The development of renewable sources of energy is a global effort. As
the respected Worldwatch Institute cites in its 2015 global status
report for renewables, released in June 2015, renewable energy continued
to grow during 2014 against the backdrop of increasing global energy
consumption, particularly in developing countries, and a dramatic
decline on oil prices.
Globally, as the report notes, there is growing awareness that
increased development of renewable energy is critical for addressing
climate change, stimulating economic development, and making energy
accessible to billions of people still in need of modern energy
services.
Efficiency is critical as the world makes strides toward
sustainability. This is true not only for how societies consume energy,
but in how it is developed as well. geoAMPS offers software solutions to
increase efficiencies in project management and help advance the
continued development of renewable energy.
Founded in 1974 as an independent research institute devoted to
global environmental concerns, Worldwatch Institute is recognized
globally for its foresight and accessible, fact-based analysis. Through
research and outreach that inspire action, Worldwatch seeks to
accelerate the transition to sustainability.
Stable carbon emissions
The organization’s new report offers the startling and encouraging
observation that for the first time in decades, despite rising energy
use, global carbon emissions associated with energy consumption remained
stable in 2014. This occurred even as the global economy grew. This
stabilization is attributed to increased development of renewable
sources of energy and improvements in energy efficiency.
Worldwatch reports that 135 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy power
were added in 2014, increasing the total installed capacity to 1,712 GW.
The added capacity in 2014 was an 8.5 percent increase from the
previous year. Now, more than one quarter of the world’s electricity is generated
through renewable, clean energy. By 2014’s end, global renewable
electricity generation comprised approximately 27.7 percent of total
capacity. Hydropower leads at 16.6 percent, followed by wind at 3.1
percent and biopower at 1.8 percent. Geothermal and solar were less.
New investment in renewable power and fuels increased 17 percent over 2013, to $270.2 billion. The increased development of renewables also is creating jobs. In
2014, an estimated 7.7 million people worldwide worked directly or
indirectly in the renewables sector. Solar power supports the most jobs
at 3.2 million, following by bioenergy at 3 million and windpower at 1
million.
Worldwatch reports that growth in renewables has been driven by
several factors, including renewable energy support policies and the
increasing cost-competitiveness of renewable energy. In the United
States, an example of an energy support policy is the Production Tax
Credit that provides federal tax incentives for the development of
renewable energy. Helping to make renewables more cost-competitive is technology that
standardizes organizational processes, streamlines project management
and improves the performance and longevity of infrastructure.
geoAMPS solution
geoAMPS is the premier provider of software solutions to manage
projects and infrastructure assets. Located in the Columbus, OH area,
geoAMPS has developed web-based software products that standardize
processes and streamline project development and management.
Its software product called altAMPS delivers end-to-end management of
renewable energy projects in a paperless environment. altAMPS is the
industry-leading comprehensive solution for development of wind farms,
solar farms, geothermal plants, biomass facilities and other renewable
energy projects.
altAMPS assists companies through the development, construction and
ongoing operational stages of alternative energy projects. Standardized
organizational processes, error elimination and measured cost savings
made possible by utilizing altAMPS provide opportunities for completion
of projects at reduced costs. That translates into more capacity in
total electricity generation from renewables. altAMPS helps increase
global commitment to renewable energy and decrease dependence on fossil
fuels and foreign sources of energy.
altAMPS offers time-saving tools, such as lease management,
meteorological tower management, royalty payment calculator, bulk
update, automatic reminders, payment tracker and scheduler, workflow and
import-export capabilities, all of which make this powerful software
invaluable for companies involved in renewable energy. Wind energy officials tell us that their number one pain point in
managing a wind farm is dealing with ongoing payment obligations. Absent
an effective strategy and the right technology, wind companies struggle
with this necessary aspect of doing business.
Wind companies employ various means to meet ongoing payment
obligations. Some still work from paper records. Others rely on computer
calendars. Spreadsheets are commonly used. In each case, manual
tweaking of the data is necessary, raising the likelihood of errors and
inconsistencies. Emails or memos with supervisors or payment
administrators must be exchanged. Considering the methods that many wind energy companies employ, it is
not surprising that meeting ongoing payment obligations is such a
problem. The traditional approaches to calculating and issuing these
payments are clunky and inefficient, slow and wrought with the
possibility of error.
Technology now exists which can help wind companies avoid the
pitfalls of traditional methods of meeting ongoing payments. At a time
when the industry is growing dramatically, technology is helping wind
companies operate more efficiently. That will help facilitate the
continued growth of this young industry that is key to mankind’s ability
to combat climate change.
Wind companies need a version of online banking. Without such
technology, the companies face manual calculations that require at least
two weeks of staff time, with multiple staff members involved each
month. Despite this commitment of time and resources, payments can be
late or wrong.
Many variables
There are many variables in meeting ongoing payments for a wind farm.
Lease and royalty payments go out to multiple landowners. The amounts
might have to be divided into percentages for multiple owners of one
tract. Some payments are adjusted by the Consumer Price Index, others by
the Gross Domestic Product Implicit Price. Some payments are adjusted
by simple interest, while others are compounded annually.
Landowners can be individuals, married couples, corporations or
trusts. Landowners can change address. Married couples might get
divorced. Ownership can change by reverting to the estate or going into
probate upon a landowner’s death. Corporations are bought out or close.
Inputting and changing data manually on paper, computer calendars or
spreadsheets do not work well for the speed and accuracy that is
required. It is complicated and time-consuming to track all the triggers
that determine the timeline for payments and the amounts to be issued. Missing payments or issuing incorrect amounts can cause major problems. Landowners are upset when payments are late or wrong.
altAMPS automates the complex process of meeting ongoing payment
schedules, such as lease and royalty obligations. The software is
customized to company or project needs. All landowner and payment
information is entered into the system once, or changes made once, and
the system manages and tracks payments on an ongoing basis. Rather than
relying on hundreds of manual calculations each month that are
time-consuming and prone to error, the web-based software, operating
from a central repository of project and company information, conducts
automatic calculations, factoring in the myriad of variables that may
exist.
In much the same way that online banking has made it easier to manage
household budgets, technological advancements are simplifying the
process of meeting ongoing wind farm payments. The capabilities offered by geoAMPS are just some of the
technological advancements helping to add energy capacity globally from
renewable sources. As these capabilities are utilized, and additional
advancements developed, the Worldwatch Institute will be compiling
annual reports in the future that show an even greater impact by
renewables on global energy generation and consumption.
http://buyersguide.renewableenergyworld.com/geoamps/pressrelease/geoamps-helps-maintain-renewables-global-momentum.html