Renewable energy project management at scale: How Acwa is driving digital transformation

The challenge of renewable energy project management at global scale

As Acwa expands globally, managing renewable energy projects has become increasingly complex. One of the organisation’s core capabilities is construction, but the scale and pace of growth are transforming how projects are delivered.

“Construction is one of the biggest pillars of Acwa’s core capabilities,” explains Mr. Thenayan Althenayan. “And since we are focused on construction, we are going into a massive transformation and business disruptions to this construction business model.”

There are several factors impacting project complexity:

• Operations span multiple geographies with different regulatory requirements
• Rapid growth is increasing pressure on delivery and digital strategy

Together, this combination of scale, geographic spread and regulatory complexity places significant pressure on project management. To succeed, project management must evolve: it must become more connected, data-driven and scalable.

To support this transformation at scale, Acwa is working with Thinkproject to digitise and standardise construction processes across its global portfolio.

 

From project delivery to Asset Lifecycle Management

A key shift in Acwa’s approach to renewable energy project management is moving beyond project delivery towards full asset lifecycle thinking. Instead of focusing only on construction milestones, Acwa connects every stage of the lifecycle, from design and construction to commissioning and operations.

This approach transforms renewable energy project management into a continuous, data-driven process, ensuring long-term value beyond project completion.

Managing Global Renewable Energy Projects with Consistency

Operating across regions requires balancing flexibility with standardisation. Acwa must adapt to local compliance requirements while maintaining a consistent approach to project delivery.

Thinkproject plays a key role in enabling this, providing a central platform where processes and data can be standardised, while still accommodating regional variations. This is critical in complex environments.

“The complexity of projects that we are building… will definitely boost our competitiveness globally,” says Mr. Omar Alhassan, Country General Manager – KSA.

By standardising how renewable energy projects are managed, Acwa strengthens both efficiency and global competitiveness.

 

Real-Time Visibility Across the Project Portfolio

One of the biggest challenges in renewable energy project management is maintaining visibility across multiple projects. To address this, Acwa developed a “Project Heatmap” within the Thinkproject platform.

This provides:

• Real-time insight into project performance
• Portfolio-wide visibility
• Early identification of risks

“In one platform, we will be able to see the real health of the project — where do we stand from quality inspection, schedule reliability and so on,” explains Ms. Hiba Dernayka-Zoohbi.

“Having all the projects under the same platform… gives us the possibility to manage and anticipate risks and avoid similar events,” she adds.

Moreover, lessons learned can also be captured and shared across projects:

“We can log lesson learnt and propose actions that every site has to follow.”

By consolidating project data in one place, Thinkproject enables Acwa to move from reactive reporting to proactive portfolio management.

Digital Transformation as a Foundation for Scalable Renewable Energy Project Management

Acwa’s transformation is supported by Thinkproject as a strategic digital partner, providing a single platform for data, documentation and workflows across its global portfolio, enabling:

• Standardised processes across projects and regions
• Real-time visibility into project and portfolio performance
• Improved compliance across diverse regulatory environments
• Better decision-making through structured, accessible data

This digital foundation allows Acwa to scale its operations while maintaining control, consistency and transparency. For Acwa, digital transformation is not optional but is fundamental to delivering renewable energy projects at scale.

“We look at digital transformation as a key enabler to achieve our transformation targets and ambition,” says Mr. Omar Al Hassan.

“Choosing digital transformation and digitalisation for ACWA is a business need for success,” concludes Ms. Hiba Dernayka-Zoohbi.

With a connected digital foundation, Acwa is able to:

• Manage complexity across global projects
• Scale operations efficiently
• Maintain visibility and control

Its approach demonstrates how renewable energy project management is evolving, from isolated project delivery to integrated, data-driven asset management.

“The journey doesn’t stop at digitalisation,” adds Ms. Hiba Dernayka-Zoohbi. “The next step is increasing the maturity of data and processes to make them ready for AI, and then leveraging AI across our business processes step by step.”