Corporate Renewable Procurement Analytics

Corporate decarbonization goals have increased rapidly in the last few years. The procurement of renewable power is a core strategy used by companies to meet these goals, increasingly in a dynamic manner that addresses the risks associated with uncertain prices and supply intermittency, among others. This section discusses the interplay between data and decision analytics in this rapidly evolving area by considering the construction of a dynamic portfolio of power purchase agreements, which are popular long-term contracts signed by corporations, to meet a future renewable procurement target. It analyzes a stylized setting to provide insight into the effect on decisions of the joint evolution of uncertainties. It also discusses how forecasts, stochastic processes, and deterministic models can be used to obtain procurement policies in practical settings. These elements have a rich history in operations management but have received limited attention for renewable power procurement. Emphasis is placed on how a traditional rolling planning model based on forecasts can be adapted to this procurement setting, as well as where a recent rolling planning technique based on information relaxations can add value.