output prediction based on weather forecasts
• Analysis of the environmental data to identify locations for renewable energy production
• Analysis of the historical consumption data, weather conditions, and other factors to predict demand

These are the general use cases, and the choice of the technology will depend on your software type, business requirements, features, and project size.

Conclusion

Now is just a perfect time to invest in renewable energy software development. Even though the general investment in this sector has slightly declined, there are still industries that continue to raise funds. 

If you want to enter the renewable energy market and need tech consultation, we are here to help you. We will analyze your business requirements and come up with a product development strategy. Contact us for a technical consultation, and let’s protect the environment together.