O&M - Best Practice Guidelines
O&M - Best Practice Guidelines
O&M - Best Practice Guidelines
Maintenance
Best Practice Guidelines
Africa edition
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Foreword
Welcome to the Africa edition of the Operation and Maintenance (O&M) Best Practice Guidelines. Building on
Version 4.0 of SolarPower Europe’s O&M Best Practice Guidelines, this edition is adapted to the Sub-Saharan
African context. It is a joint effort between SolarPower Europe and ten African solar and renewable energy industry
associations, and supported by GET.invest, a European programme which mobilises investments in decentralised
renewable energy, supported by the European Union, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands and Austria.
Many Sub-Saharan African markets have already added the first tens and, in some cases, hundreds of MWs of
solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity, with significant growth expected in the coming years. As markets develop,
concerns increase around the long-term reliability and performance of solar assets, as they strongly affect project
bankability and return on investments. As power plants age, the industry has realised that proper “health care” is
indispensable for power plants to meet performance expectations. Today, O&M has become a standalone
segment within the solar industry, with an increasing number of solar companies in Africa providing specialised
services. Yet there are still significant quality discrepancies between services from different providers.
To address these challenges, SolarPower Europe joined forces with GET.invest and ten African solar and
renewable energy associations from Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania,
Zambia and Zimbabwe to develop the Africa edition of the O&M Best Practice Guidelines. Our joint African-
European O&M Task Force was launched in September 2020, assembling 30 leading solar experts from Africa
and Europe. The kick-off meeting was followed by a series of online working meetings, in which we updated
Version 4.0 of SolarPower Europe’s O&M Best Practice Guidelines, in order to reflect the market and business
conditions in Africa. The result is a guide that we hope will help African solar stakeholders increase quality in
the O&M segment. This document is aimed at O&M service providers, as well as other parties involved in the
operation of solar power plants, such as owners and investors, lenders, technical advisors and data-related
service providers. It will help establish common standards and increase transparency in the sector. It is also
worth noting that solar O&M is especially value intensive, as a segment that supports many local jobs, and drives
important solar innovations, notably in the field of digitalisation.
In the Africa edition, all chapters of the original document have been thoroughly reviewed and revised with a
focus on unique aspects of Sub-Saharan Africa. A key objective was to make sure that this edition will also be
useful for operators of small and medium-size C&I installations. For this, we have tweaked the requirements
for smaller installations where necessary, such as for simplified Documentation Management Systems or
Monitoring Tools. We have also considered that water scarcity may be an issue in many regions of Africa. This
has certain repercussions for operators’ environmental and social responsibilities, and operators are encouraged
to reduce the amount of water used for module cleaning through various innovations. Finally, we introduced a
new chapter on “O&M for standalone solar systems with storage”, a chapter to assist in the application of best
practices to off-grid systems. These are only some examples from the many updates that we implemented in
order to make these Guidelines as useful as possible for solar businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa.
We encourage all solar operators in the African region to consider adopting these Guidelines and reach out to
their respective industry associations with any questions or suggestions.
Vice-Chairs of the SolarPower Europe Lifecycle Quality Workstream: Alden Lee, ABO Wind; Ralph Gottschalg, Fraunhofer CSP.
Coordinator of the African-European O&M Task Force: Máté Heisz, SolarPower Europe.
Contact: info@solarpowereurope.org.
Contributors of the Africa edition: Lande Abadu, Renewable Energy Association of Nigeria (REAN); David Achi, Association of Renewable Energy Professionals
of Côte d'Ivoire (APERCI); Segun Adaju, Renewable Energy Association of Nigeria (REAN); Enoch Agyepong, Renewable Energy Association of Ghana (REAG);
Thomas C. Sauer, EXXERGY; Ricardo Costa Pereira, Renewable Energy Association of Mozambique (AMER); Emmett Costel, Renewable Energy Association of
Mozambique (AMER); Paolo di Ciaccio, Eni; Ralph Gottschalg, Fraunhofer CSP; Niveshen Govender, South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA);
Kamal Gupta, Kenya Renewable Energy Association (KEREA); Máté Heisz, SolarPower Europe; Bernhard Höfner, ABO Wind; Geoffrey Kaila, Solar Industry
Association of Zambia (SIAZ); Hadyr Koumakpai, JA Solar/African Solar Industry Association (AFSIA); Juan Luis Agarrado, 3E; Matthew Matimbwi, Tanzania
Renewable Energy Association (TAREA); Joyce Naa Oturku, Renewable Energy Association of Ghana (REAG); Joseph Nader, TÜV Rheinland Middle East; Chanda
Nxumalo, South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA); Isaiah D. Nyakusendwa, Renewable Energy Association of Zimbabwe (REAZ); Eliane Pohl,
Greenbyte; Geoffrey R. John, Tanzania Renewable Energy Association (TAREA); Ali Rahmati, Fronius; Wolfgang Rosenberg, TCO Solar; John Shija, BayWa r.e.; Taona
Sylveter Jakachira, Renewable Energy Association of Zimbabwe (REAZ); Guillaume Tixier, 3E; Gary Wiltshire, Logos Industries/Renewable Energy Association of
Mozambique (AMER); Adam Terry, South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA).
Supported by: GET.invest. GET.invest is a European programme which supports investments in decentralised renewable energy. The programme targets private
sector business and project developers, financiers and regulators to build sustainable energy markets in developing countries. Services include market
information, a funding database, matchmaking events and access-to-finance advisory. The programme is supported by the European Union, Germany, Sweden,
the Netherlands, and Austria, and works closely with initiatives and business associations in the energy sector. For further information about GET.invest, please
see www.get-invest.eu or contact info@get-invest.eu.
GET.invest is supported by
In strategic partnership with: African Solar Industry Association (AFSIA), Renewable Energy Association of Mozambique (AMER), Association of Renewable
Energy Professionals of Côte d'Ivoire (APERCI), Kenya Renewable Energy Association (KEREA), Renewable Energy Association of Ghana (REAG), Renewable
Energy Association of Nigeria (REAN), Renewable Energy Association of Zimbabwe (REAZ), South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA), Solar
Industry Association of Zambia (SIAZ), Tanzania Renewable Energy Association (TAREA).
Acknowledgements: SolarPower Europe would like to extend special thanks to all the Task Force members that contributed to this report with their knowledge
and experience, as well as GET.invest for supporting this project. This work would never have been realised without their continuous support.
Project Information: The Africa edition of the O&M Best Practices Guidelines of SolarPower Europe reflects the experience and views of a considerable share
of the African and European O&M industry today. It is based on Version 4.0 of SolarPower Europe’s O&M Best Practice Guidelines and has been adjusted to the
Sub-Saharan African regional context in a joint effort between SolarPower Europe and ten African industry associations. The development of the Africa edition
was supported by GET.invest, a European programme supported by the European Union, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Austria.
Disclaimer: Adherence to the SolarPower Europe O&M Best Practices Guidelines report and its by-products is voluntary. The contents of this publication do
not necessarily reflect the views of GET.invest and its donors. Any stakeholders that wish to adhere to the O&M Best Practices Guidelines are responsible for
self-certifying that they have fulfilled the guide requirements through completing the self-certification procedure offered by the “Solar Best Practices Mark”
(www.solarbestpractices.com). This report has been prepared by SolarPower Europe, in collaboration with ten African renewable energy associations, and with
the support of GET.invest. It is being provided to the recipients for general information purposes only. Nothing in it should be interpreted as an offer or
recommendation of any products, services or financial products. This report does not constitute technical, investment, legal, tax or any other advice. Recipients
should consult with their own technical, financial, legal, tax or other advisors as needed. This report is based on sources believed to be accurate. However,
SolarPower Europe, GET.invest and the other supporters of this report do not warrant the accuracy or completeness of any information contained in this report.
SolarPower Europe, GET.invest and the other supporters of this report assume no obligation to update any information contained herein. SolarPower Europe,
GET.invest and the other supporters of this report will not be held liable for any direct or indirect damage incurred by the use of the information provided and
will not provide any indemnities.
ISBN: 9789464073461.
Many Sub-Saharan African markets have already added insecticides. In Africa, water scarcity should be
the first tens and, in some cases, hundreds of MW of considered in certain arid regions and it is important
solar capacity, with significant growth expected in the to have a plan to avoid local conflicts over water.
coming years. As markets develop, concerns related to
In many situations, solar plants offer an opportunity to
long-term reliability and performance of solar assets
provide for agriculture and are a valuable natural
rise, as they strongly affect project bankability and
habitat for plants and animals alongside the primary
return on investment. Operation and Maintenance
purpose of power production. Solar plants are
(O&M) has become a standalone segment within the
electricity generating power stations and have
solar industry and it is widely acknowledged by all
significant hazards present which can result in injury
stakeholders that high-quality O&M services mitigate
or death. Risks should be reduced through proper
potential risks, improve the Levelised Cost of Electricity
hazard identification, careful planning of works, briefing
(LCOE) and Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) prices,
of procedures to be followed, documented and regular
and positively impact the return on investment (ROI).
inspection, and maintenance. Personnel training and
Responding to the discrepancies that exist in today’s
certification and personal protective equipment are
solar O&M market, the Africa edition of the O&M Best
required for several tasks. Almost all jobs have some
Practice Guidelines makes it possible for all to benefit
safety requirements such as fall protection for work at
from the experience of leading African and European
heights and electrical arc-flash, lock-out tag-out, and
experts in the sector and increase the level of quality and
general electrical safety for electrical work; eye and ear
consistency in O&M. These Guidelines are meant for
protection for ground maintenance.
O&M contractors as well as installers, owners, investors,
financiers, monitoring tool providers, technical
consultants and all interested stakeholders in Sub- Personnel & training
Saharan Africa. In this Africa-specific edition, the
It is important that all O&M personnel have the
requirements presented in SolarPower Europe’s O&M
relevant experience and qualifications to perform the
Best Practice Guidelines Version 4.0 have been adapted
work in a safe, responsible and accountable manner.
to match the Sub-Saharan African market context. Thus,
These Guidelines contain a skills’ matrix template that
for example, smaller scale installations in the 10s and
helps to record skills and identify gaps.
100s of kW scale, such as Commercial & Industrial (C&I)
installations, are in the scope of these Guidelines.
Technical asset management
This document begins by contextualising O&M,
explaining the roles and responsibilities of various Technical Asset Management encompasses support
stakeholders such as the installer of the O&M provider, activities to ensure the best operation of a solar power
and by presenting an overview of technical and plant or a portfolio, i.e. to maximise energy production,
contractual terms to achieve a common minimise downtime and reduce costs. In the African
understanding of the subject. It then walks the reader context, especially in the C&I and residential
through the different components of O&M, classifying segments, Technical Asset Management, Power plant
requirements into “minimum requirements”, “best operation and Power plant maintenance, is often
practices” and “recommendations”. assumed by the same entity, the installer. However, in
cases where these roles are separated, and the
technical asset manager and the O&M contractor are
Environment, health & safety
separate entities, close coordination and information
Environmental problems are normally avoidable sharing between the two entities is indispensable.
through proper plant design and maintenance, but Technical Asset Management also includes ensuring
where issues do occur, the O&M contractor must that the operation of the PV plant complies with
detect them and respond promptly. Environmental national and local regulations and contracts, and also
compliance may be triggered by components of the advising the asset owner on technical asset
PV system itself, such as components that include optimisation. For more information about commercial
hazardous materials and by-products that may be and financial Asset Management (an increasingly
used by the O&M contractor such as herbicides and standalone segment in Europe), please refer to
dataloggers capable of collecting data (such as energy power plant performance and O&M service quality at the
generated, irradiance, module temperature, etc.) of all same time is the Contractual Availability. While Uptime (or
relevant components (such as inverters, energy meters, Technical Availability) reflects all downtimes regardless of
pyranometers, temperature sensors) and storing at the cause, Contractual Availability involves certain
least one month of data with a recording granularity of exclusion factors to account for downtimes not
up to 15 minutes, as well as a reliable Monitoring Portal attributable to the O&M Contractor (such as force
(interface) for the visualisation of the collected data and majeure), a difference important for contractual purposes.
the calculation of KPIs. Monitoring is increasingly
employing satellite data as a source of solar resource
Contractual framework
data to be used as a comparison reference for on-site
pyranometers. As a best practice, the monitoring Although some third-party O&M contractors still
system should ensure open data accessibility in order provide Performance Ratio guarantees in some cases,
to enable an easy transition between monitoring it is a best practice to only use Availability and Response
platforms and interoperability of different applications. Time guarantees, which has several advantages. A best
As remotely monitored and controlled systems, PV practice is a minimum guaranteed Availability of 98%
plants are exposed to cybersecurity risks. It is therefore over a year, with Contractual Availability guarantees
vital that installations undertake a cyber security translated into Bonus Schemes and Liquidated
analysis and implement a cybersecurity management Damages. When setting Response Time guarantees, it
system. To evaluate monitoring tools it is is recommended to differentiate between hours and
recommended to refer to the Monitoring Checklist of periods with high and low irradiance levels as well as
the Solar Best Practices Mark, which is available at fault classes, i.e. the (potential) power loss. PR
www.solarbestpractices.com. Considering that the guarantees are more suitable when the installer is the
typical C&I installation size in Africa is in the 10s or 100s same entity as the O&M provider, which is often the
of kW scale, this version of the Guidelines proposes case in Sub-Saharan Africa.
adjusted or simplified procedures or solutions for some
requirements, such as the monitoring system
Innovations and trends
functionalities or types of data collected.
