Case Study
Schroders Greencoat Solar

The Client

Industry: Renewable Energy

Schroders Greencoat is one of the UK’s largest independent managers of unlisted institutional capital in solar with over £1.7 billion committed to its solar funds.

Schroders Greencoat Solar owns and operates solar assets in the UK, focused on ground mounted solar PV generation. The strategy aims to provide robust, inflation linked yields to investors through unlisted vehicles.

Through its various vehicles, Schroders Greencoat Solar manages in excess of 1.2GW of generation capacity across over 147 solar farms around the UK, forming a high quality and highly diversified solar portfolio.

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The Requirement

The solar team identified a requirement to upgrade the cyber security and communications infrastructure on their portfolio across the United Kingdom. With an increasing focus on cyber security, the solar team want to ensure they have a secure, robust telecommunications network in place.

High availability of transmission data is the lifeblood of the business as it seeks to provide mission-critical, time-sensitive power generation data to grid operators across the UK.

Given EMR’s previous work with sister company, Greencoat UK Wind, they also won the confidence of the solar team to support their technology requirements across the portfolio.

The Solution

Following a discovery exercise, the EMR team upgraded and configured the network infrastructure including high-availability connectivity at each location.

Secure VPN technology provides system access to various user types and a centralised, cloud-based security platform controls security policy, based on pre-set user and device criteria.

A full, managed service specifically designed to meet the requirements of critical national infrastructure providers is delivered from EMR’s Network Operations Centre.

Swift incident response to telecoms outages, system failure or attempted security breaches ensures maximum network uptime.

“The most important result of this workstream is having pro-active cyber security management in place and this addresses our governance and compliance challenges.”

Adriano Tortora, Asset Director, Schroders Greencoat LLP

Solution at a Glance

In-Depth Telecoms Audit
Performed at each solar farm with detailed communications recommendations
Delivery and Deployment
Installation and commissioning of communications devices
User Configuration
Configuration of a cloud-based centralised security platform to manage different user types, based on secure VPN technology
Detailed Reporting
Reporting dashboard with a unified view of endpoint devices, providing tracking and awareness, compliance enforcement, and detailed analysis of endpoint activity and security events
Remote Monitoring
All equipment is fully supported and remotely managed by the EMR network monitoring service
Partner Liaison
Liaison with Schroders Greencoat Solar’s partners to ensure system uptime

The Benefits

Having a trusted technology partner in EMR brings many advantages to the Schroders Greencoat Solar portfolio.

First and foremost, standardised, best-in-class technology across the entire portfolio reduces ongoing administration and maintenance costs. This forms the basis of a solid, reliable communication system.

Secondly, the centralised, cloud-based security solution improves Schroders Greencoat Solar’s cyber security posture by blocking malware and advanced threats at firewall level and only grants users and other third parties access to the critical systems they need to perform their role.

“Our relationship is based on a long-term partnership, which continues to evolve as we acquire more assets. The team are flexible, proactive and great to work with.”

Adriano Tortora, Asset Director, Schroders Greencoat LLP

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Benefits at a Glance

High-Availability Data
Secure, highly-available data transmission to grid operators around the clock
Network Uptime
Maximum network uptime thanks to monitoring, alerting and escalation service
Role-Based User Access
All users are locked down to just the systems and data they need thanks to pre-defined and centrally controlled security roles
Partnership Trust & Confidence
Confidence in a trusted and reliable technology partner with the deep industry insight to add value to Schroders Greencoat Solar’s operations
Governance & Compliance
Meets Schroders Greencoat Solar’s governance challenges around cybersecurity