Butterfly Data wins 2023 SAS Hackathon with renewable energy tool that helps consumers cut energy bills

A Cardiff-based data management consultancy has won a global hackathon with a tool that considers location, the direction a property faces and the weather in that area to give an accurate picture of potential energy generation from renewables.

SAS, the leader in AI and analytics which runs the annual hackathon, named Butterfly Data as the winner of the ‘Global Technology - Visualisation’ category.

The competition – with entries representing 1,400 individuals across 75 countries - challenged teams, working across various industries, to apply technology to solve real-world business and humanitarian problems.

Butterfly Data, which was founded in 2003 by Sara Boltman, presented its green-energy suitability assessment tool to a panel of expert judges.

The team used SAS^® Viya^®, SAS’ cloud-native analytics platform, and other SAS technology to create the tool, collating data on location and weather conditions to recommend the type of green energy a user should consider.

This year more than 100 teams representing 140 organisations applied to join the hackathon and were made up of seasoned data scientists and quantitative experts, but also business analysts, marketers, industry professionals and students.

More than 100 expert judges chose regional, industry, technology and specialty winners.

Commenting on the win, Sara Boltman, founding director at Butterfly Data, said:

“I'm proud of what the team have achieved here; this is the second prize we've won in a SAS hackathon and each time we learn so much about how patterns and trends in data can be visualised. In particular, inventing a new type of visualisation for prevailing wind direction will enable us to open up dialogue with local councils about which new buildings or existing car parks and schools could have wind generators incorporated into their design.”

Jocelyn Gascon-Giroux, principal solutions architect at SAS, said:

“Not only does this project provide a practical solution to the energy crisis that impacts millions of people, helping them to make more informed decisions about renewable energy and cut their energy costs, it will also help to reduce carbon emissions and lead to a more sustainable future. While it has been created for use by consumers, it can easily be applied in the commercial sector. Many congratulations to the whole team at Butterfly Data on the well-deserved win!”

You can find out more about this winning entry in the presentation videos the team created for the SAS Hacker’s Hub.

SAS will announce the overall 2023 SAS Hackathon winner at SAS Explore, the SAS AI and analytics technology conference, Sept. 11-14 in Las Vegas. Register now for SAS Explore.