O&M contractors are increasingly relying on
Key Performance Indicators
innovations and more machine and data-driven
Important KPIs include PV power plant KPIs, directly solutions to keep up with market requirements. The
reflecting the performance of the PV power plant; O&M most important trends and innovations shaping
contractor KPIs, assessing the performance of the O&M today’s O&M market are summarised in this chapter,
service provided, and PV power plant/O&M contractor KPIs, grouped into three “families”: (1) Smart PV power plant
which reflect power plant performance and O&M service monitoring and data-driven O&M, (2) Retrofit coatings
quality at the same time. PV power plant KPIs include for PV modules, and (3) waterless cleaning for PV
important indicators such as the Performance Ratio (PR), modules, which is particularly relevant for arid regions.
which is the energy generated divided by the energy
obtainable under ideal conditions expressed as a
O&M for standalone solar installations with storage
percentage, and Uptime (or Technical Availability) which
are parameters that represent, as a percentage, the time This chapter assists in the application of the best
during which the plant operates over the total possible practices, detailed in the previous chapters of the
time it is able to operate. O&M contractor KPIs include document, to standalone off-grid PV plants. All best
Acknowledgement Time (the time between the alarm and practices mentioned in these Guidelines could be
the acknowledgement), Intervention Time (the time theoretically applied to the smallest systems, however
between acknowledgement and reaching the plant by a in off-grid areas there are different priorities. Apart
technician) and Resolution Time (the time to resolve the from providing the highest possible care in the most
fault starting from the moment of reaching the PV plant). cost-efficient manner to deliver the lowest levelized
Acknowledgement Time plus Intervention Time are called cost of electricity (LCOE), other objectives are at least
Response Time, an indicator used for contractual as important, like availability of electricity at the
guarantees. The most important KPI which reflects PV moment of demand and ease of maintenance.
© REAZ
1.1. Rationale, aim and scope Since the operational phase covers by far the longest
period during the lifetime of a PV power plant project,
Many Sub-Saharan African markets have already
increasing the quality of O&M services is important and,
added the first tens and, in some cases, hundreds of
in contrast, neglecting O&M is risky. According to
MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity, with significant
several studies, yield can be reduced by up to 70% if a
growth expected in the coming years. As markets
PV power plant is not well monitored and maintained.
develop, concerns related to long-term reliability and
In exceptional cases, up to (temporarily) 100% have
performance of solar assets rise, as they strongly
been reported. Inoperative situation or performance
affect project bankability and return on investment.
issues need to be detected instantly to avoid such type
A professional Operation & Maintenance (O&M) of yield losses. By way of example, just the effect of
service package ensures that the photovoltaic system soiling resulting from regular wind induced dust
will maintain high levels of technical, safety and carryover can result in a performance loss of 10%+
consequently economic performance over its lifetime. within 2 weeks, and of 30%+ within a matter of 6 weeks.
Currently, it is widely acknowledged by all stakeholders
The solar PV industry – a “young” industry that evolves
that high quality O&M services mitigate the potential
also in the services segment – offers a wide range of
risks, improve the levelised cost of electricity (LCOE)
practices and approaches. Although this is partly
and Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) prices and
logical, reflecting the specificities of each system,
positively impact the return on investment (ROI). This
topologies, installation sites and country
can be highlighted if one considers the lifecycle of a
requirements, there is a confusion or lack of clarity and
PV project which can be broken down into the four
knowledge of many Asset Owners and funding
phases below. The O&M phase is by far the longest:
authorities (investors or/and banks) of what the
• Development phase (typically 1-5 years, significant minimum requirements (scope) should be. A few
variations may occur depending on market years ago, when feed-in tariffs were very high and
maturity). favourable, there was an obvious lack of risk
perception in combination with an underestimated
• EPC phase (engineering, procurement,
performance metrics definition which hindered the
construction - depending on the size of a project,
proof of value of a professional and high-quality
up to a few months).
service provision.
• Operational phase (involving O&M typically 30+
Today, existing standardisation still does not fill in all
years).
the gaps or clarify all the requirements and their
• Decommissioning phase including recycling, and implementation. Although in Maintenance, there are a
disposal (depending on the size of a project, up to number of international technical standards that can
a few months). be followed and which also cover tasks related to
planning, scheduling and administrative, when it conformity assessment standards that can be applied
comes to the practical power plant operation, there throughout the lifetime of a project to verify by IECRE
are many shortcomings. Therefore, it is crucial to accepted third party assessors that a PV power plant
develop and disseminate best practices to optimise is in a good and healthy state.
power plant operation and thus, energy production,
For this version, a list of international standards has
power plant management and resulting benefits. Best
been added to support these best practises and to
practices that set the quality bar high will enhance
avoid misunderstandings in wording and doing. For
investors’ understanding and confidence. Over the last
more detailed information, please refer to Annex A.
5 years, in addition to standards, IECRE has developed
NOTE: This list is not exhaustive and new standards are under development For more details see Annex a.
into the service package. Any of the directly relevant • Retailer. The Retailer is the entity that buys solar
stakeholders (see the following section) can benefit products, such as PV modules and inverters, from
from this work, tailor it to their needs without lowering a manufacturer (supplier), and sells them to the
the bar and know what to ask for, offer or expect. Asset Owner.
Although the focus is Sub-Saharan Africa, most of the • Project Developer. The Project Developer is the
content can be used in other regions around the world. entity that initiates the project and focuses on site
The requirements described in the maintenance part selection, customer identification, conducting
can be useful for regions with similar conditions and preliminary studies, application for permits,
additional requirements or modifications can easily be securing the financing and selection of the EPC
made for other regions with unique characteristics. provider. Project developers may own the project
With regards to the operations and technical asset in the early development stages or even longer.
management part, the requirements apply to PV
• EPC Contractor (or installer). The entity in charge
assets regardless of their location.
of the engineering, procurement and construction
of the solar power plant. The EPC contractor,
1.3. Stakeholders and roles usually simply referred to as “installer” in the C&I
and residential segments, is in charge of delivering
In the distributed or C&I solar O&M segment in Africa,
the full solar power plant to the asset owner from
the two central stakeholders are the system owner (or
authorisation to commissioning and grid
asset owner) and the installer, with the latter
connection. Their role is very important in ensuring
interacting with other stakeholders such as
the procurement of quality components and
equipment suppliers, third party engineers, authorities
quality installation, which have a large impact on
and lenders. It is important to note, that in the
the long-term performance of the solar power
distributed solar segment in Africa, the installer
plant. Many EPC contractors offer O&M services
assumes the multiple roles beyond installation,
for the solar power plants that they have
including O&M service provision and asset
developed. EPC Contractors often provide a 2-year
management. These can be abstracted to the
performance warranty period after the
following basic roles:
Commercial Operation Date (COD) lasting until the
Final Acceptance Certificate (FAC). In many cases
Asset Owner (or System owner or Investor) it is after FAC that a third-party O&M Contractor is
contracted to take over the O&M of the solar
The stakeholder that contributes to the equity
power plant. In certain mature markets the EPC
financing of construction and operation of the PV
role is increasingly split between different entities.
power plant is normally the investor (or a group of
investors), who can be classified as (1) private • Asset Manager. In the case of larger power plants
individuals, investment companies, or investment or portfolios, there is usually a separate role or
funds and (2) Independent Power Producers (IPPs) or service provider responsible for the commercial
Utilities. Assets are generally owned by “Special and financial management of the PV investment.
Purpose Vehicles” (SPV), i.e. limited liability The Asset Manager ensures that the PV power
companies, specifically incorporated for building, plant or SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle or project
owning and operating one or more PV plants. company) and the contracted service providers
fulfil their contractual obligations, and manages
the site with the aim of ensuring optimal
Installer
profitability of the PV power plant (or a portfolio of
In the distributed solar segment in Sub-Saharan Africa plants) by supervising energy sales, energy
(and in many part of the world), it is common for the production, and O&M activities. Asset Managers
installer to assume multiple roles: the roles of the also ensure the fulfilment of all administrative,
Retailer, Project Developer, the EPC contractor, the fiscal, insurance and financial obligations of the
Asset Manager and the O&M contractor (see below). SPVs or the PV power plants, respectively. In the
distributed solar segment, asset management is
usually a strongly reduced role.
This enables direct marketing of the energy produced facilitating some administrative workflows. Site data
by distributed assets and can unlock new revenue is crucial to ensure owners, and AM and O&M
streams from flexibility services. This type of entity is providers are aware of what is occurring on site and
not common in Sub-Saharan Africa, however it could how the equipment is behaving throughout its
become more prevalent in coming years. lifetime. It is crucial to ensure that prompt action is
taken once a fault is identified and provide vital
information on potential areas of underperformance.
Data-related service providers There is tendency in the industry to opt for solutions
that integrate the functionalities of all above
Providers of hardware and software solutions such as
mentioned systems and platforms in one software,
Monitoring Systems, Asset Management Platforms,
which has several advantages and can be considered
Computerised Maintenance Management Systems
a recommendation.
(CMMS) or Enterprise Resource Planning Systems
(ERP) that acquire data from the site and also analyse Figure 2 below provides an overview of the different
the data to calculate KPIs (analytical tools) and/or responsibilities of the O&M Contractor. This figure is
provide data repository for key site information whilst redesigned and based on a figure of GTM (2013).
Operations
Maintenance
NOTE: The responsibilities of the Asset Manager and the O&M Contractor sometimes overlap, and Technical Asset
Management and even some aspects of Procurement can be assumed by either the O&M Contractor or the Asset Manager. © SOLARPOWER EUROPE 2020
Corrective measures
Initial reaction
Permanent cash flow gap
Initial deviation
Plan
Actual
© REAZ
This section introduces a basic set of definitions of Indeed, it is more challenging for terms in the
important terms that are widely used in the O&M field Operational field since those are less technical and not
(contracts) and is necessary for all different stakeholders standardised as in the case for Maintenance. The
to have a common understanding. In general, there are chapter provides a short list (alphabetically ordered)
standards in place that explain some of these terms, which is not exhaustive but reflects the different
however, it is still difficult in practice to agree on the sections of this document. For the definitions relating
boundaries of those terms and what exactly is expected to Maintenance the standard EN 13306 (“Maintenance
under these terms or services (e.g. the different types of terminology”) was used as a basis.∼
maintenances or operational tasks).
Additional services Actions and/or works performed, managed or overseen by the O&M Contractor,
which are not (but can be if agreed) part of the regular services and normally
charged “as-you-go”, e.g. ground maintenance, module cleaning, security services
etc. Some of the additional services can be found as a part of the Preventive
Maintenance, depending on the contractual agreement.
Asset management Asset Managers are responsible for the commercial and financial management
of a solar investment and the supervision and control of technical activities. They
manage a company or a portfolio rather than a power plant, often across different
geographies, dealing with a variety of regulatory frameworks and business models.
Asset management is also defined as the coordinated activities of an organisation
to generate value from its assets (ISO 55000).
Asset management A software package or suite of tools that is used by the Asset Manager to store
platform and manage technical and non-technical data and information collected from
and relating to the solar asset, portfolio or SPV. It combines the abilities of a
Computerised Maintenance Management System (CMMS) and an Enterprise
Resource Planning System (ERP).
Computerised A software designed to measure and record various O&M KPIs (e.g.
Maintenance Acknowledgement Time, Intervention Time, Reaction Time, Resolution Time) and
Management System equipment performance (e.g. Mean Time Between Failures) and thus optimise
(CMMS) maintenance activities.
Contract management Activities related to the proper fulfilment of O&M contract obligations such as
reporting, billing, contract amendments, regulator interaction etc.
Commercial Operation The term “COD” means “Commercial Operation Date” and is referred to as the day
Date (COD) that the PV power plant becomes fully operational and can begin selling power
under the terms of the PPA, a FIT, or a merchant business model.
Commissioning System commissioning closes the construction phase of the solar power plant
to move towards the commercial operation. Commissioning includes
performance and reliability tests to make sure that the solar power plant is built
according to the international standards and best industry practice complies with
the agreed Employer’s Owner’s Requirements, grid specifications.
Construction In the Construction phase, the solar power plant is installed based on installation
manuals provided by suppliers. Construction works involve civil works (mounting
structure) and electro-mechanical works (modules, inverters etc) and supervisory
and monitoring equipment. Some parts of the construction may be
subcontracted by the EPC provider.
Contractual framework An agreement with specific terms between the Asset Owner and the O&M
Contractor. This agreement defines in detail the O&M services, both remote
operations services and local maintenance activities, the management and
interfaces of those services, as well as the responsibilities of each party. Liquidated
damages and bonus schemes are also part of the contractual commitments.
Control Room Services Comprehensive actions like PV plant monitoring, performance analysis,
(also known as Operations supervision, remote controls, management of maintenance activities, interaction
Centre Services or with grid operators, authorities, Asset Owners, and the preparation and provision
Remote Operations of regular reporting performed by experienced and qualified staff in a control
Centre) room during operational hours for 365 days/year.
Corrective maintenance Actions and/or techniques (immediate or deferred) taken to correct failures,
breakdowns, malfunctions, anomalies or damages detected during inspections,
or through monitoring, alarming, or reporting or any other source. The actions are
desired to restore the PV system back into regular and required operation mode.
Data and monitoring Hardware and software, technical and functional specifications to collect, transmit
requirements and store production, performance and environmental data for plant management.
Development (Project Development is the phase that precedes the EPC phase in the lifecycle of the project.
development) It usually includes the initiation of the project, site selection, customer identification,
conducting preliminary studies, application for permits, securing the financing and
selection of the EPC contractor. Project developers may own the project in the early
development stages or even longer. The term “Project development” is sometimes
considered to include some parts of Engineering and Procurement..
Distributed solar Distributed solar generation refers to solar installations which are small-scale
generation (usually below 1 MWp nominal power). An important characteristic of distributed
solar generation is that the generation unit is usually located close to the
consumption point, as opposed to the case of conventional and centralised power
generation. Distributed solar installations may be equipped with battery storage,
and may be connected to the utility grid or be part of a microgrid, or be standalone
off-grid systems.
Documentation A management system that records, manages and stores documents required for
management system O&M, such as technical plant and equipment documentation and drawings,
maintenance manuals, photos and reports, including the various versions that are
being created by different users, reviews and approvals. Documentation
management system also defines a proper format and use (information exchange).
Key Performance A technical parameter that helps the stakeholders to evaluate the successful
Indicator (KPI) operation of a PV plant and/or the success of the O&M Contractor’s activities.
Management of change Management of change defines the way to handle necessary adjustments of the
design of a PV power plant after the Commercial Operation Date. Changes require
a close cooperation between the plant owner and the O&M Contractor.
