Renewable energy is no longer a fringe technology. It is becoming the backbone of future power systems, driving rapid investment and reshaping how electricity is generated, stored and delivered. Last year, in 2024, renewables accounted for a record 86 per cent of global power additions, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), largely due to significant growth in solar and wind power. The transition is far from simple. As solar parks, wind farms and hybrid systems grow larger and more complex, operators face a pressing question: How do you balance the operational safety demanded by the grid with the commercial pressures of energy trading?
The answer lies in the long-discussed convergence of operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT). For years, OT has been synonymous with deterministic control systems such as programmable logic controllers, supervisory control and data acquisition environments and fieldbus communication. These are technologies designed for reliability, stability and safety.
Information technology, by contrast, is about agility, confidentiality and availability. It relies on cloud platforms, forecasting tools, databases and trading interfaces. In the modern world of distributed energy resources (DER), these two universes cannot remain separate. To succeed, software must span both. Industry experts agree that integrating information and operational technologies is crucial to improve efficiency, reliability and resilience in modern grids, enabling real-time control and data-driven decision making.
When building an operations platform for renewables, operators today face three broad approaches.
Some operators build custom platforms, stitching together operating systems, frameworks and cloud services to create highly tailored environments. While innovative, these solutions demand high development effort, deep expertise and constant upkeep. This makes them costly, fragile and difficult to scale.
Others rely on traditional OT software. Reliable and proven for plant-level control, these systems support industrial protocols and ensure stability. Yet they struggle to extend across fleets or integrate with cloud platforms, leaving operators exposed to vendor lock-in and limited growth potential.
A third approach is software-as-a-service (SaaS). SaaS platforms are attractive because they arrive ready to use, offering fast deployment, portfolio management and trading interfaces out of the box. They scale naturally across fleets and enable sophisticated dashboards and analytics. Yet they are less suited to local control. Their reliance on external infrastructure raises questions about security, availability and data ownership. For operators managing hybrid assets or legacy equipment, SaaS often lacks the necessary flexibility.
Each of these approaches brings strengths, but none alone delivers the balance of safety, flexibility and scalability that renewable energy demands. The answer is not to discard existing strategies but to combine them. A hybrid model lets operators draw on the robustness of OT, the scalability of the cloud and the flexibility of custom development without inheriting their weaknesses.
This is where platforms like zenon, from COPA-DATA, stand out. Acting as a bridge between operational and information technology, zenon unites plant-level control with fleet-wide portfolio management. It's hardware-agnostic automation core supports more than three hundred communication protocols, integrating seamlessly with both legacy and new assets. Independent industry partners highlight zenon’s built-in capabilities for data acquisition, data management, visualization and control.
At the point of interconnection, zenon delivers secure substation and grid control with gateways for protocols like IEC 60870, IEC 61850, DNP3 and OPC-UA, ensuring compliance with utility communication standards. Its IIoT Services – from REST-APIs and dashboards to centralized device management – help plant and fleet operators manage their renewable plant operations reliably and profitably.
Flexibility underpins the platform. Operators can start with no-code templates and progress to advanced customization, while deploying in the cloud, on the edge or on-premises. Embedded cybersecurity, central user management and virtualization support ensure operational resilience while meeting IT demands.
The convergence of OT and IT is no longer optional. It defines renewable energy today. Plants that focus only on safety risk are missing market opportunities, while those chasing profits without stability risk undermining the grid. Sticking with a single approach, whether custom, legacy or cloud-only, leaves operators exposed.
Success in the coming decade depends on software that unites both sides. Hybrid, scalable platforms such as zenon show how operational resilience and commercial opportunity can finally coexist. Industry observers note that enhancing both information and operational technologies together will accelerate the integration of distributed energy resources, improve grid market operations and increase overall system resilience. By embracing such integrated platforms, renewable energy operators can confidently meet the twin demands of grid stability and profitability – ensuring the renewable revolution continues safely for years to come.
For more information, explore our key solutions for renewable energy.