As Colorado accelerates its transition to 100% renewable energy, it faces one major challenge - reliability. On days when the wind doesn’t blow or the sun doesn’t shine, the state still needs to maintain a stable supply and respond to fluctuating demands for energy.

Our client, a renewable energy company, wanted Colorado to invest in their new energy storage facility, but the state was put off by the significant upfront cost.

QuasiScience modelled demand for energy storage throughout Colorado’s green transition and proved that flexible and reliable storage solutions will be operationally essential. Our client was then able to proceed to build a solid business case to secure financing.

The system will last, if properly maintained, a century or longer. The capital investment up front is quite high, but when you run the financial models over 30, 50 or 60 years, this technology is, hands down, the cheapest technology on the market for storage.

— Peter Gish, Principal, Ortus Climate

The high cost of going green

Despite their environmental benefits, power sources such as wind and solar are by their nature intermittent, which introduces major challenges for national grids, who need to maintain a stable supply and respond to fluctuating demands for energy.

This challenge makes energy storage and emergency power control crucial capabilities. Our client, an innovative renewable energy company, wanted to secure investment for a hydropower reservoir, which uses excess energy to store water at height so that its potential energy can be converted into electricity when required.

But these facilities are expensive to build, with upfront costs of >£1bn. Our client needed to prove why this capability would offer a good return on investment.

Numerical simulation de-risks decision-making

Using advanced numerical simulation and optimisation techniques, QuasiScience modelled how demand for energy storage changes depending on the uptake of renewable energy. We:

• Tested different grid and market scenarios to quantify risk and opportunity.
• Optimised operational and investment strategies for different scenarios.
• Provided actionable insights for decision-makers, proving the critical role of energy storage as the proportion of renewable energy in the grid increases.

Evidence-based insights unlock high-value deals

Thanks to QuasiScience’s analysis, our client was able to secure:

• Investment readiness: The analysis provided the evidence needed to convince investors of the viability of the project.
• Competitive advantage: The insights gained from the simulations allowed our client to differentiate themselves in a competitive market.
• Long-term planning: The ability to model different scenarios enabled our client to plan for the future with greater confidence.

Sustainable Goals

QuasiScience’s study reframed Colorado’s conversation about hydropower energy storage: this capability is not just a contribution to aspirational sustainability goals, it’s strategically essential. Thanks to QuasiScience’s analysis, our client was able to demonstrate the strategic value of hydropower storage, linking the capability to measurable reliability gains; as well as to Colorado’s clean energy targets.

Numerical simulations and optimisation can de-risk businesses and make investors’ decisions easier, and give leaders the confidence they need to make the investments that really matter.

Hydropower storage has now been established as a cornerstone of Colorado’s renewable energy future.