Monitoring system The digital platform used for the overall monitoring of the functioning, energy
generation and reference data of the PV plant and its components or PV plant
portfolio), which is performed through real-time monitoring software. The monitoring
operates 24 hours a day, all year, and is fed by in-plant data logging systems that collect
data from different plants as well as by irradiation and temperature measurements
from particular sensors and other sources such as meteorological information.
Off-grid solar An off-grid solar installation is a solar installation which is not connected to the
utility grid, as opposed to an on-grid or grid-connected installation. An off-grid
system may be part of a microgrid or a standalone system such as a solar home
system with battery storage.
Performance analysis Measurements, calculations, trending, comparisons, inspections etc performed
& improvement in order to evaluate the PV plant, segments and/or single component performance,
site conditions, equipment behaviour etc, and to provide reports and assessment
studies to interested parties (customer, public authority, etc).
Personnel & training Operators, technicians, engineers and managers employed for the execution of the
O&M activities and training plans/programmes to train them on relevant PV plant
related aspects and to keep them continuously updated on their respective roles.
Power plant controls Actions required by the grid operator, for controlling active and/or reactive power
being fed into the grid, other power quality factors that are subject to adjustments
and/or (emergency) shut down (if applicable).
Power plant supervision The activity to supervise and analyse data provided by the monitoring system which
is performed by experienced human resources during daylight hours and managed
by one or more control rooms (365 days/year). The reception and qualification of
the alarms from the monitoring tool is also considered to be part of the supervision.
Predictive maintenance Actions and/or techniques that are performed to help assess the condition of a
PV system and its components, predict/forecast and recommend when
maintenance actions should be performed. The prediction is derived from the
analysis and evaluation of significant parameters of the component (e.g.
parameters related to degradation). Monitoring systems and expert knowledge
are used to identify the appropriate actions based on a cost benefit analysis.
Preventive maintenance Actions and/or testing and/or measurements to ensure optimal operating
conditions of equipment and of the entire PV plant and to prevent defects and
failures. Those take place periodically and according to a specific maintenance-
plan and maintenance schedules.
Power generation Adoption of forecasting tools calculating expected power production for a certain
forecasting timeframe from weather forecasts in order to supply the expected power
production to owner, grid operator, energy traders or others. This is normally
country and plant dependent.
Quality Quality is a perceptual, conditional, and somewhat subjective attribute and may
be understood differently by different people. It is a commitment to customers
in the market. It can also be defined as fitness for intended use. Quality also takes
into account the reduction of waste that a product may cause to the environment
or human society.
Quality Management Quality Management is the process through which an organisation ensures
(QM) Quality. Its four pillars are Quality Control & Assurance, Quality Monitoring &
Review, Quality Improvement and Quality Planning.
The Asset Owner has the ultimate legal and moral Primarily the water is used for cleaning of the solar
responsibility to ensure the health and safety of modules, further water is used in sanitary installations
people in and around the solar plant and for the of the solar plants. The amount of water required
protection of the environment around it. The practical depends mostly upon the cleaning requirements of the
implementation is normally subcontracted to the solar modules. It is estimated that the yearly amount of
O&M Contractor. water needed is at least 100 t/MWp for a solar plant
where the solar modules are regularly cleaned during
the dry season. In many instances the water is taken
3.1. Environment and social
from nearby sources through contractors that also
Renewable energies are popular because of their low conduct the cleaning of the solar modules. The
environmental impact and it is important that solar contactors for cleaning the solar modules are often
plants are operated and maintained to minimise any local farmers that conduct the cleaning of the solar
adverse effects. Environmental problems can normally modules to complement their income.
be avoided through proper plant design and
The water demand from a solar plant can play a
maintenance – for example, bunds and regular
significant role in the water balance of a region. This is
inspection of HV transformers will reduce the chances
of particular importance when considering that water
of significant oil leaks – but where issues do occur the
scarcity and dwindling groundwater resources are a
O&M Contractor must detect them and respond
wide-spread and increasingly alarming phenomenon.
promptly. Beyond the environmental damage there may
In many incidences, the operators of the solar plant or
be financial or legal penalties for the owner of the plant.
their sub-contractors are in a stronger position to
Legal obligations to be fulfilled by the O&M Contractor source the scarce water and therefore they may
(or the Technical Asset Manager) may include long- endanger the livelihoods of the local population. This
term environmental requirements to be implemented situation is to be avoided by all means. Solar plants are
either onsite or off-site. Typical requirements can be typically installed in regions that have abundant
amongst others water tank installation, tree clearing, sunshine and consequently are rather arid. Thus, the
drainage systems installation, amphibian follow-up, probability for a conflict over water particularly for
edge plantation, reptile rock shelters installation. Such solar plants is rather high and it will increase with the
requirements should be implemented and managed expected fast expansion of installed solar capacity.
by the O&M Contractor in order to comply with the
In order to avoid a conflict over water the question of
authorisation. As a best practice, the O&M
the water requirement from the solar plant as well as
Contractor’s environmental preservation activities can
the local availability of water also in stressed situations
go beyond legal obligations.
is to be analysed as part of the Environmental Social
Further the use of water needs to be considered. Water Impact Assessment (ESIA) prior to implementing the
is used in many installations of solar plants in Africa. project (best practice for C&I projects,
dry-cleaning approaches however require to be through proper hazard identification, careful planning
planned before installation of the solar plant in order of works, briefing of procedures to be followed, and
to allow for reasonable cost. regular and well-documented inspection and
maintenance (see also 6.10. Power plant security).
During O&M all aspects determined in the ESMP
concerning the use of water are to be monitored. In The dangers of electricity are well known and can be
case no ESMP has been developed prior to the effectively managed through properly controlled
installation of the solar plant, then the question of access and supervision by the O&M Contractor. Any
water use and potential conflict over water is to be person accessing a PV plant should expect some form
analysed by a suitable expert and the measures of introduction to ensure they are briefed on any
determined through this analysis are to be hazards and risks. Staff working on electrical
implemented. equipment must be appropriately trained, experienced
and supervised, but it is also key that others working
Other aspects that need to be taken into account, as
around the equipment - for example panel cleaners -
best practice, are recycling of broken panels and
are equally aware of the potential risks and have safe
electric waste so that glass, aluminium and
methods of working around HV and LV electricity.
semiconductor materials can be recovered and
reused and hazardous materials disposed of in a safe Hazardous areas and equipment should carry
manner complying with legal requirements. In areas appropriate markings to warn personnel of possible
with water scarcity, water use for module cleaning hazards and wiring sequence. Such markings should
should be minimised. be clear and evident to all personnel and third parties
(and intruders) entering the plant premises.
In many situations, solar plants offer an opportunity,
where managed sympathetically, to provide As well as the inherent dangers of a typical solar plant,
opportunities for agriculture and a valuable natural every site will have its own set of individual hazards
habitat for plants and animals alongside the primary which must be considered when working on the plant.
purpose of generation of electricity. A well thought out An up-to-date plan of hazards is important for the
environmental management plan can help promote O&M Contractor to use to manage his own staff and
the development of natural habitat, as well as reduce to provide third party contractors with adequate
the overall maintenance costs of managing the information. It is usually the case that the O&M
grounds of the plant. It can also ensure the satisfaction Contractor holds the authority and responsibility to
of any legal requirements to protect or maintain the review and, where necessary, reject works taking place
habitat of the site. In any case, environmental in the plant. Failure to carry this out properly has
requirements from building permits should be important consequences to general safety.
complied with. Maintenance services should comply
Besides workers on the solar plant, it is not unusual for
with things such as the proper application of
other parties to require access to it. This may be the
herbicides, pesticides, and poisons used to control
Asset Owner, or their representative, the landlord of
rodents. The use of solvents and heat-transfer fluids
the land, or in some situations members of the public.
also need to be controlled. Cleaning agents (soap)
It is important that the plant access control and
should be specified to be environmentally friendly (no
security system keeps people away from areas of
chlorine bleach) and applied sparingly to avoid over-
danger and that they are appropriately supervised and
spray and run-off.
inducted as necessary.
The Asset Owner is ultimately responsible for the
3.2. Health and safety
compliance of H&S regulations within the site/plant.
Managing the risks posed by the solar plant to the The Asset Owner must make sure that, at all times, the
health and safety of people, both in and around the installation and all equipment meet the relevant
plant, is a primary concern of all stakeholders. Solar legislations of the country and also, that all
plants are electricity generating power stations and contractors, workers and visitors respect the H&S
pose significant hazards present which can result in Legislation by strictly following the established
permanent injury or death. Risks can be mitigated
7. Mud and water. Many solar farms have water to place and personnel need to be aware of what
travelling through them such as streams and rivers, to do in the event of bites or stings. Snakes, spiders,
some have standing water, and some are floating ticks, bees and bugs are common and pose a
arrays. Mud is a very common risk particularly in number of hazards where snake bites can be
winter as low-grade farmland is often used for lethal, spider bites can cause pain and
solar farms. Mud and water present problems for inflammation, tics bites can result in tick bite fever,
access as well as electrical danger. bees can cause allergic reactions and bugs can fly
into people’s eyes. It is therefore important that all
8. Mechanical injury. Hand-tools, power tools,
precautions are taken to prevent or manage these
machinery as well as such mechanisms as
incidents. Storage and application of pesticides,
unsecured doors can present a risk of mechanical
herbicides, and rodent poisons also introduce
injury on site.
health and safety hazards. For example,
9. Weather. The weather presents a variety of Glyphosate was very common in controlling
hazards, the most significant of which is the risk of vegetation at PV plants and has been found to be
lightning strike during an electrical storm carcinogenic. Mowing has several hazards
(relatively high frequency of lightning events in including flying objects. Every job at a PV site
Africa). Due to the metal structures installed on a should have safety precautions identified and
solar farm an electrical storm is more likely to implemented.
strike the solar array than surrounding countryside.
Everyone entering a solar farm, for whatever reason,
A solar farm MUST be vacated for the duration of
should be trained on the dangers present on solar
any electrical storm. Working in cold and rainy
farms and on the individual task that they will be
weather can cause fatigue and injury just as
performing. They should have the PPE and tools
working in hot sunny weather presents the risk of
necessary to carry out the work in the safest way
dehydration, sunburn, and sun stroke. Working
possible. The work should be planned in advance and
during sunny days to perform maintenance and/or
everyone concerned should have a common
testing can lead to sunstroke. To avoid this,
understanding of all aspects related to the safe
drinking sufficient water and staying in the shade
execution of their task. Different countries will
is recommended.
mandate written and hard copy paperwork to meet
10. Wildlife and livestock. The renewable energy legislation, but best practice is to exceed the
industry is proud to provide habitats for wildlife minimum requirements and to embrace the spirit of
and livestock alongside the generation of all relevant legislation.
electricity. Some wildlife however presents
Best practice in H&S sees the ongoing delivery of
dangers. There are plants in different regions which
training and sharing of lessons learned and work
can present significant risk, some only when cut
methods. By increasing the skills of persons involved
during vegetation management. Animals such as
in the industry, we can make the industry both safer
rodents, snakes, insects such as wasps and other
and more productive.
wildlife as well as livestock can present significant
risks. The nature of these risks will vary from place
© REAZ
It is of critical importance that all O&M personnel have As the solar industry globally is a growth industry, it
the relevant qualifications to perform the works in a follows that skills will need to be taught in order to
safe, responsible and accountable manner. This can be create a suitable workforce. It is therefore incumbent
a challenge in emerging markets and in certain rural on all employers in the industry to create a training
areas in Sub-Saharan Africa, as the necessary scheme both internally and externally which creates
technical skills to execute quality O&M services are opportunities for qualifications and development.
not always available. In order to address the lack of Worldwide, there is a huge gender disparity in the
skills, standard trainings can be relied upon. Such industry. As best practise, O&M companies should
trainings are already provided in a number of African make an effort to improve diversity and inclusion,
countries by public training institutes and ensuring there are training, work, and professional
international organisations. development opportunities for all genders. Whilst it is
inevitable that some staff will choose to leave, it is
not advisable to be rigid in the necessary
unrealistic to imagine that any company can always
requirements. The necessary knowledge and
employ already skilled and qualified staff.
experience can be gained through career
development and through different engagements. The creation of a training matrix such as shown on the
proposed skills matrix in Annex b enables a company
The solar industry benefits from a wide range of skills
to record skills, both formal and informal, to identify
and experience. Team members with a range of
gaps and to provide training to fill the gaps.
electrical, mechanical, financial, business and
communications skills are required to handle different As the industry grows, there is a rapid rate of
tasks and all of them strengthen the positive impact technological change as well as emergent best
of the service provision. practices, which require a programme of continuous
personal development to which both individuals and
Everyone who enters a solar plant needs to be trained
companies need to be committed.
in the dangers present in addition to their individual
skills and experience required for the tasks that they The matrix goes beyond any educational background
normally perform. Awareness of the necessary health and focuses on the skills required by the O&M
and safety regulations is a must. company in a specific country. Therefore, many of the
skills/requirements are adjustable due to different
practices and regulations.
Technical Asset Management (TAM) encompasses Generating a report for any specific time range in the
support activities to ensure the best operation of a past can also be possible. Detailed time-series data
solar power plant or a portfolio, i.e. to maximise energy should also be reported or at least archived in the
production, minimise downtime and reduce costs. It reporting system in order to improve the correct
comprises the activities presented in this chapter. availability calculations. The spatial resolution of reports
should be on the level of each inverter to better detect
As highlighted in the Introduction, in the African
under-performing sections of the plants managed.
context, and especially in the residential and C&I
segments, the installer usually assumes multiple roles Table 1 includes some proposed quantitative and
in addition to installation. This usually includes the qualitative indicators which should be in reports as a
activities called “Technical Asset Management”. minimum requirement, a best practice or a
recommendation. For more details on the individual
In cases where the Technical Asset Manager and the
indicators, see chapter 11. Key Performance Indicators.
