When we discuss renewable energy, asset management is often portrayed in either technical or financial terms: maximising performance, optimising operations and protecting shareholder value. But to see asset management solely through this lens is to miss its deeper purpose. At its essence, asset management is a duty of care, a duty to ensure that assets generate not only a return for investors, but also a return for staff, subcontractors, adjacent communities and the environment. 

Effective asset management begins with people. It is about investing in staff development, building the capacity of subcontractors and uplifting the community around our projects. This involves humility and a clear sense of purpose: juxtaposing commercial intent with what are ultimately its human and social consequences. In this mindset, people are valued not only as contributors to assets, but as assets in their own right. Assets are stronger, more viable and sustainable if decisions are made with regard for staff wellbeing, community resilience and local economic development. 

Keeping Up With Climate Change 

The risks facing renewable assets are evolving rapidly. Traditional weather models are no longer reliable predictors. For example, what used to be considered “100-year floods” are occurring within a decade. Fire risks, previously negligible in some areas, now require significant mitigation strategies.

Proactive asset management means adapting to these shifts in real time. Recent measures include enhancing fire response protocols and systems to ensure rapid and coordinated action when incidents arise. The approach also involves expanding firebreaks and strengthening land rehabilitation programmes to reduce vulnerability and restore ecological balance. Continuous monitoring and analysis of changing weather patterns are being conducted to build more accurate, forward-looking risk models. In addition, partnerships with research institutions are helping to deepen understanding of how climate change impacts both infrastructure and surrounding communities.

There’s a simple truth underlying the importance of this work: Asset managers will need to move beyond their dependence on historical data to constructing predictive models for a future nobody has experienced. 

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced maintenance management systems is reshaping the asset management landscape. AI can detect anomalies, predict maintenance needs and reduce downtime faster than human teams alone. These tools offer the potential for higher efficiency and improved returns.

But the essence of adopting new technology should not be efficiency alone. The question is: how do these tools serve broader value creation? When applied with intention, AI can free up human capacity, reduce risk exposure and ensure that gains are shared among all stakeholders, not just shareholders.

Asset Management as Stewardship 

At the core of it, asset management in renewable energy is stewardship. It is the practice of managing assets for purpose across a range of constituencies – investors, employees, communities, the environment – yet also one based on the realisation that risk, performance and social impact are fundamentally inter-related. This service-based perspective transforms asset management from the practice of running and maintaining things to a discipline of care: care for the natural environment that enables our assets, care for the individuals who are responsible for them and care for the communities in which they support. At the moment, there is little option to the contrary, given the uncertainties of climate and the pace of technological change. Asset managers that take stewardship seriously will not only outperform financially, they will also play an essential role in making sure the promise of renewable energy becomes reality, to power societies in ways that are resilient, inclusive and just. 

• Ziska Mc Gilton is Head of Asset Management at Pele Green Energy, where she oversees 924 MW of operational renewable energy assets across South Africa. With more than 15 years of experience in renewable energy, she specialises in optimising asset performance, financial management, and stakeholder engagement, while ensuring safe, reliable operations and meaningful community impact.