Discovery Green launches EnergyOS: the system that turns renewable energy from a risk into an advantage for businesses in South Africa

For many businesses, procuring renewable energy is no longer the problem. The harder challenge is ensuring that the energy procured consistently delivers the financial and sustainability outcomes the business expects.

Businesses face a renewable-energy trilemma: maximising savings, reducing emissions and managing financial risk. Yet traditional renewable-energy procurement has largely focused on securing supply and achieving an attractive starting price, treating energy as a commodity rather than a strategic business asset.

This approach can leave businesses exposed to three significant sources of uncertainty: variable renewable generation, unpredictable electricity consumption and changing market conditions. When these factors do not align, businesses may receive less value from their renewable-energy investment, experience greater financial volatility and fall short of their sustainability objectives. The consequences can be severe. Research conducted by Discovery Green found that annual savings can vary by as much as 35% in either direction for wind generation and 19% for solar. In some scenarios, expected savings can turn into losses. As renewable-energy markets become larger and more complex, securing renewable energy is no longer enough. Businesses increasingly need a way to understand, manage and optimise these risks if they are to consistently achieve their intended commercial and sustainability outcomes.

In response, Discovery Green has launched EnergyOS, its proprietary renewable energy operating system designed to manage renewable energy risks on behalf of businesses for improved commercial outcomes. EnergyOS combines sophisticated forecasting in generation, consumption and market prices. Together with customisation and energy-allocation capabilities, it helps businesses improve the value they derive from renewable-energy while managing the uncertainty that can impact the balance sheet. EnergyAI, a continuous feedback loop, powers the operating system.

The outcomes are profound. Over 10,000 consumption simulations, 87 million generation simulations, and over 200,000 future market price points have shown that on average EnergyOS produces a reduction of 88% in risk and an increase of 105% in savings relative to traditional procurement approaches, all whilst achieving an electricity emissions reduction of 90%.

“Many businesses typically assess renewable energy procurment based on its price and quantity, treating it as a commodity in a stable world” says Andre Nepgen, CEO of Discovery Green. “But this is a dangerously narrow view. The real measure of success is whether that energy delivers sustained savings, manageable risk and meaningful emission reductions across a wide range of potential futures.”

The launch comes at a significant moment for renewable energy in South Africa. Renewable energy adoption continues to grow, giving businesses greater access to lower-carbon electricity and new procurement options. Consequently, this growing market has attracted billions of rands worth of new solar and wind investment.

Applying Discovery’s actuarial thinking to energy

Discovery Green says the development of EnergyOS draws on Discovery’s long-standing expertise in risk management, modelling and designing solutions in insurance and other financial services.

“For more than three decades, Discovery has developed unique capabilities in risk management,” says Dan Ginsberg, Head of Actuarial and R&D at Discovery Green. “The renewable-energy market presents many of the same fundamental challenges. Generation fluctuates, demand is unpredicatable and future market conditions remain uncertain. EnergyOS brings actuarial thinking to these challenges so that renewable energy can be managed with greater sophistication”

According to Discovery Green, the renewable-energy market is entering a new phase. It believes that renewable energy can be pooled, modelled and managed, much like the approach taken to manage individual insurance risks. This begins with forecasting, where millions of potential generation outcomes are considered against thousands of unique energy consumption patterns. These outcomes are tested against an array of future market prices to create a statistical distribution of likely outcomes, instead of a single data point.

While complex in nature, this distribution gives businesses better and more relevant understanding of the risk and return of any renewable energy solution.

The forecasting capability is fed into Discovery Green’s proprietary customisation model that incorporates the unique risk appetite and needs of a business. The allocation model then allows EnergyOS to find the optimal energy allocation for a portfolio of businesses at any given time that maximises savings and minimises risk, and dynamically adjusts and learns with EnergyAI.

The proprietary allocation model allows EnergyOS to delivery improved business outcomes, enabled by the unique understanding of risk derived by the forecasting model.

“No one can predict with complete certainty how the wind will blow, how the sun will shine, how a business’s electricity needs will change or how the energy market will evolve,” says Nepgen. “The answer is not to pretend that this uncertainty does not exist. It is to understand it, quantify it and manage it more effectively on behalf of businesses.”

The approach also reflects Discovery’s shared-value philosophy. By delivering greater savings to businesses, while managing the underlying risk, investment in renewable energy grows. This in turn leads to greater emissions reductions and better outcomes for Discovery Green and its customers.

EnergyOS underpins Discovery Green. The operating system will be available to all new business clients, and all existing Discovery Green customers will be migrated in 2026.