O&M Contractor are separate entities, a close
coordination and information sharing between the A new trend in the industry is to extend the reporting
two entities is indispensable. This involves an integral beyond the pure PV plant indicators and to incorporate
knowledge about how much a project should be reporting on the actual activities. This means that both
producing for any given time, considering factors such the Asset Manager and the O&M Contractor can
as weather, seasons, or degradation of assets, etc, operate with an Asset Management Platform, ERP
ensuring long-term energy infrastructure reliability It CMMS (Computerised Maintenance Management
represents the entire value chain from investors to Systems) in order to measure various O&M KPIs (e.g.
asset managers and service providers. Acknowledgement Time, Intervention Time, Reaction
Time, Resolution Time) and equipment performance
(e.g. Mean Time Between Failures). The Technical
5.1. Technical reporting
Asset Manager should also report on Spare Parts
The Technical Asset Manager is responsible for Management and in particular on spare parts stock
preparing and providing regular reporting to the Asset levels, spare parts consumption, in particular PV
Owner and other stakeholders defined in the modules on hand, spare parts under repair. With the
agreement between the Asset Owner and the emergence of Predictive Maintenance, the Technical
Technical Asset Manager. Asset Manager can also report on the state of each
individual equipment. Furthermore, the periodic
The frequency of the reporting can be set daily, weekly,
reporting can include information on the status of the
monthly, quarterly or annually (with monthly being the
security and surveillance system. In this case, the
most common and considered a best practice), with
security service provider is responsible for providing
specifically defined content for each of these reports.
the relevant input to the Technical Asset Manager.
On top of the periodical standard reports (monthly, report should be sent as soon as the fault is
quarterly or yearly) where operations activities are acknowledged or solved and should contain all the
reported by the Technical Asset Manager to the Asset relevant details related to the fault together with
Owner, it is a best practice for the Technical Asset recommendations for Extraordinary Maintenance
Manager to provide an intermediate operation report when the necessary operations are not included in the
when a fault is generating a major loss. A loss due to a maintenance contract.
fault is considered major when PR and availability are
• Typically, this maintenance report should contain:
affected by more than a certain threshold throughout
Relevant activity tracks (alarm timestamp,
the ongoing monitoring (or reporting) period. A best
acknowledge time, comments, intervention time,
practice is to set this threshold to 1% of Availability or
operations on site description, pictures etc).
1% PR within a reporting period of one month. The
• The estimated production losses at the moment may coincide with visits to be carried out by the
of writing the report Lender’s Technical Advisor.
• The estimated production losses for the total
duration of the period, counting on the estimated 5.3. Management of ancillary service providers
resolution time if the issue is not solved yet
Technical Asset Managers or the O&M Contractor is
• The device model, type and Serial Number when responsible for managing providers of ancillary
the fault is affecting a device (additional) services related to PV site maintenance
such as panel cleaning and vegetation management;
• The peak power of the strings connected to the
general site maintenance such as road management,
device(s)
site security; or on-site measurement such as meter
• The alarm and status log as provided by the device readings and thermal inspections. For more
information see section 7.5. Additional services.
• The resolution planning and suggestions. Eventual
replacement needed This requires managing a process which spans from
tendering for those services all the way to assessing
• Spare parts available
the deliverables and reassuring in coordination with
• Estimated cost for the extra-ordinary the O&M compliance with environmental, health and
maintenance safety policies.
When dealing with owners who are not professional
solar stakeholders, additional thought must be given 5.4. Interface with local energy authorities &
to the information provided to them at all stages of regulatory compliance
project lifecycle.
The Technical Asset Manager is responsible for
• Installers (O&M providers) should be clear about ensuring that the operation of the PV plant is in
the need for ongoing maintenance and make sure compliance with the regulations. Several levels of
this is reflected in any financial analysis provided regulation have to be considered:
to customers. Best practice would involve either
• •Many countries have a governing law for the
• the retailer providing maintenance service operation of energy generating assets or
themselves (or), renewable energy and PV plants in particular. This
is something the O&M Contractor should be aware
• ensuring a clear and continuous handover to
of in any case, even if the O&M Contractor and the
third party O&M.
Technical Asset Manager are separate entities.
• Installers (O&M providers) should provide a manual
• Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) and
to the owner with contact information and
Interconnection Agreements must also to be
description of operational indicators and
known and respected by the Technical Asset
procedures they can do, including clear
Manager.
documentation that states the customer as
responsible for maintaining original • Power generation license agreements need to be
insolation/shade. made available by the Asset Owner to the
Technical Asset Manager so that the Technical
Asset Manager can ensure compliance with the
5.2. Site visits and non-intrusive inspections
regulations of these licenses.
It is recommended as a best practise that Technical
• Further to the regulatory compliance Technical
Asset Managers undertake a bi-annual site visit in
Asset Manager will be responsible to ensure
coordination with the O&M provider to perform a non-
corporate compliance especially on the new post-
intrusive visual inspection, address current
subsidy environment which is dictated by
maintenance issues and plan out in cooperation with
corporate PPAs and stricter contractual obligations
the O&M contractor and the ancillary service providers
by the owner.
(if different) a maintenance improvement plan. These
Warranty of good execution of works and equipment Resolution of failures in the case of anomalies of the
warranties type “Failures”
During the warranty period, anomalies can occur in the The Technical Asset Manager should present the claim
facility, which the EPC provider is liable for. The to the equipment supplier within 14 days and follow
anomalies must be resolved according to their nature the claims process.
and classification, in accordance to what is described
in the following sections.
Serial defects (endemic failures)
The anomalies or malfunctions that might occur
Serial defects (endemic failures) are product failures
within the facility warranty period might be classified
at or above the expected failure rates resulting from
in the following way:
defects in material, workmanship, manufacturing
• Pending Works, in accordance to the List of process and/or design deficiencies attributable to the
Pending Works (or Punch List) agreed with the manufacturer. Serial defects (endemic failures) are
client during EPC phase. limited to product failures attributable to the same
root cause.
• Insufficiencies, these being understood as any
pathology in the facility resulting from supplies or
construction, that although done according to the Performance warranty
project execution approved by the client, has proven
EPC Contractors usually provide a 2-year performance
to be inadequate, unsatisfactory or insufficient.
warranty period after the Commercial Operation Date
• Defects, these being understood as any pathology (COD). During the warranty period, it is the responsibility
resulting from supplies or construction executed in of the Technical Asset Manager to monitor, calculate,
a different way from the one foreseen and specified report and follow-up the values of Performance Ratio
in the project execution approved by the client. and other KPIs guaranteed by the EPC Contractor.
• Failure or malfunction of equipment, being Within this scope, it is the responsibility of the
understood as any malfunction or pathology found Technical Asset Manager to:
in the equipment of the photovoltaic facility –
• Manage the interventions done within the scope of
Modules, Inverters, Power transformers or other
the warranty in order to safeguard the performance
equipment.
commitments undertaken under the contract.
• Periodically inform the Asset Owner about the
Anomalies handling
condition of the contracted performance indicators.
During the Warranty Period, all the Anomaly
Immediately alert the Asset Owner whenever the
processing should, as a best practice, be centralised
levels of the indicators have values or tendencies that
by the Technical Asset Manager/O&M Contractor, who
could indicate a risk of failure.
is responsible for the first acknowledgment of the
problem and its framework according to its type and
is the main point of contact between the internal Warranty enforcement
organisational structure and the client in accordance
A warranty may be voided by mishandling or not
to the criteria defined below.
observing instructions or conditions of the warranty.
For example, storing modules improperly onsite, such
Pending works, insufficiencies and defects that the packaging is destroyed by rain, may void a
warranty. In another case, partial shading of a thin-film
In the case of anomalies of the type “Pending Works”,
module voids the warranty. Failure to provide
“Insufficiencies” or “Defects”, the Technical Asset
adequate ventilation may void an inverter warranty.
Manager must communicate the occurrence to the
The manufacturer’s warranty might cover
EPC provider, who shall be responsible to assess the
replacement but not labour to remove, ship, and re-
framework of the complaint in the scope of the EPC
contract, determining the action to be taken.
The procedure for making claims described in the on factors such as geographic location, project size,
insurance policy should be followed to the letter, construction and off-taker arrangements.
keeping copies of all submittals and correspondence
As a minimum requirement, the initial step in this
with the insurance company. The insurance company
process is a comprehensive analysis of the contracts
(claims adjuster) will need to have access to the site
followed by a well-defined Division of Responsibility
provided to them in order to assess damage and to
(DOR) matrix that clearly delineates which entity is
collect the information needed to process the claim.
responsible for which action on both the short and
With all of the above said, insurance solutions seem to long term. Upon mutual agreement between the
provide an additional risk mitigation measure, and the parties, the DOR can serve as the driving and tracking
variety of insurance solutions on the market triggers tool for term of life contractual oversight.
the challenge to understand the details of the terms
As a form of best practice, the Contract Manager’s
and conditions subject to which insurance solutions
responsibilities often also extend to functioning as the
are offered, and the resulting actual cover that the
initial contact for all external questions. This allows the
insurance policy provides. Many insurance solutions
Asset Owner optimal access to all areas of the service
turn out to have significant exclusion clauses.
provider’s organisation, and adherence to the
contractual responsibilities. The Contract Manager
5.7. Contract management (operational contracts) also assumes the responsibility for invoicing of the
O&M fees to the Asset Owner.
Contract management encompasses both technical
and commercial/financial aspects. This document For quality purposes, the Technical Asset Manager
looks at contract management from a TAM point of should also track their own compliance with the
view. For details on the perspective of the respective contract, either O&M contract or Asset
Commercial/Financial Asset Manager, see section Management contract, and report to the Asset Owner
6.12. Contract management (financial contracts) of in full transparency.
the Asset Management Best Practice Guidelines.
The Technical Asset Manager is in charge of ensuring 5.8. Asset optimisation (technical)
compliance with the operational contracts in place,
Technical Asset Managers also start being responsible
such as contracts related to O&M services, land lease,
for providing data and information analysis on assets
insurance, site security, communications and in some
they manage as well as to provide asset optimisation
cases ancillary (additional) services such as panel
solutions. Primarily based on the following key areas:
cleaning and vegetation control or component
procurement. (For more information on procurement, • Plant performance
please refer to the Asset Management Best Practice
• Operation cost reduction
Guideline’s chapter 7. Procurement.)
• Technology adaptation and upgrades (e.g.
Indeed, the oversight of and coordination with the
Revamping and repowering)
O&M Contractor is one of the key responsibilities of
the Technical Asset Manager. Thus, the Technical • Technical People management and training
Asset Manager is responsible for performance
It is the role of the Technical Asset Manager to initiate
supervision, too: proper oversight of O&M, detecting
and coordinate discussions with both the Owners and
when systems are underproducing and quickly and
the O&M Contractors to future-proof the assets and
accurately diagnosing an under-performing plant.
come up with a financial proposal based on data
The Technical Asset Manager oversees various analysis which can assist the owners in making
contractual parameters, responsibilities and informed decisions.
obligations of the Asset Owner and the contractual
Note that asset optimisation has commercial and
partners linked to the respective solar power plant.
financial aspects too, such as contract optimisation,
Contract management responsibilities depend largely
presented in the Asset Management Best Practice
Guidelines.
Power Plant Operation is about remote monitoring, • Information type and depth of detail/as-built
supervision and control of the PV power plant. It also documentation
involves subcontracting and coordination of
• Management and control
maintenance activities. Power Plant Operation used
to be a more passive exercise in the past, but with Moreover, for quality/risk management and effective
increasing grid integration efforts, more active and operations management a good and clear
flexible operation will be required by grid operators. documentation of contract information, plant
Examples include ordered shutdowns, power information, maintenance activities and asset
curtailment, frequent adjustment of settings such as management are needed over the lifetime of the plant.
power factor (source reactive power), frequency This is what is called here:
tolerances, and voltage tolerances. This section gives
• Record control (or records management)
an overview of the Operation tasks and requirements.
As explained in the Introduction, in the African context, Nowadays, there are different DMSs available and
especially in the C&I and residential segments, all described by a series of standards (ISO) that can be
aspects of O&M are assumed by the installer – implemented. This is an important requirement that
including Power Plant Operation. would allow any relevant party to trace any changes
during the lifetime of the plant’s operation and follow
The figure on pages 42 and 43 provides an overview of
up accordingly (e.g. when the O&M Contractor
the most important tasks associated with power plant
changes, or the teams change, or the plant is sold etc).
operation.
For single small and medium C&I and residential solar
6.1. Documentation Management System (DMS) parks (hundreds of kWp) it is possible to consider
simplified solutions, such as basic cloud storage
Solar PV plant documentation is crucial for an in-depth
services. In any case, the creation and following
understanding of the design, configuration and
updating of the documentation is mandatory for a
technical details thereof. It is the Asset Owner’s
proper operational management of the solar parks.
responsibility to provide those documents and if not
O&M providers for small to medium C&I and
available, they should, as best practice, be recreated at
residential solar parks with larger portfolios shall
the Asset Owner’s cost.
optimize their organization including the use of more
Before assuming any maintenance and/or operational advanced solutions similar to larger installations.
activities, it is important to understand in-depth the
technical characteristics of the asset. There are two
Information type and depth of detail/as-built
important aspects related to the management of this
documentation
information:
The documentation set accompanying the solar PV
plant should, as a best practice, contain the
The DMS is an important requirement which allow to To optimize O&M activities, reducing production losses The O&M c
trace changes during the lifetime of plant’s operation. and costs, the following information must be analyzed: monitoring
The important aspects to trace the PV plant management aggregatio
information are:
• Response Time correlated to classification of events
Information • Components and manuals and root causes Minimum
• Plant location overview • Analysis of costs incurred for various interventions requireme
• PV plant layout
• Electrical diagrams
• EH&S rules
POWER PLANT Recommen
Management control • Storage of documents CONTROLS
• Logbook of modification
• Access management
The Power Plant Controller is a control system that can
Record control • Alarms linked with manage several parameters, such as: GR
maintenance tasks
• O&M automatic logbook
• Unavailability documentation • Absolute Active Power Control
and recording • Power Factor Control
The O&M p
• Ramp Control
in accorda
• Frequency Control
The requir
• Reactive Power Control
• Voltage Control
PLANT PERFORMANCE
• Power qu
MONITORING AND SUPERVISION • Voltage re
• Managem
POWER GENERATION • Managem
The O&M contractor is responsible for monitoring and
supervision of PV plant performance. In the Fault
FORECASTING
Management there are different role and interaction levels: The specif
on the volt
The O&M contractor may provide forecasting
services, if required by the Asset Owner.
