Accenture and Microsoft Team up to Help the UK’s Low-Carbon Transition

Accenture and Microsoft are teaming up to help speed up the UK’s low-carbon transition. The companies, in conjunction with their joint venture, Avanade, will work together to help utility and energy companies transform the energy system and lower the cost of decarbonizing the supply and demand of electricity in the UK, underpinned by open data, artificial intelligence (AI) and a digital workforce.

The UK is the first G7 country to legislate for a net-zero target for carbon emissions by 2050. Accenture, Microsoft, and Avanade will combine their capabilities across cloud, data, and AI, coupled with their experience with internet of things, digital twins, and industry transformation, to help utility and energy companies support the UK’s low-carbon ambition.

SSE Renewables, a developer and operator of renewable energy across the UK and Ireland, is working with the companies to apply technology to reimagine its operations. Analytics, AI, and data visualization capabilities are being deployed on Microsoft Azure for scalability and speed, empowering the company to generate operational and commercial insights from diverse data sets. According to the companies, this helps SSE Renewables to be more cost effective and increase the reliability and life of its renewable generation assets. The company is also using AI to ensure wildlife is not adversely affected by its new windfarms.

Accenture, Microsoft, and Avanade’s integrated approach to UK decarbonization focuses on the following goals:

• Help utility and energy clients decarbonize the supply of energy by reducing the cost of renewable generation by up to 25% and increasing its role in system balancing — managing fluctuations in the production of electricity — while ensuring nuclear plays its role effectively as a continuous supplier of base-load electricity. The lifetime costs of offshore assets can be reduced, for example, by implementing remote inspection using drones and AI.
• Support the cost-effective electrification of energy demand. This includes enabling 50% of the new electricity demand for transportation and heating to contribute to balancing a system where more than 70% of the power generated is from renewable sources. For example, this could involve incentivizing the charging of electric vehicles when the wind is blowing.
• Efficiently match supply and demand for an electricity system that is zero-carbon by 2025 and help clients realize a 20% reduction in the cost of meeting increasing electricity demand through innovative approaches to network design, construction and operation — for instance, by creating digital twins of physical assets.

These efforts will be supported through the use of open industry data to provide more secure, consistent and accessible information that will drive efficiency, support cross-industry innovation around new markets, and improve asset performance and optimization. The companies will also help clients digitally enable their workforces by harnessing the power and collective intelligence of diverse teams. Connected workers, for instance, could access support remotely, resulting in higher task completion rates, improved productivity and enhanced safety in the field.