Case study: Ensuring exceptional PV performance with insolar

Case studyEnsuring Exceptional

PV Performance with insolar

Case study: Ensuring Exceptional PV Performance with insolar 2

of faults and malfunctions

Introduction

Prompt and reliable detection

Assessment Correction

Operation & Maintenance is the most important service after plant commissioning

To ensure maximum yield and uninterrupted operation of a PV plant there must be:

Insolar, Inacecss monitoring solution, helps solar plants stakeholders to manage

in a centralized way their portfolio

A real-life case study, describing how insolar ensures exceptional performance

is presented in the following slides.


Overview of the PV plant used in this case study

2 MWp solar plant

Installed in Peloponnese, Greece

Commissioned in August 2009

186 SMA string inverters

All production and other electro-mechanical equipment is monitored (strings, inverters, MV switchboards, transformers, substations etc) Meteo-conditions, communication status and security system are also monitored


Using insolar to Detect Malfunctions

On the Summary page there is a sortable list of all current problems.

The Map tab provides a basic description above the geographical pinpoint.

The Events Viewer tab lists all current events in an easily sortable format.

Any issue is immediately visible in three locations of insolar portal.


The Plant Browser

Characterized by a practical and variable coloring of any part of the plant where a specific issue or problem has occurred.

Insolar has the most detailed analysis for the whole plant from the grid connection down to a single string.


The Plant Manager

Provides quick access to all important elements and parameters of the solar Plant (energy flow, present revenue, and CO2 reduction results). Contains handy plots of revenue over time, yields and losses, efficiencies, performance ratios, and output energy.

By crosschecking those values with detailed logs produced from the plant browser, it is possible to detect immediately the type of malfunction or failure that led to a lowered yield or an increased loss.


The Event Handling

The Event Handling page enables the detection of similar issues that take place during a specific period of time.

It is therefore easy to link them to the overall performance of the plant or to specific conditions such as snow or soiling.


Examples of real problem solving using Insolar (1/3)

Low Performance Ratio

Real case No.1:

A notable performance ratio drop was followed by a low-performance ratio alarm, which persisted for several days.

Specifically, the performance ratio dropped from its normal range of between 82 – 93% to values below 80% without any technical issues or malfunctions being present.

The operator’s technical team visited the site and discovered extensive soiling of the PV panels.

It turns out that a light rain during very dusty conditions had left heavy deposits on the panels.

After cleaning them, the production and performance ratio returned to normal.


Examples of real problem solving using Insolar (2/3)

Low current alarm

Real case No.2:

At some point in time an alarm noting abnormally low current periodically appeared.

By following the history of events, the low current alarm was isolated to a number of specific strings and was limited to a few hours before sunset.

This alarm indicates that one or more strings are underperforming compared to others. This kind of irregularities typically indicates a shadowing issue.

Combining the inSolar recorded events with images taken from cameras close to this part of the plant provided proof.

The vegetation beneath some panels had grown to such an extent that shadowed some of them during the late afternoon hours.


Examples of real problem solving using Insolar 3/3)

Buckholz Relay alarm

Real case No.3:

The insolar system includes monitoring of the status of the Buckholz relay of the oil-immersed power transformers used at this solar plant.

The condition of the Buckholz relay is extremely important since a possible trip leadsto a disconnection of the transformer.

This idles the part of the plant that is connected to this specific transformer,leading to a great loss of energy produced.

After the issue of a related alarm, a technician was sent to check the transformer condition.

The technician discovered that the transformer windings were overheating,and the problem was restored avoiding a severe production loss.

For further info, please contact:Mr. Angelos Koronias

M: [email protected]: +30 210 68 02 300

Inaccess was founded in 2000, with a focus on renewable energy and telecom infrastructure management. We design and develop state-of-the-art products and solutions, which give our partners invaluable access to information, enabling them to maximize the viability and effectiveness of their investments through

performance optimization and OPEX reduction.

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Case study: Ensuring exceptional PV performance with insolar

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