1st level support • Control Room
Forecast requirements are characterized by:
• Faults detecting
• Ticketing REPO
• Action coordinating
• Forecast horizon (typically below 48 hours) A
• Site Technician
• Time resolution (typically 15 minutes to one hour)
• Analysis and fault
• Update frequency:
resolution on site The Opera
• Day-ahead forecasts
• Intraday forecasts details see
2nd level support • PV engineers • Combined forecasts
• Account managers
• Project managers The most common KPIs for forecast quality are:
3rd level support • Vendors’s experts • Root Mean Square Error (RMSE)
• Project managers • Mean Absolute Error (MAE)
• Accounting managers
ion losses The O&M contractor is responsible for the performance In the event that the design of a PV power plant needs
analyzed monitoring quality. The data, collected for different time to be adjusted, the O&M contractor should be involved
by the Local aggregation, should be analyzed at the following level: from the beginning in the following phases:
The O&M provider is responsible to operate the PV plant • Site Operating Plan
in accordance with the respective state grid code. • Annual Maintenance Plan
The requirements provided by the grid operator are usually: • Annual Maintenance Schedule
• Power quality
• Voltage regulation
• Management of active power POWER PLANT
• Management of reactive power SECURITY
The specificities and quality requirements depends
on the voltage level of the grid. It is necessary that, together with the O&M Contractor,
the Asset Owner put in place a Security protocol in case
rol Room, of intrusion on the PV plant. A specialized security service
rovide provider will be responsible for:
Owner. REPORTING AND TECHNICAL
• Intrusion systems
ASSET MANAGEMENT • Surveillance systems
• Processing alarms
• Site patrolling
hour) The Local Control Room team is responsible for providing
periodic reporting to the Central Control Room. For more
details see Chapter 5. Operation Planning. An intrusion system may be formed by:
Normally, in Fault Management (Incident situations, but thanks to their experience they can
Management) several roles and support levels fix most of the faults or at least create a
interact: workaround. They may also contact the Vendor’s
Hotline to help them with the diagnosis.
• With the help of monitoring and its alarms the
Operations Center (Control Room) detects a fault. • If 1st Level Support is not able to resolve the
It is responsible for opening a “ticket” and incident right away, it will escalate it to 2nd Level
coordinates the various actions of troubleshooting. Support. It consists of PV engineers or
It collects as much information and diagnostics as Project/Account Managers who have greater
possible in order to establish an initial technical skills, higher access permissions, and
documentation, tries to categorise the issue and enough time to analyze the fault in depth. They
even to resolve it on the spot. For example by may be internal or of the Vendor’s staff.
rebooting the communication systems from
• If the resolution of an incident requires special
distance. So, it becomes part of 1st Level Support.
expertise or access, 2nd Level engineers might need
Then it tracks the incidents until their resolution.
to contact experts (inhouse, Vendor’s or third
• If this doesn’t help or the fault cannot be party’s experts; = 3rd Level Support). In some
sufficiently categorised, the Operations Center organisations the Project/Account Managers can
may call a field technician who can be a local cover both the 2nd and 3rd Level Support, based on
electrician or member of the maintenance team. their seniority and experience.
They try to analyze and solve the fault on-site (1st
• When the fault is solved, the Operations Center
Level Support). Their knowledge and access rights
closes the ticket.
could be not sufficient for some specific
PV engineer Vendor/
2nd Level
PV engineer
Expert
Grid code compliance) and regulations (see 5.4. The requirements for such forecasts may differ from
Interface with local energy authorities and regulatory country to country and also depends on the contract
compliance). The plant control function varies from agreement for electricity dispatching between the
country to country and in some cases from region to Asset Owner and a trading service provider. Forecast
region. The respective document refers to details in PV requirements are characterised by the forecast
plant control regulation which are issued by the horizon, the time resolution, and the update frequency,
respective grid operator and (energy market) regulator. all depending on the purpose. For power system or
power market related purposes, forecast horizons are
The Power Plant Controller itself is a control system
typically below 48 hours and the time resolution is 15
that can manage several parameters such as active
minutes to one hour, in line with the programme time
and reactive power and ramp control of PV plants. The
unit of the power system or the market. Common
set points can normally be commanded either
products are day-ahead forecasts, intra-day forecasts
remotely or locally from the SCADA. Moreover, the
and combined forecasts. Day-ahead forecasts are
system should be password protected and log all the
typically delivered in the morning for the next day
executed commands. Any executed commands
from 0 to 24 and updated once or twice during that
should release real-time notifications to the
day. Intraday forecasts are delivered and updated
Operations team.
several times per day for the rest of the day and should
The following list shows typically controlled be delivered automatically by the forecast provider.
parameters in a PV plant:
For long-term planning of unit commitment and
• Absolute Active Power Control maintenance decisions, forecasts with longer time
horizons are used, typically one week or more.
• Power Factor Control
PV Power Generation Forecasts rely on numerical
• Ramp Control (Active and Reactive Power if
weather predictions, satellite data and/or statistical
needed)
forecasting and filtering methods. Most products
• Frequency Control combine several of these techniques. Good practice
requires numerical weather predictions for day-ahead
• Reactive Power Control
forecasting and a combination with satellite data for
• Voltage Control intra-day forecasts. In all cases, good practice requires
statistical filtering which in turn requires a near-real-
time data feed from the monitoring system to the
6.6. Power Generation Forecasting
forecast provider. For best practice, the forecast
Like the previous point, this task is usually not applicable provider should also be informed about scheduled
for small to medium scale installations. However, if the outages and the expected duration of forced outages.
Asset Owner requires Power Generation Forecasts, the
The most common KPIs for forecast quality are the
O&M Contractor may supply such forecasts (usually for
Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) and the Mean
large scale plants). Forecasting services for PV power
Absolute Error (MAE). They are normalised to peak
generation are generally offered by operators of PV
power and not to energy yield.
monitoring services, however external services can also
provide this function. The Solar Monitoring Best
Practices Mark (www.solarbestpractices.com) is a 6.7. Grid code compliance
useful tool to help stakeholders select suitable
The O&M Contractor, and in particular the Operations
Monitoring Systems. When the Asset Owner requires
team is responsible to operate the PV plant in
Power Generation Forecasting from the O&M
accordance with the respective national grid code.
Contractor, they could choose a service level
The operator of the grid, to which the PV plant is
agreement with the forecast provider. This kind of
connected (either low voltage grid or medium voltage
activities may have an influence on the contract
grid or high voltage grid) provides the requirements for
agreement for electricity dispatching between the
power quality, voltage regulation and management of
Asset Owner and a trading service provider.
6.9. Power plant security (CCTV) video monitoring. An access protocol would be
required if solar plants have CCTV when reactive and
It is important that the solar PV plant, or key areas of
planned works are carried out. This will ensure that
it, are protected from unauthorised access. This
authorised access is always maintained. This can be
serves the dual purpose of protecting the equipment
done by way of phone with passwords or security pass
of the plant and also keeping members of the public
codes, both of which should be changed periodically.
safe. Unauthorised access may be accidental, people
wandering into the plant without realising the For additional security and in high-risk areas it is advised
dangers, or it may be deliberate for the purposes of that there is a backup communication line installed (the
theft or vandalism. first thing that gets damaged in case of vandalism is the
communication with the surveillance station) as well
Together with the O&M Contractor and the security
as an infrastructure for monitoring connectivity and
service provider, the Asset Owner will put in place a
communication with the security system. As well as
Security Protocol in case an intrusion is detected.
any remote monitoring, it is likely that provision for
In most countries there are strict legal requirements onsite attendance is required when significant events
for security service providers. Therefore, PV power occur. Processes for liaison with local emergency
plant security should be ensured by specialised services, e.g. police, should be considered.
security service providers subcontracted by the O&M
Within the solar plant, there may also be additional
Contractor. The security service provider will be
areas with restricted access, for example locations
responsible for the correct functioning of all the
containing High Voltage equipment. When authorising
security equipment including intrusion and
access to the parks it is important that all workers or
surveillance systems as well as processing alarms
visitors are appropriately informed of the specific
arriving from the security system by following the
access and security arrangements and where they
Security Protocol and the use of the surveillance
should or should not be. Warning signs and notices can
systems installed on site. The security system
form an important part of this and may be mandated
provider will be also responsible for any site patrolling
depending on local regulations.
or other relevant services. The security service
provider should also assume liability for the security As well as the general security of the site over the
services provided. The O&M Contractor will coordinate lifetime of the park, particular attention should be made
with the security service provider and can optionally to periods of construction or maintenance when usual
act as an interface between the Asset Owner and the access arrangements may be different. It is important
security service provider. that security is maintained at all times particularly when
there are activities that may be of more interest to
The level of the adequate security measures depends
members of the public, children or thieves.
on various actors, including local legal requirements,
risk levels and the size of the power plant. For different The Asset Owner will likely have insurance policies in
power plant size categories, see the Introduction. A place directly or indirectly and these will be dependent
security system may be formed of simple fencing or on certain levels of security and response being
barriers but may also include alarm detection and maintained. Failure to meet these may have important
alerting systems and remote closed-circuit television consequences in the case of an accident or crime.
This chapter is about the various responsibilities and This maintenance is carried out at predetermined
tasks related to Maintenance. As outlined in the intervals or according to prescribed OEM and O&M
Introduction, in the African context, especially in the manuals. These are included in a detailed Annual
C&I and residential segments, all aspects of O&M are Maintenance Plan which provides an established time
assumed by the installer – including Power Plant schedule with a specific number of iterations for
Maintenance. carrying out the maintenance.
Maintenance is usually carried out on-site by It is under the responsibility of the O&M Contractor to
specialised technicians, or, in certain cases, prepare the task plan until the end of the contract,
subcontractors, in close coordination with the following the periodicities or frequencies contracted.
analyses prepared by the experts in charge of Power These activities should be reported to the Client (Asset
Plant Operation. Owner or Asset Manager). The reporting of this activity
is important to follow up the plan.
Figure 6 on the following page provides an overview
of the four main types of power plant maintenance. The “Annual Maintenance Plan” (see Annex e or
download it from www.solarpowereurope.org)
developed as an attachment of this report includes a
7.1. Preventive maintenance
list of regular inspections per equipment (e.g. module,
Preventive Maintenance (also called Scheduled inverter etc) and per unit of equipment (e.g. sensors,
Maintenance) activities are the core element of the fuses etc).
maintenance services to a PV plant. It comprises
An example of Preventive Maintenance is
regular visual and physical inspections, as well as
thermographic inspection aiming to identify defective
verification activities conducted with specific
panels on a PV plant. Indeed, several categories of
frequencies of all key components which are
anomalies (hot spots, hot strips, moisture ingress,
necessary to comply with the operating manuals and
soling, etc.) can occur, significantly reducing the whole
recommendations issued by the Original Equipment
plant productivity. Relevant inspection procedures are
Manufacturers (OEMs). It must also maintain the
performed either by operators with handheld cameras
equipment and component warranties in place and
or using remotely piloted drones or piloted aircraft
reduce the probability of failure or degradation. The
equipped with dedicated thermal and optical payloads.
activities should also comply with respective legal
It is noteworthy that aerial thermography as an
issues e.g. national standards for periodic inspection
innovative technology (see section on 13.1.1 Advanced
of certain electrical components. Technical
aerial thermography), can significantly benefit power
experience and relevant track records will optimise
plant maintenance procedures as it can lead to time
the activities further. The O&M contract should include
and cost savings as well as safety improvements.
this scope of services and each task frequency.
Preventive Maintenance
Preventive Maintenance are the core elements of the maintenance services to a PV plant. It comprises of regular
INCLUDED IN ALL O&M CONTRACTS
visual and physical inspections, as well as verification activities on all the key components of the solar park.
This maintenance is carried out at predetermined regular intervals according to prescribed OEM & O&M manuals
and are included in the “Annual Maintenance Plan”.
Corrective Maintenance
Corrective Maintenance corresponds to any activity performed to restore a PV plant system, equipment or
component to a functioning state, and occurs after a failure detection by remote monitoring or during an on-site
inspection. Corrective Maintenance includes Fault Diagnosis, Temporary Repair & Repair and can be divided into
3 levels of intervention: Intervention without the need of substitution, with the need of substitution and with the
need to intervene on the software of the device.
Predictive Maintenance
Predictive Maintenance is a condition-based intervention carried out following a forecast derived from the analysis
and evaluation of the significant parameters of the degradation of an item. The site must have “intelligent” equipment
and an appropriate monitoring software system, allowing the Operations team to perform regular monitoring,
supervision, forecast and performance data analysis of the main equipment of the PV plant (DC array, transformer,
inverter, combiner box and/or string level).
Extraordinary Maintenance
Extraordinary Maintenance actions are necessary when major unpredictable events require substantial activities to
restore the previous plant conditions. These interventions are required for damages due to Force Majeure, damages
due to a theft or fire, endemic failures of the equipment, modifications required by regulatory changes and equipment
wear or deterioration due to design faults.
Additional Services
The O&M agreement can foresee services other than electrical and mechanical plant maintenance. Some of these
additional services are generally included in the scope of work and the O&M annual fixed fee and some are not.
Additional services include PV site maintenance activities such as panel cleaning and vegetation control, general
site maintenance tasks like waste disposal and maintenance of buildings and on-site measurements such as
meter readings or thermal inspections.
Preventive Maintenance also includes ad-hoc The O&M Contractor should include in the plant
replacement of parts of inverters or sensors (Predictive production schedule, planned downtime for
Maintenance). In general, outside of the equipment Preventative Maintenance. For C&I installations, in
warranty terms or after its expiration it is important to cases where downtime is necessary to perform
follow detailed Preventive Maintenance procedures, Preventive Maintenance, its execution during the night
which are agreed upon in the Annual Maintenance Plan. would be considered best practice as the overall power
Interventions for reconditioning, renewal and DC array, transformer, inverter, combiner box or/and
technical updating, save for the cases where those string level). This can identify subtle trends that would
actions are directly included in the scope of the otherwise go unnoticed until the next circuit testing
contract, should be excluded from Corrective or thermal imaging inspection and that indicate
Maintenance and included in the Extraordinary upcoming component or system failures or
Maintenance (see 7.4. Extraordinary Maintenance). underperformance (e.g. at PV modules, inverters,
combiner boxes, trackers etc level).
