Bostinno
How REsurety is de-risking renewable energy
By: Emma Campbell
Renewable energies are by definition harvested from natural resources, such as wind or sunlight, and can be replenished, unlike fossil fuels. And the market is exploding, with one projection estimating its worth at $1.5 billion by 2025.
One major problem with clean energy, however, is its uncertain fuel source—the weather.
That’s where REsurety comes in. REsurety, a 2020 Inno on Fire honoree, provides valuation and risk management analytics to buyers and sellers of clean energy.
“When renewables came onto the scene, they had this wonderful economic advantage over traditional generation in that the fuel is and always will be free,” co-founder and CEO Lee Taylor said. “But if the wind isn't blowing, or the sun isn't shining, during the hour in which electricity is valuable, that has a dramatic impact on the value of either selling or buying renewable energy, because of a risk that you don't control—the weather. [Resurety] was started to provide, at first, the analytics to understand that risk and then secondarily, the financial tools to manage it.”
Founded in 2012, REsurety has several different business models.
First, the company licenses the data that it sells. Second, REsurety sells products including REmap, which maps out weather patterns and allows clients to check the performance of intermittent generation assets—such as wind and solar projects. Clients pay an annual fee to access the REmap software.
Other transaction services include long-term hedging contracts, a proxy revenue swap and price generation power purchase agreements. These are all financial products that enable consumers to establish a certain value for their project or the cost of purchasing for a project.
Lastly, the company provides analysis and support services on transactions. These advisory services are success-based: REsurety only gets paid if the transaction closes.
“Everything from licensing of information to success-based advisory, we sort of run the gamut in terms of monetizing our products,” Taylor said.
Taylor, who won this year’s “Rising Star Under 40” at the Cleanie Awards, said there are several different types of risks associated with clean energy, including physical, financial and environmental.
REsurety’s work is mostly in the second type of risk, financial. Take, for example, the wind’s impact on the value of electricity. If the wind blows more or less than expected, the anticipated amount of power generated can become significantly more or less valuable.
REsurety is now diving into the environmental risk space.
“If, for example, you are a commercial industrial buyer... and you're procuring energy from a wind or solar project, you're doing that for financial goals, but also sustainability goals,” Taylor said. “Depending on where your projects located, how well it performs versus expectations, you may be getting more or less environmental attributes than you had wanted when you entered into that agreement, and are looking for other ways to manage that if that's not the case.”
With a team of atmospheric scientists and finance professionals, REsurety is on a mission to “empower the clean energy future."
