How Voltalia generates 4.7 TWh of green energy with Airtable
Voltalia revolutionizes renewable energy project management with Airtable, centralizing data, improving collaboration across 16 countries, and re-engaging projects for enhanced efficiency and growth.
16
Countries working collaboratively driving enhanced efficiency
200
Users focused on higher value activities
11
Paused projects back in focus with better tracking and accessible data
Voltalia, a global leader in renewable energy, is committed to developing, constructing, and operating energy projects that are environmentally sustainable and globally impactful. Operating in over 20 countries with more than 2,000 employees, Voltalia focuses on producing energy from a variety of renewable sources, including solar, wind, hydro, biomass, and energy storage solutions. In 2024, Voltalia generated 4.7 TWh of green electricity, marking a significant milestone in their mission to improve the global environment.
As Voltalia’s operations grew, so did the complexity of managing large-scale energy projects across various countries and regions. To maintain operational efficiency and ensure seamless collaboration among their teams, Voltalia needed a solution that could help streamline project management while keeping up with the increasing demand for transparency and real-time data.
Emilie DE NEEF, Voltalia’s Business Process Lead, shares,
"Airtable has helped us take our project management to the next level. With its flexibility and real-time visibility, we’ve been able to improve collaboration across our teams, streamline workflows, and make better decisions faster."
Voltalia turned to Airtable to enhance their project management processes, offering a solution that combined the flexibility of a customizable platform with the power of centralized data.
The challenge: managing global operations efficiently across multiple regions
Before adopting Airtable, Voltalia relied on a variety of tools to manage project data. While these tools served their purpose, the growing scale of their projects led to some challenges:
Dispersed data: Information was stored across multiple platforms like Excel files, emails, and physical documents. This decentralized data made it harder for teams to access up-to-date information in a timely manner.
Lack of standardization: Different teams across various regions were using different formats for entering data, which created inconsistencies and made reporting more time-consuming.
Managing long-term projects: With projects spanning several years, it was difficult to keep track of progress, particularly when there were multiple stakeholders involved across different time zones.
Historical data management: When a project transitioned between team members, critical historical data was sometimes lost, leading to delays and inefficiencies.
While Voltalia’s teams were effective in managing these projects, there was room for improvement in how they tracked and shared information across different regions and departments.
The solution: Airtable centralizes data and enhances cross-department collaboration
Voltalia turned to Airtable as a solution to centralize and streamline their project management processes. The goal was to create a unified platform where project data could be easily accessed, updated, and tracked in real time.
"With Airtable, we’ve been able to centralize our data and get rid of the scattered systems that were causing inefficiencies. Now, all our teams are working from the same platform, and it’s made a world of difference."
Airtable provided Voltalia with the flexibility to design custom workflows tailored to their unique needs. One of the major benefits was the centralization of data. By consolidating all project-related information in one place, teams no longer had to rely on multiple spreadsheets or isolated systems. This helped reduce errors and ensured that all teams, no matter where they were located, had access to the same, up-to-date information.
The customizable interfaces allowed Voltalia to adapt Airtable to fit the specific needs of each department, whether for project tracking, budgeting, or stakeholder management. This flexibility was key in enabling various teams—across regions and departments—to collaborate more effectively and keep everyone aligned.
Automation also played a crucial role in improving efficiency. With Airtable, Voltalia could set up automated workflows for recurring tasks such as status updates, reminders, and milestone tracking. This reduced the manual work required to keep projects on track and ensured that important tasks and deadlines were never missed.
The results: increased efficiency and real-time visibility for better decision-making
These improvements didn’t happen overnight, though. Like any new tool, Airtable required time, training, and a few internal adjustments to fit the specific workflows. But once the foundation was in place, the benefits quickly became clear and adoption across teams grew organically.
Voltalia’s use of Airtable led to several positive outcomes. With 16 countries and over 200 users now on the platform, the company was able to:
Save time: By centralizing project data and automating repetitive tasks, teams were able to focus on higher-value activities, such as analyzing data and making strategic decisions.
Increase collaboration: Teams across multiple countries were able to collaborate more efficiently, thanks to real-time visibility into project statuses and seamless communication.
Re-engage abandoned projects: With better tracking and more accessible data, Voltalia was able to bring 11 paused projects back into focus in the UK, even in a challenging regulatory environment.
Reduce errors: With standardized data entry and automated workflows, Voltalia saw a reduction in errors related to data discrepancies and manual reporting.
"The ability to work in real-time and keep everything connected in one place has allowed us to be much more proactive and much less reactive. We’re making better, faster decisions than ever before."
By streamlining operations, Voltalia was able to improve its overall efficiency, reduce the time spent on administrative tasks, and enhance the quality of project oversight. This allowed them to better manage their growing portfolio of renewable energy projects.
“Our project development cycles are long and complex — from scouting land to getting permits, signing contracts, and managing construction. Airtable helped us bring structure to this journey, especially when several teams across different countries are involved.” concludes Emilie De Neef.
The future: leveraging Airtable AI for continued growth
As Voltalia continues to expand its renewable energy projects worldwide, Airtable will remain a key tool in their operations. The company plans to leverage Airtable further to support the entire lifecycle of their projects, from scouting new locations to managing long-term operations.
Voltalia is also exploring the integration of Airtable AI to further optimize processes and enhance decision-making. By continuing to streamline their workflows and improving their project management capabilities, Voltalia is positioning itself to drive even more impact in the renewable energy industry.