A key aspect of corrective maintenance is to be able
to track failures to their root cause, which is most Before deciding which Predictive Maintenance actions
often a problematic manufacturer/model/serial to recommend, the Operations team should
number but may also be linked to installation errors or implement and develop procedures to effectively
environmental conditions such as temperature inside analyse historical data and faster identify behaviour
enclosures; also track the efficacy of responses to changes that might jeopardise systems performance.
problems (what fixes the problem reliably?). These changes of behaviour are usually related to the
pre-determined or unpredicted equipment
degradation process. For this reason, it is important to
7.3. Predictive maintenance
define and to monitor all significant parameters of
Predictive Maintenance is a special service provided by wear-out status, based on the sensors installed,
O&M Contractors who follow best practices principles. algorithms implemented into the supervision system
It is defined as a condition-based maintenance carried and other techniques.
out following a forecast derived from the analysis and
Following such analysis, the Maintenance team can
evaluation of the significant parameters of the
implement Predictive Maintenance activities to
degradation of the item (according to EN 13306). A
prevent any possible failures which can cause safety
prerequisite for a good Predictive Maintenance is that
issues and energy generation loss.
the devices on-site can provide information about their
state, in such a way that the O&M contractor can For an efficient Predictive Maintenance, a certain level
evaluate trends or events that signal deteriorations of of maturity and experience is required, which is at best
the device. As a best practice, the device manufacturer a combination of knowledge of the respective
should provide the complete list of status and error system’s performance, related equipment design,
codes produced by the device together with the operation behaviour and relevant accumulated
detailed description of their meaning and possible experience and track record from the service provider.
impact on the function of the device. Additionally, a Normally it is a process that starts after the
standardisation of status and error codes through implementation of an appropriate monitoring system
inverters and dataloggers within a same brand should and the recreation of a baseline. Such baseline will
be followed and, in the future, this standardisation then represent the entire PV system operation as well
should be common to all manufacturers. as how equipment interacts with each other and how
this system reacts to “environmental” changes.
The Asset Owner or interested party that wants to
benefit from Predictive Maintenance should, as a best Predictive Maintenance has several advantages,
practice, select “intelligent” equipment set with including:
sufficient sensors, and opt for an appropriate
• Optimising the safety management of equipment
monitoring software system which should be able to
and systems during their entire lifetime.
provide basic trending and comparison (timewise or
between components and even between PV sites) • Anticipate maintenance activities (both corrective
functionality (minimum requirement). and preventive).
The Operations team of the O&M Contractor does • Delay, eliminate and optimise some maintenance
Predictive Maintenance thorough continuous or activities.
regular monitoring, supervision, forecast and
• Reduce time to repair and optimise maintenance
performance data analysis (e.g. historical
and Spare Parts Management costs.
performance and anomalies) of the PV plant (at the
Generally, these activities are billed separately in the Best Practices of O&M agreements regarding
O&M contract and are managed under a separate Extraordinary Maintenance activities include:
order. It is advisable that the O&M contract includes
• General rules to quantify price and to elaborate a
the rules agreed among the parties to prepare the
schedule to perform repair activities, and the right
quotation and to execute the works. Both a “lump sum
of the Asset Owner to ask for third party quotations
turn-key” or a “cost-plus” method can be used for
to compare to the quotation of the O&M
such purposes.
Contractor; in this case a “right-to-match” option
Extraordinary Maintenance interventions are required should be granted to the O&M Contractor.
for:
• The obligation for the Asset Owner to have in place
• Damages that are a consequence of a Force a consistent “All Risk Property” Insurance including
Majeure event. loss of profit.
• Damages as a consequence of a theft or fire.
7.5. Additional services
• Serial defects or endemic failures3 on equipment,
occurring suddenly and after months or years from The O&M agreement can foresee services other than
plant start-up. those pertaining to electrical and mechanical plant
maintenance as per the above sections. Some of these
• Modifications required by regulatory changes.
additional services are generally included in the scope
In case the O&M Contractor was not the EPC of the of work and the O&M annual fixed fee and some are not.
plant, it is to be considered that also the following
Additional services not included in the O&M contract
occurrence is an Extraordinary Maintenance:
scope of work can be requested on demand and can
• Major issues of which O&M Contractor becomes either be priced per service action or based on hourly
aware during its ordinary activity i.e. defects or rates applicable to the level of qualification of staff
other problems that are not a consequence of required to perform the works. These hourly rates
equipment wear or deterioration and that are not usually escalate at the same rate as the O&M Service
of the O&M Contractor’s responsibility because fee. In some cases, a binding price list for the delivery
they can be reasonably considered to have been of some of these additional services can be included
caused by design mistakes (e.g. “hidden” defects in the O&M contract as well.
that require re-engineering).
For example, regular module cleaning is an important
Although not necessarily maintenance interventions, part of solar maintenance and the problems
also the following revamping and repowering can also associated with soiled modules is often
be included in the Extraordinary Maintenance list in underestimated. By way of example, just the effect of
the O&M agreement, or at least managed with the soiling resulting from regular wind induced dust
same rules. For more information on this, see Chapter carryover can result in a performance loss of 10%+
8. Revamping and repowering. within 2 weeks, and of 30%+ within a matter of 6
weeks. Prolonged periods of time between cleans can
After the approval by the Asset Owner of the O&M
result in bird droppings etching modules and lichen
Contractor’s proposal, activities may commence,
growth, both of which can be extremely difficult to
subject to availability of the required equipment and
remove. Module cleaning methods vary from manual,
special machinery (if required).
robotic and mechanical. Each have their own
The potential loss of energy between the event advantages and disadvantages. Cleaning frequencies
occurrence and full repair generally cannot be vary greatly on ground, rooftop and floating solar
considered in the SPV financial model, but it has to be arrays. The frequency of cleaning should be decided
considered that many of the above events are on a site-by-site basis and it may be that certain parts
reimbursed to the Asset Owner by the insurance of a site will need cleaning more often than other parts
company under any “All Risk Insurance” coverage that of the same site.
is in place.
3 For a definition of endemic failures and its repercussions in terms of
warranty, see → 5.3. Warranty management.
ADDITIONAL SERVICES
© Shutterstock
Revamping and repowering are usually considered to be represented in certain markets. It is recommended for
part of extraordinary maintenance from a contractual asset owners and O&M providers to prepare for
point of view – however due to their increasing Revamping and Repowering projects in the coming
significance in the solar O&M market, these Guidelines years. In certain legislations, the regulatory framework
are addressing them in a standalone chapter. may not enable Repowering yet, however Revamping
may have a strong role in African markets: for example,
retrofitting installations with batteries or replacing old
8.1. Definition and rationale of revamping and
batteries with better ones will not involve any increase
repowering
in the nominal power of the installation, however it may
Revamping and repowering are defined as the significantly increase its value for local communities.
replacement of old, power production related
There are numerous ways of repowering a PV plant. In the
components of a power plant by new components to
following we will concentrate on the two most important
enhance its overall performance. Revamping involves
opportunities of module and inverter repowering.
component replacement, but without substantially
changing the plant's nominal power, whereas repowering
involves increasing it. the differentiation to ordinary 8.2. Module repowering
replacement lies in the aim to increase the performance
Natural or increased degradation, underperformance
by exchanging all components within a functional area
or simple defects of modules which are not repairable
or a significant ratio of them. the aspects and
or available for direct replacement on the market may
consideration in the following sections focus on
force the investor to consider a module repowering.
repowering but apply in most cases also for revamping
This can be carried out for the entire PV plant or for
and even repair and extraordinary maintenance.
specific parts. When the repowering is focused on a
There are several reasons, why repowering of solar PV partial module replacement, it is recommended to
plants can be a necessary and/or beneficial exchange some more modules than technically
investment. For an overview, see Figure 7 on the required, to keep some intact old modules as spare
following page. parts for the future.
In the African context, Revamping and Repowering are Due to the fast development of PV technology it is not
not a major trend yet due to the relatively young age of very likely that the same components are still available
solar PV installations. However, Revamping and on the market in the required quantity or at a
Repowering are expected to become increasingly competitive price. Certainly, exchanging the identical
important as installations age. Some of the factors modules would make a repowering very simple, but
presented in the figure are increasingly relevant for the this would also reduce the utilisation of the repowering
African market – such as the availability of spare parts, opportunities in lower price and higher efficiency. In
when equipment suppliers are not adequately case different modules are to be used for the
Revamping Repowering
Involves components replacement (mainly inverters Involves components replacement (mainly inverters
and modules), but without substantially changing the and modules), with substantially changing the plant's
plant's nominal power. nominal power.
• Aging solar assets: By the end of 2019, we expect more than 630 GWp of PV capacity installed worldwide. The fleet of
modules and inverters is getting older which leads to an increased failure rate, higher degradation and expiring warranties.
• Unavailability of spare parts and support: Many manufacturers of modules and inverters have left the market. This
complicates the supply of spare parts or repair solutions and may leave an exchange of components as the only alternative.
• Technological Improvements: The technological advancement of modules and inverters has been significant. Thus,
exchanging components can lead to an improved performance and availability. As further benefits new components
offer higher design flexibility and advanced features at reduced maintenance costs.
• Decreasing prices: The prices for PV components have decreased substantially. This trend helps to create an
economically feasible re-investment case.
• Additional benefits: A repowering project usually includes additional benefits, such as new warranty terms and
compliance with the latest regulations. Furthermore, it brings the opportunity to correct potential planning mistakes
from the initial construction.
Further considerations spare parts are not available, the exchange with a new
component is inevitable. There are different strategies
• A module repowering might underlie regulatory
for inverter repowering which should be evaluated on
aspects, which will vary from country to country.
a case by case basis:
The regulatory body should be contacted well in
advance in order to clarify aspects such as: • Partial or complete exchange: If not all inverters are
affected a partial exchange of the inverter fleet of
• Maximum power to be installed
the PV system can be an option. This potentially
• Requirements for proving the faults of modules reduces the overall costs but it can also increase
the complexity regarding the electrical design or
• Registration of new modules
the implementation of two different inverter types
• Disposal of old modules into one communication concept on-site. If the
repowering does not affect all inverters on-site, it is
• Module repowering should be considered as a
advisable to store the old devices as potential spare
relevant interference into the electrical system. All
parts. Additionally, it can be practical to exchange
affected strings should be tested and
more inverters than technically required to store
documented according to IEC 60364-7-712:2017,
those as potential exchange devices for future
IEC 60364-6:2016 and IEC 62446-1:2016 after the
defects of the old inverter type.
repowering project.
• Exchange of same or different power class:
• The new string layout could be optimised about
Exchanging inverters with the same power class is
shading or DC / AC ratio. Furthermore, an in-depth
easier for the DC and AC integration. However,
check of the mounting structures, cables and
replacing multiple devices through one with a larger
connectors could be performed.
power class can increase the system efficiency and
• If not all modules are being exchanged and power reduce the component costs as well as future
measurements of these modules are being maintenance costs.
performed, it is recommended to install the old
When an inverter repowering is planned, several
modules according to their remaining power. This
factors need to be considered:
means all modules in one string or connected to
one MPP tracker should have similar power in order
to reduce mismatching losses. Mechanical installation
• Depending on the status of the old modules (and • If the new inverters have different dimensions or
the regulatory requirements), they can be either weight, a suitable solution for the installation or
sold to the secondary market or should be disposed mounting of the inverter needs to be prepared. The
or recycled by a professional provider. same accounts for a proper cabling if DC or AC
connections are changed.
8.3. Inverter repowering • The manufacturer of the new device might have
different requirements for the mounting with
As all electronic devices, inverters have a limited
regards to fixings, distance to other components or
lifetime. With increasing age and wear, the likelihood
to the roof, ventilation, etc. All requirements need
of failures and breakdowns increases. If the warranty
to be checked and implemented.
of the device has expired, a technically and
economically suitable solution needs to be identified. • The new inverters need to be integrated into the
Some manufacturers or service providers offer repair grounding system according to the standards and
and spare parts services. With new components it the manufacturers specifications.
might even be possible to increase the efficiency of
an older inverter, e.g. with a replacement of an old
Electrical installation
control board with a new device with better
performance characteristics, such as MPP tracking. If • The integration of the DC side to the new inverters
an identical replacement inverter, repair services or needs to follow the DC input requirements of the
Solution Design
• Detailed technical engineering
• Determination of all costs for time and material
• Setting up project plan
• Update commercial analysis with more precise
information
© sarawuth wannasathit
It is important to differentiate between Consumables fully responsible for the cost of all spare parts within
and Spare Parts. the O&M fee, however, the more cost-effective
approach is to agree which are “Included Spare Parts”
“Consumables” are items which are intended to be
and which are “Excluded Spare Parts”.
depleted or worn out relatively quickly and then
replaced. they are necessary for the regular operation Included Spare Parts are those which the O&M
of the PV plant and O&M contractors should always Contractor is to be responsible for within the O&M fee.
have consumables on stock and maintenance crews Excluded Spare Parts are those which the Asset Owner
should carry consumables with them, together with is responsible for the cost of replenishing and do not
the relevant tools. fall within the O&M Contractor's O&M fee. This is a
flexible approach allowing the Asset Owner and O&M
“Spare Parts” are all the items (materials and
Contractor to agree which spare parts fall into which
equipment such as modules or inverters) listed on the
category. It enables both parties to have a level of cost
“Spare Parts List”, not in use or incorporated in the PV
certainty whilst balancing this with the Asset Owner's
plant, intended to replace similar items in the PV plant.
appetite for risk.
