Berkshire Hathaway Energy Subsidiaries Double Down on AI and Predictive Maintenance for Wind Fleets with Uptake Technologies

The renewed contract supports the energy companies' digital transformation journey

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Oct 08, 2020, 14:33 ET

CHICAGO and DES MOINES, Iowa, Oct. 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- BHE Renewables and MidAmerican Energy, two subsidiaries of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, have renewed their contract with Uptake Technologies. Uptake has previously worked with both companies to deliver AI-enabled SaaS products to optimize maintenance operations and increase energy production across their wind fleets. The new contract builds on the previous engagement, expanding use of Uptake's product from the current 4,914 megawatts across 23 sites to an additional 13 sites and 2,283 megawatts.

"Three years ago, our companies recognized the potential of Uptake's AI capabilities at a time when Uptake's products were promising, though still emerging," said Tom Budler, president, wind, at BHE Renewables. "We have been pleased with the results and look forward to expanding the application to additional sites and collaborating with Uptake to develop and implement application enhancements over the next three years."

Uptake's power performance AI application enables engineering and operations teams to quickly identify power production issues and their root causes, correcting for confounding variables; leverage supporting evidence to decide on and take action or improve service provider management; and prioritize machine learning recommendations based on potential energy production gains. Uptake has proven to increase annual energy production up to 2% at typical wind customers' sites, including those under warranty maintenance.

The original engagement between Uptake and MidAmerican and BHE Renewables began in 2017 with the goal of increasing the energy production of the companies' wind turbines through predictive data analytics.

Since then, Uptake has been deployed across 16 MidAmerican and seven BHE Renewables sites. Between January 2019 and September 2020 alone, Uptake has delivered a total of 981 validated power performance alerts for MidAmerican and BHE Renewables.

"It's incredibly validating that one of our largest and longest-standing customers is doubling down on Uptake," shared Brad Keywell, Founder and CEO of Uptake. "These companies represented our first customer in the energy industry — they believed in our software and our ability to uncover operational recommendations from the available data coming off their wind turbines. I'm proud that our products have delivered helpful and impactful insights that have enabled legitimate value to Berkshire Hathaway Energy's business."

ABOUT UPTAKE

Uptake is the intelligence system for industrial assets. Providing an AI-driven asset management solution that bridges the gap between industrial assets and front-line workers, Uptake gives all departments—including maintenance, operations, finance, and sales—a single, shared view of every asset in an operation. With the power of machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI), Uptake helps customers monitor and increase the availability of assets, improve asset reliability, and streamline operations. Recognized for leadership in industrial IoT (IIoT) by the World Economic Forum, CNBC and Forbes, Uptake is headquartered in Chicago with presence in Canada, South America, and Australia. To stay up-to-date on what we're doing, visit us at uptake.com and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

ABOUT MIDAMERICAN ENERGY COMPANY

MidAmerican Energy Company is an energy provider serving 791,000 electric customers and 771,000 natural gas customers in Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, and South Dakota. MidAmerican Energy is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Energy and is headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. More information is available at midamericanenergy.com.

ABOUT BHE RENEWABLES

BHE Renewables is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Energy and is headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. Since 2012, BHE Renewables has invested extensively in solar, wind, geothermal, and hydro projects that produce energy for the wholesale market and for customers under long-term power purchase agreements. As a long-term owner of assets, the company's renewables projects help to reduce the environmental impact of energy creation and include 1,665 megawatts of wind, 1,536 megawatts of solar, 345 megawatts of geothermal, and 138 megawatts of hydro. More information is available at bherenewables.com.

CONTACT

Morgan Scott

[email protected]; 312-465-6345

MidAmerican Energy

Media Hotline: 515-281-2266

[email protected]

SOURCE Uptake