Context
As renewable energy portfolios grow, managing the commercial and operational aspects becomes increasingly complex. Energy companies need to handle Demand Side Management (DSM) compliance, billing for energy generation and trading, Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) optimization, and agreement management, all while maintaining operational visibility across their portfolio.
Problem
Renewable energy companies were managing DSM analytics, billing, BESS operations, and agreement tracking through a patchwork of spreadsheets, emails, and disconnected tools. There was no unified platform that brought together commercial operations with energy management. This led to billing errors, compliance gaps, and poor visibility into financial and operational performance.
What I Built
CMS / DSM Platform
A comprehensive energy management platform that unifies commercial operations with energy analytics under a single interface.
- DSM analytics, Full demand-side management reporting with deviation calculations, scheduling compliance, and regulatory metrics
- Billing workflows, End-to-end billing pipeline from energy generation data to invoice generation, with support for different billing structures and rate schedules
- BESS management, Battery Energy Storage System monitoring, charging/discharging schedules, state-of-charge tracking, and performance analytics
- Agreement management, Contract lifecycle management for power purchase agreements, SLAs, and compliance tracking
- Operational dashboards, Real-time and historical dashboards for portfolio performance, financial metrics, and compliance status
- Report generation, Automated generation of operational, financial, and compliance reports with export capabilities
Stack
- Next.js, Application frontend and server-side rendering
- MongoDB, Flexible document storage for agreements, billing records, and configuration data
- Blob Storage, File storage for reports, invoices, and document attachments
- Docker, Containerized deployment for production reliability
- Azure, Cloud infrastructure, blob storage, and deployment platform
Outcomes
- Unified platform replacing multiple disconnected tools for energy management
- Automated billing workflows reducing billing cycle time and errors
- BESS optimization through better monitoring and scheduling capabilities
- DSM compliance with accurate deviation reporting and regulatory submissions
- Operational visibility across commercial and energy operations from a single dashboard
Lessons
Energy management software sits at the intersection of commercial operations and engineering. Building this platform required understanding not just the technical requirements, but the business processes around DSM compliance, energy billing, and BESS economics. The best enterprise software is built by people who understand the domain deeply enough to know what to automate and what to keep flexible.