The People of PEAK Wind is a Q&A series where we talk to colleagues from across the business, different roles, regions and backgrounds, about the work they do, what drives them, and the experience they bring to it.
For our first conversation, we spoke with Joshua Forsyth, Director of Asset Management Europe & Americas. Josh has spent his career in asset and operations management, helping owners get the most out of their assets long after commissioning. In this conversation, he shares what first drew him to renewables, where he sees owners gaining the most value from strong asset management, what the industry still underestimates, and what excites him about AI’s growing role in the field.
1. What first drew you to the renewable energy sector, and what’s kept you motivated over the years?
What first drew me to the sector, and what still motivates me today, is the opportunity and dynamism it brings. The industry is constantly evolving, which means we are continually challenged to find better, more innovative and more sustainable ways of working, while at the same time dealing with the day-to-day execution complexity of developing, building and operating large-scale physical assets.
In recent years, my focus has increasingly been on how we build the right organisational models and apply new solutions with our partners to extract the greatest possible value from their investments. I find that combination of people, technology, strategy and real-world assets particularly intriguing.
2. In your role at PEAK Wind, where do you see asset owners gaining the most value from strong asset management?
I think it comes back to getting the fundamentals right. Whether it is an owner’s own organisation or an outsourced asset and operations management partner such as PEAK Wind, having the right operating model, people, processes and tools in place is critical.
Once those foundations are established, the focus can shift from reacting to lagging indicators towards actively managing the people and processes that drive performance. In the operations phase, value is often created through continuous, incremental improvement rather than one-off breakthroughs.
It is a bit like investing in an index fund: it may be less exciting than looking for the next big opportunity, but consistently making the right decisions over a long period is where compounding value is created.
“Consistently making the right decisions over a long period is where compounding value is created.” – Joshua Forsyth
3. When you talk to owners today, what part of asset management do you think deserves more attention than it typically gets?
I would highlight two areas.
First, I think the industry is increasingly having to rethink the traditional assumption that everything needs to be managed in-house. The question isn’t necessarily whether something should be outsourced or retained internally, but where an owner can create the most value. A strong network model can give owners access to specialist capabilities while retaining the flexibility to adapt as the industry, technology and their portfolios evolve.
Second, there needs to be stronger alignment between strategy and day-to-day decision-making. That requires transparency through good data, the right KPIs and effective performance forums. Monthly meetings and quarterly board reviews are important, but they are ultimately lagging indicators. The real improvements happen in the work between those meetings, translating strategy into consistent decisions and actions every day.
4. When you look at long-term asset performance, what tends to make the biggest difference over time?
Incremental gains.
The biggest difference comes from identifying where value is being lost and systematically addressing those issues one by one, whether that is the technical issues driving downtime, improving the conversion of potential power prices into realised revenues, or tackling the largest OPEX categories.
None of these changes necessarily looks transformational on its own. But over the lifetime of an asset, thousands of small improvements and good decisions compound into significant value.
There’s a saying in the UK: “Look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves.” That’s very much how I think about long-term asset performance.
But you need a consistent focus on this, from a leadership perspective and through the organisation – an Owner’s mindset in everything we do.
5. What are you most excited about when you look at how asset management is evolving in the years ahead?
The application of AI.
I think AI has the potential to fundamentally change how asset management is delivered. It can automate many of the fundamentals, improve how we identify and prioritise issues, and make sophisticated asset management capabilities more accessible across the industry.
But for me, the most exciting part is what that allows asset managers to do with their time. If we can automate more of the reporting, monitoring and routine analysis, we can spend more time on judgement, prioritisation, commercial decisions and creating value for owners.
I don’t see AI replacing good asset management; I see it raising the standard of what good asset management can be.
Have a question for Joshua? Feel free to reach out to him at info@peak-wind.com
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