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October 18, 2011 -- Solar Power Technologies Inc. recently released its Clarity system, a suite of hardware and software solutions that enable optimization and monitoring of large-scale solar sites. The system can be deployed at the string or panel level and includes a suite of cloud-based software management tools that deliver actionable information by analyzing array performance, diagnosing impairments and identifying remedial action.
The design of the system enables optimizers and monitors to be interchanged within an array and scaled from full array coverage down to the string level or selective coverage. The company reports that the system is able to pinpoint array performance problems down to the panel level with an accuracy of 0.5%. It is on display at Solar Power International (SPI), October 17-20 in Dallas, TX.
Solar Power Technologies’ CEO Ray Burgess discussed the system’s capabilities and the concerns of large site owners with respect to operations and maintenance (O&M) in a podcast interview with ElectroIQ.com (listen below). “PV energy systems are suffering losses in terms of energy production -- whether they come from soiling, shade, orientation, temperature, or even power degradation -- the issue is how to know what they are, how to find them, and to do something about them, and this needs to happen in fields of tens of thousands of panels,” observed Burgess. “Having intelligence down to the panel level would clearly provide the best insight, but until now, this hasn’t been practical or cost-effective for large-scale systems.” The new product suite is designed to tackle this challenge.
Burgess defined the optimization strategy as two-fold: 1) efficient O&M strategies that are driven by insight, and 2) intelligent analysis, and dynamic optimization using power-mounted DC optimizers where site-specific conditions warrant them and where the financial return is justified. “Enabling this two-pronged approach provides a new range of options to improve ROI at large-scale site,” said Burgess.
According to Burgess, sites are generally overbuilt by about 20% on the DC side to ensure that initial losses even, in a clean and unshaded array, don’t pull energy output down below the intended peak performance target. “There have been studies that show that the application of optimization electronics can yield energy output gains of 6-8% vs. a PV watts predictor, so you can potentially reduce that overbuild,” he said. Several studies showing the impact of maintenance and actionable intelligence and how it can greatly impact the power output were cited by Burgess in the podcast.
To achieve the 0.5% accuracy for life, individual optimizers and monitors measure panel and string voltage, currents and power, and are temperature compensated for life. This data is collected ~256x/sec for every panel in the array and communicated to the cloud-based intelligent array for analysis and diagnostics. Pattern-matching (image recognition) techniques are used to recognize faults and impairments, calculate financial impact, and recommend action.
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