Spare Parts Management is an inherent and substantial
Ownership of spares is often with the Asset Owner
part of O&M that should ensure that spare parts are
from delivery to site or placement in the spares stock.
available in a timely manner for Corrective Maintenance
In the case of excluded spare parts, ownership
in order to minimise the downtime of (a part of) a solar
transfers to the Asset Owner from the date that the
PV plant. As regards to Spare Parts Management, the
O&M Contractor receives payment for the same.
following considerations have to be made:
Maintenance, storage and replenishment are the
• Ownership and responsibility of insurance
responsibility of the O&M Contractor. Besides
• Stocking level ownership matters, it is very important to make sure,
upon mutual agreement, that one of the parties
• Location of storage
undertakes the responsibility of insuring the spares: as
a. Proximity to the plant a recommendation spare parts stored on-site should
be insured by the Asset Owner and spare parts stored
b. Security
off-site should be insured by the O&M Contractor.
c. Environmental conditions
For a new PV plant, the initial spare parts for two years
Although it is best practice for the O&M Contractor to from COD are procured by the Asset Owner or the EPC
be responsible for replenishing the spare parts stock, it on behalf of the Asset Owner. However, it is best
is not necessarily responsible for the full cost of doing practice for the EPC and O&M Contractor to have
so. Some Asset Owners require O&M Contractors to be agreed upon the list. The O&M Contractor should, as a
1 Fuses for all equipment (e.g. inverters, combiner boxes etc) and fuse kits
2 Modules – percentage of total module quantity:
• 0.2% for utility scale: >10 MWp
• 0.2% for large C&I between 1MWp and 10 MWp
• 1% (but at least 1 module) for medium C&I between 100 kWp and 1 MWp
• No need for spare parts on stock for (single) small C&I or residential <100 kWp
3 Inverter spares (e.g. power stacks, circuit breakers, contactor, switches, controller board etc)
4 Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)
5 Voltage terminations (MV)
6 Power Plant controller spares
7 SCADA and data communication spares
8 Transformer and switchgear spares
9 Weather station sensors
10 Motors and gearboxes for trackers
11 Harnesses and cables
12 Screws and other supplies and tools
13 Specified module connectors (male and female should be from the same manufacturer)
14 Structures components
15 Security equipment (e.g. cameras)
In general, the monitoring system should allow follow- power at standard test conditions in kilowatt-peak
up on the energy flows within a solar power plant or (kWp) for ease of performance comparison.
portfolio of (small) installations. In principle, it reports
All components and different aspects of technical data
on the parameters that determine the energy
management and monitoring platforms are described in
conversion chain. These parameters, along with the
the following paragraphs. It is also recommended to refer
most important energy measures in terms of yields
to the Monitoring Checklist of the Solar Best Practices
and losses, are illustrated in the following figure. These
Mark for a synthesis of the most important best practices
yields and losses are always normalised to installed PV
and recommendation with respect to these points.4
FIGURE 8 ENERGY FLOW IN A GRID-CONNECTED PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEM WITH PARAMETERS, YIELDS AND LOSSES5
Gpoa
PV array Vdc Inverter Vac Grid
Idc Iac
Pdc Pac
Tamb, Tmod, Sw
Yr Ya Yf
Reference Yield Array Yield System Yield
Lc Ls
Array capture System
losses losses
PR
© SOLARPOWER EUROPE 2020
4 The best practice checklists of the Solar Best Practices Mark are 5 The figure is redesigned and based on a figure produced by 3E and
available at: www.solarbestpractices.com published in (Woyte et al. 2014).
As a best practice, the data logger should store a • For the list of indicators to be computed, see
minimum of three months of data locally and a full Chapter 11. Indicators computational inputs might
data backup in the cloud. Moreover, the operation of be selectable by the user.
the data logger itself should be monitored. Such
• Validation of data quality (e.g. through calculation
monitoring should be done out of an independent
of data availability).
server remotely and should ideally deliver information
on the status of operation of the data loggers on • Detection of malfunctions as well as long term
Operating System (OS) and hardware level and also degradations with customisable alarms.
provide alerts to the Operations room in case of
• Handling of alerts from field devices like
failures and communication loss.
dataloggers or inverters.
Best practice is to have dataloggers and routers constantly
• Calculate typical Key Performance Indicators (such
monitored. In the case of an error the staff on site will be
as Performance Ratio and Availability) with the
informed and may restart or repair the equipment.
possibility to adapt parameters.
Alternatively, a watchdog device could be used.
• Provision of consistent and easy to use aggregated
As a minimum requirement, the entire monitoring
KPI for the set up of customizable reports for single
installation should be protected by an uninterruptable
plants as well as for portfolios.
power supply (UPS). This includes data loggers,
network switches, internet modems/routers, • Making data available via a standardised interface
measurement devices and signal converters. for use in other systems.
For more information, see also IEC 61724-1 The monitoring portal should fulfil the following
Photovoltaic system performance – Part 1: Monitoring. minimum requirements:
• Accessibility level of at least 99% across the year.
10.2. Monitoring portal
• Interface and/or apps dedicated to use cases (on-
The main purposes of the Monitoring Portal are: site service, investor etc).
• Reading any type of raw data coming from any type • Customisable user Access Level.
of datalogger or other PV platforms with no
• Graphs of irradiation, energy production,
preference on brands and models.
performance and yield.
• Long-term archive for all raw data provided by the
• Downloadable tables with all the registered figures.
asset.
• Alarms register.
• Modelling each PV asset using all available
information regarding the actual set up and devices As best practice, the following features will also be
(type of devices, installation/replacement date, included in the Monitoring Portal:
modules-string-inverter system layout, modules
• Configurable User Interface to adjust the views
inclination, orientation, type of installation etc.).
depending on the target group (e.g. O&M Manager,
• Visualisation of aggregated data in the highest EPC, Investor, Asset Manager).
possible granularity (1 to 15 min is a best practice
• User configurable alarms.
for most of the indicators).
• User configurable reports.
• Visualisation of data in standard and specific
diagrams. • Ticket system to handle alarm messages.
• Computation and visualisation on dashboards and • Plant specific KPIs.
views of Key Performance Indicators . For the list of
• Integrate Third Party Data (e.g. Solar power forecast,
indicators to be computed, see Chapter 11.
Weather data, Satellite data for irradiance).
Indicators computational inputs might be
selectable by the user.
Another important aspect of interoperability is the 10.6. Internet connection and Local Area Network
possibility to aggregate data from different platforms
The O&M Contractor should make sure to provide the
that normally serve different scopes of the PV
best possible network connectivity. As a minimum
business, such as administration, accountancy,
requirement, the bandwidth need to be sufficient to
planning & on site intervention, stock management
transfer the data in a regular way.
specific applications. This way, the information can be
exploited by the central monitoring platform without Whenever a fiber connection is available within the PV-
affecting the more specific external applications. For site area, this should be the preferred way to connect
example, an O&M Contractor works with several types to the internet, with industrial routers considered as
of ticketing system for different clients. The standard. In case a fiber connection is not available, 4G
monitoring platform should be able to collect data or wifi communication is preferred. Satellite, 3G or 2G
from all of them. On the other side, information of connections are the least preferred, but often the only
tickets managed from the central monitoring system available communication type. An additional back-up
should be automatically transferred to the dedicated system can be seen as best practice. It should be
ticketing application. avoided to transfer data of applications that need a
large bandwidth via Internet. For example, it should be
API may face data quality issues and limits – data granularity,
data depth, availability, correctness, currentness, completeness –
depending on the provider’s terms conditions (SLAs) and
technical abilities.
10.7. Data ownership and privacy Cybersecurity is a vast area and multiple measures are
imaginable. The following hints may help as a starting
The data from the monitoring system and data
point:
loggers, even if hosted in the cloud, should always be
owned by and accessible to the Asset Owner (or SPV). • Keep it simple: If possible, reduce the type of
Stakeholders such as the O&M Contractor, the Asset network devices to a minimum.
Manager or auditors during due diligence phases that
• As a recommendation, traffic of the network
need the data to perform their duties should be
devices may be monitored in order to detect
granted access. It is also important to have at least
abnormally high use of bandwidth.
two access levels (read-only, full access).
• Secure physical access to the network devices and
The monitoring system hardware can be provided by the
implement a secure password policy. Avoid the use
O&M Contractor or a third-party monitoring service
of standard passwords especially, and change all
provider (but the monitoring system hardware remains
factory setting passwords.
the property of the Asset Owner as part of the installation):
• Control access from Internet via strict firewall rules:
• If the O&M Contractor is the monitoring service
provider, the O&M Contractor has full responsibility • Port forwarding should not be used because this
for protecting and maintaining the data and the is a big security gap. Only router ports that are
proper functioning of the monitoring system. necessary should be opened.
• In case of a third-party monitoring service provider, • Reduce remote access to the necessary use
the responsibility for protecting and maintaining cases.
the data resides with the third-party monitoring
• The use of VPNs (Virtual Private Networks – a
service provider. The O&M Contractor should use
secure connection built up from the inside of the
his best endeavours to make sure the performance
private network) is necessary.
monitoring is correct, to the extent possible,
considering best practices as mentioned in • VPN access to the site from outside is a
previous paragraphs. The O&M Contractor’s ability minimum requirement.
to properly maintain and use the monitoring
• A VPN server or VPN service which works
system should be evaluated. If necessary, the O&M
without requiring a public IP on-site should be
Contractor should be appropriately trained to use
preferred.
the monitoring system. Data use by third party
monitoring providers should be extremely limited, • Each PV plant should have different passwords.
i.e. for the sole purpose of correcting bugs and
• Keep your documentation up to date to be sure
developing additional functions to their systems.
that no device was forgotten.
• Use different roles to the extent possible (e.g.
10..8. Cybersecurity
read only user, administration access).
Since PV plants will at least include inverters and
• Use professional (industrial grade) hardware;
power plant controllers (and monitoring systems) and
only this hardware provides the security and
these are expected to be accessible from (i.e.
administration functions your plant needs to be
connected to) the internet to enable surveillance and
secure.
remote instructions by operators, they have
significant exposure to cybersecurity risks. • Implement vulnerability management (i.e.
identifying and remediating or mitigating
Cybersecurity comprises technologies, processes and
vulnerabilities, especially in software and firmware):
controls that are designed to protect systems,
networks and data from cyber-attacks. Effective cyber • Improve insecure software configurations.
security reduces the risk of cyber-attacks and protects
• The firmware and software of devices should be
organisations and individuals from the unauthorised
kept up-to-date.
exploitation of systems, networks and technologies.7
7 Definition: https://www.itgovernance.co.uk/what-is-cybersecurity.
for irradiation sensor data quality assessment. The an anemometer, at 10 m height above ground level.
longer the period considered the lower the error will be
Wind and ambient temperature data are normally not
for satellite-based irradiation data.
required for calculating PR unless this is a contractual
When satellite-based irradiance data is used, hourly requirement/agreement (e.g. according to specific
granularity or less (15 minutes if possible) is recommendations such as from NREL). However, they
recommended. The data must be retrieved once per are required when the PV plant is to be modelled in
day at least. operation or in retrospect.
Additionally, whenever the module temperature
1.0.9.2. Module temperature measurements measurements are not available or not suitable, wind
speed and ambient temperature coupled with
Module temperature can be measured for
installation specifications can be used to retrieve a
performance analysis in KPIs such as the
good estimation of module temperature. In this case,
temperature-corrected PR (see 11.2.4. Temperature-
15 minutes granularity of measurement is still the
corrected Performance Ratio).
best practice.
The accuracy of the temperature sensor, including
For plants larger than10 MWp, it is recommended to
signal conditioning and acquisition done by the
have automated data collection of independent hourly
monitoring system hardware, should be < ±1 °C.
meteo data (ambient temperature, wind speed, snow
The temperature sensor should be stuck with coverage, rainfall) from an independent meteo source.
appropriate and stable thermally conductive glue to The reason for this is that on-site meteorological
the middle of the backside of the module in the stations are subject to local phenomena and
middle of the array table, positioned in the centre of a installation-specific results. Data from an independent
cell, away from the junction box of the module (Woyte meteo-station is less subject to this while being also
et al. 2013). The installation should be in accordance more stable and robust with respect to long-term drift.
with manufacturer guidelines (e.g. respecting cabling They can therefore be used to evaluate the quality, and
instructions towards the datalogger). eventually replace, the on-site measurement.
PV module temperature is not supposed to be Therefore, for both performance assessment and
identical for all modules in a plant mainly due to detailed analysis purposes, it is recommended to
different wind exposure. Therefore, in large plants enable automated data collection from a nearby
more sensors will be required across the site because independent meteo reference. However, for
module temperature should be measured at different performance assessment the most important
representative positions, e.g. for modules in the centre measurement remains the in-plane irradiation (see 11.
of the plant and for modules at edge locations where Key Performance Indicators).
temperature variation is expected.
Solar resource data derived from satellite image
The granularity of module temperature data should be processing is available from several services at a
at least 15 minutes to perform a correct PR nominal per-site and per time-segment (such as one
calculation. week). The measurement error in satellite data might
be greater than that of an on-site instrument, but is
often more reliable than a mis-aligned, low class or
1.0.9.3. Local meteorological data
dirty on-site pyranometer and less susceptible to
It is best practice to measure ambient temperature, soiling or tampering.
wind speed, rain fall and other site relevant
meteorological measurement with the installation of
1.0.9.4. String measurements
a local meteorological station in accordance with the
manufacturers’ guidelines. Ambient temperature is Individual string current measurements may be
measured with a shielded thermometer, e.g. of the deployed when not supported by the inverters. String
PT100 type. The shield protects the sensor from level monitoring, as compared with inverter level,
radiative heat transfer. Wind speed is measured with allows for more precise trouble-shooting procedures.
Depending on module technology used in the plant,
energy meter data is required for invoicing purposes As a best practice, the following alarms should also be
but it is also the best reference for measuring energy followed by the O&M Contractor, but these alarms are
and calculating plant PR and Yield and is much more sent by separate systems other than the monitoring
accurate than using inverter data. system:
A high accuracy energy meter to measure energy • Intrusion detection
produced and consumed by the plant is normally
• Fire alarm detection
required by the utility. When this is not the case it is a
best practice to install a meter with a maximum The above lists are not exhaustive. For a
uncertainty of ± 0.5%, especially for plants > 100 kWp. comprehensive overview of recommended
functionalities, refer to the Monitoring Checklist of the
To allow data acquisition via the Monitoring System, it is
Solar Best Practices Mark.8
recommended to have a meter with two
communication bus ports as well as Automatic Meter
Reading (AMR) service from the Utility or Meter Operator. 1.0.9.9. AC circuit / Protection relay
It is recommended to monitor the status of MV switch
1.0.9.7. Control settings gear and important LV switches through digital inputs.
Whenever possible, it can also be useful to read and
It is important to monitor all control settings of the
register the alarms generated by the protection relay
plant at inverter level as well as grid injection level if
control unit via communication bus.
available. Many plants apply control settings for local
grid regulation (injection management) or
optimisation of the market value of the PV generation 10..10. Data collected by specialised PV module field
portfolio (remote control). These settings need to be inspections
monitored for reasons of contractual reporting or
Not all types of data are collected automatically
performance assessment.
through the monitoring system. Certain data are
collected via on-site measurements and field
1.0.9.8. Alarms inspections manually or with aerial inspections.
As a minimum requirement, the monitoring system PV modules are engineered to produce electricity for
will have the possibility of generating the following 25-30 years and nowadays are being deployed in ever
alarms and, at the user’s discretion, to have them sent more and ever bigger large-scale PV plants. Quality
by email: assurance is the cornerstone for long-term reliability
in order to maximise financial and energy returns and
• Loss of communication
therefore, the need for tracking down the source of
• Plant stops failures once the modules are installed becomes vital.
For that reason, field technical inspections, such as
• Inverter stops
infrared (IR) thermography, electroluminescence (EL)
• Plant with Low Performance imaging and I-V curve tracing, are being put into
practice in order to assess the quality and
• Inverter with Low Performance (e.g. due to
performance of PV modules on-site.
overheating)
Such field inspections can be part of contractual
As best practice, the following alarms will also be sent
preventive maintenance tasks or could be offered as
by the monitoring system:
additional services triggered by the O&M contractor
• String without current in cases where, for example, plant underperformance
is not clearly understood just by looking at the
• Plant under operation
monitoring data.
• Discretion Alarm
• Alarm Aggregation
8 The best practice checklists of the Solar Best Practices Mark are
available at: www.solarbestpractices.com.
least high enough so that the fingers of the solar cells climatic conditions as well as type of encapsulant and
in the module can be clearly identified. The noise of backsheet used. The fluorescence signal furthermore
the camera output has to be as low as possible (lowest depends on type of defect like micro cracks in c-Si
ISO number possible) and the camera should be as cells, hotspots or glass breakage.
steady as possible in order to avoid blurry images.
Imaging of PV modules typically takes less than 60
Exposure times of 15 seconds are common.
seconds. An example of UV-fluorescence is given in
the following figure. The advantages of the technique
10.10.4. Flourescence imaging are that no modifications are necessary to the PV
systems and in combination with Electro-
UV-Fluorescence imaging is a non-destructive
Luminescence (EL) also there is potentially an
imaging technique for failure analysis of PV-modules.
evaluation of timelines possible as the fluorescence
The development of the technique started around
signal is a function of time. New cracks for instance
2010 with first publications in 2012 (Köngtes et al,
are only visible in EL because there was no time to
2012; Schlothauer et al, 2012; Eder et al, 2017;
“bleach” the fluorescence signal.
Muehleisen et al, 2018). UV-Fluorescence
measurements are performed in dark environment
(typically at night) by illumination of the PV-modules 10.10.5. Magnetic Field Imaging (MFI)
with UV-light (<400nm). Most encapsulants show
Magnetic field imaging (MFI) is a new and innovative
fluorescence in the visible region and thus the
method that allows to analyze flowing electric
material’s response can be captured with a
currents non-destructively, contactless and
photographic camera. No disconnecting nor powering
quantitatively.
of modules is required.
The underlying physics are very simple: every electric
The observed fluorescence of the encapsulation
current generates a magnetic field. A magnetic field
above the cells with respect to (i) spatial distribution,
sensor images this by simply being moved over the
(ii) intensity and (iii) spectral shift of the fluorescent
current-carrying component. Strength and direction
light is dependent on operation time in the field,
of the electric current can be inferred.
Broken ribbon marked position Magnetic field measurement Magnetic field measurement (3D)
© Shutterstock
This section deals with Key Performance Indicators • PV plant/O&M Contractor KPIs, which reflect PV
(KPIs), which provide the Asset Owner with a quick power plant performance and O&M service quality
reference on the performance of the PV power plant. at the same time.
The KPIs are divided into the following categories:
The O&M Contractor is generally responsible for the
• PV plant KPIs, which directly reflect the calculation of the KPIs and reporting to the Asset
performance of the PV power plant. PV plant KPIs Owner, see 5.1. Technical reporting.
are quantitative indicators.
It is important to underline that the O&M Contractor
• O&M Contractor KPIs, which reflect the cannot and is thus not responsible for providing
performance of the service provided by the O&M contractual guarantees for all the KPIs listed in this
Contractor. O&M Contractor KPIs are both chapter. For more information on suggested
quantitative and qualitative indicators. contractually guaranteed KPIs, see 12.3. Contractual
guarantees. When there are warranties in place it is
strongly advised that the party liable for the warranties
is not the only one to calculate the KPIs.
This measurement normalises plant output over a These definitions are based on (Woyte et al. 2014) in line
chosen time frame and thus allows the comparison with the IEC 61724-1:2017 and are common practice.
of the production of plants with different nominal
PR is measured for available times (see 11.4.1.
power or even different technologies (e.g. PV, wind,
Contractual Availability) at the inverter or plant level.
biomass etc). For example, the Specific Yield of a PV
Plant can be compared against the Specific Yield of a Note that special attention is needed when assessing
wind plant for investment decision taking or the the PR of overrated plants, where the output of the
Specific Yield of a 5 MWp ground mounted PV plant plant is limited by the inverter maximum AC output. In
can be compared directly to a 1 MWp double tracker such situations and for the period that overrating
PV plant’s Specific Yield. takes place, PR will calculate lower than normal
although there is no technical problem with the plant.
Calculating Specific Yield on the inverter level also
Stakeholders should be careful assessing PR values for
allows a direct comparison between inverters that may
overrated plants, although the amount of overrating is
have different AC/DC conversion rates or different
normally statistically constant or with negligible
nominal powers. Moreover, by checking inverter level
differences on a yearly basis.
Specific Yield within a plant, it is possible to detect
whether an inverter is performing worse than others.
11.2.4. Temperature-corrected performance ratio
11.2.3. Performance ratio In some situations, such as a commissioning test or
PV power plant handover from one O&M Contractor
The Performance Ratio (PR) is a quality indicator of the
to another, PR needs to be measured over a shorter
PV plant. As the ratio between the actual Specific Yield
time period, such as two weeks or a month. In such
and the theoretically possible Reference Yield, PR
situations, it is recommended to use a PR formula
captures the overall effect of losses of the PV system
corrected with temperature factor in order to
when converting from nameplate DC rating to AC
neutralise short-term PR fluctuation due to
output. Typically, losses result from factors such as
temperature variations from STC (25°C). As a best
module degradation, temperature, soiling, inverter
losses, transformer losses, and system and network
downtime. The higher the PR is, the more energy
efficient the plant is.
PR, as defined in this section, is usually used to report
on longer periods of time according to the O&M
contract, such as day, month or year. Based on PR, the
O&M Contractor can provide recommendations to the
plant owners on possible investments or interventions.
11.2.5. Expected yield The advantage of using the EPI is that its expected
value is 100% at project start-up and is independent
Expected Yield Yexp(i) is the Reference Yield Yr(i)
of climate or weather. This indicator relies on the
multiplied by the expected PR and thus expresses
accuracy of the model. Unfortunately, there are more
what should have been produced over a certain period
than one established models for the Expected Yield of
of time i.
PV systems in operation and not all of them are
Note that Expected Yield is based on past values of transparent. Therefore, the use of EPIs is
irradiation data. Predicted Yield is based on forecasted recommended mainly for the identification of
data, from day ahead and hour ahead weather reports. performance flaws and comparison of plants. On the
other side, the Energy Performance Index is a useful
and simple KPI especially for small-scale systems.
Expected Yield can be defined as:
Yexp(i) = PRexp(i) × Yr(i) 11.2.7. Technical availability or uptime
Where:
Yexp(i) = Expected Yield for the time period i, expressed in (kWh/kWp)
Technical Availability (or Uptime), Contractual
or peak sun hours (h) Availability and Energy-based Availability are three
PRexp(i) = Average Expected Performance Ratio of the plant over closely related indicators to measure whether or not
the period i, based on simulation with given actual temperature
and irradiation and plant characteristics. (PRexp simulation is beyond
the PV power plant is generating electricity. The latter
the scope of the present document but for more information on this, two KPIs are explained in section 11.4. PV power
see Brabandere et al (2014), Klise and Stein (2009), NREL (2017), plant/O&M Contractor KPIs.
PVsyst (2017) and SANDIA (2017).)
Yr(i) = Reference Yield for the time period i (based on past irradiation Technical Availability is the parameter that represents
data) expressed in (kWh/kWp) or peak sun hours (h)
the time during which the plant is operating over the
total possible time it is able to operate, without taking
any exclusion factors into account. The total possible
11.2.6. Energy Performance Index time is considered the time when the plant is exposed
to irradiation levels above the generator’s Minimum
The Energy Performance Index (EPI) is defined as the
Irradiance Threshold (MIT). Technical Availability is
ratio between the Specific Yield Yi and the Expected
covered extensively in IEC TS 63019:2019.
Yield Yexp as determined by a PV model. The EPI is
regularly recalculated for the respective assessment
period (typically day/month/year) using the actual
weather data as input to the model each time it is Technical Availability is then defined and
calculated. This concept was proposed, e.g. in (Honda calculated as:
et al. 2012). T –T
At = useful down × 100
Tuseful
Where:
A t = Technical Availability (Uptime) (%)
The Energy Performance Index (EPI) Tuseful = Period of time with in plane irradiance above MIT (h)
is defined as: Tdown = Period of Tuseful when the system is down (no production) (h)
Y
EPI i = i
Yexp(i)
Where: Figure 12 on the following page illustrates the various
EPIi = Energy Performance Index for the time period i (%)
periods in time mentioned above.
Yi = Specific Yield for the time period i (kWh/kWp) or (h)
Yexp(i) = Expected Yield for the time period i (kWh/kWp) or (h)
Normally, only the time where irradiance is above the
MIT is considered and this is noted above as Tuseful,
where Tuseful = Ttotal – T(irr<MIT). Typical MIT values are 50
or 70 W/m2. MIT should be defined according to site
and plant characteristics (e.g. type of inverter, DC/AC
ratio etc).
Ttotal
Tuseful T(irr<MIT)
Tdown
Technical Availability should be measured also at would not allow for any agreed exclusions in the
inverter level. Individual inverters’ Technical Availability availability. To calculate the technical tracker
A t k should be weighted according to their respective availability, the following formula can be used:
installed DC power Pk. In this case, the Technical
Availability of the total PV power plant Attotal with an
installed total DC power of P0 can be defined as follows: Technical tracker availability is
calculated as:
T –T
Technical Availability weighted by individual At_tracker = t_useful t_down × 100
Tt_useful
inverters’ installed DC power:
Where:
Pk A t_tracker = Technical Tracker Availability (%)
At total ∑
= 100 × (At k ×
P0
) Tt_down = Period of time when the tracker is down (h)
Tt_useful = Period of time when the tracker is functional (h)
Where:
A t total = Technical Availability of the plant (%)
A t k = Technical Availability of the inverter k
Pk = Installed DC power of the inverter k
Tracking performance availability
P0 = Plant Peak DC power (nominal power) (kWp)
Response time
Ttotal
Tuseful T(irr<MIT)
Tdown
Texcluded
© SOLARPOWER EUROPE 2020
11 The Tdown represents the whole downtime, before the exclusions are
applied. Therefore, Texcluded is a part of Tdown in the diagram. In practice
you often first see that a plant is down (= measurement of Tdown) and
only in the course of troubleshooting one gets the information whether
you can exclude part of the downtime.
TABLE 6 OVERVIEW OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS AND THEIR PURPOSES
© Shutterstock
This section contains a set of considerations for the A common contractual framework for PV O&M is
contractual framework of O&M services for the small, “fixed price” for specified scope of work such as
medium and large-scale C&I and utility scale segment. administrative, operations, and preventive
For a simplified contractual framework, see section maintenance and then “cost plus” for corrective
14.4. Contractual recommendations for standalone maintenance or additional services. For the “cost plus”
PV systems. part, labour rates, equipment markup, overhead and
profit are negotiated in the contract and added to the
A complement to the technical specifications detailed
actual equipment costs incurred in correcting
in the previous chapters, the contractual framework
unexpected problems.
described in this chapter are considered as a best
practice.
12.1. Scope of the O&M contract
As a best practice, we recommend using the O&M
template contract developed as part of the Open Solar Services to be provided by the O&M Contractor
Contracts suite of template contracts. This is a joint include:
effort of the Terrawatt Initiative and the International
Technical Asset Management (Most of these services
Renewable Energy Agency. SolarPower Europe
can be performed by either the O&M Contractor or the
contributed to the drafting of the template O&M
Asset Manager).
contract, which is one of six templates in a suite of
contracts designed to be used as a package to • Reporting to Asset Owner (referred to in the Open
streamline the procurement of solar projects and Solar Contracts templates as “Monitoring Services”,
make it simpler to aggregate projects using standard although the detail is to be determined by the
terms. Aside from the O&M contract, the other parties)
templates include: • Reporting on PV plant performance
• Implementation Agreement • Reporting on O&M performance
• Power Purchase Agreement • Reporting on incidents
• Finance Facility Agreement term sheet • Ensuring regulatory compliance
• Supply Agreement • Legal requirements for PV plant operation
• Installation Agreement • Power Purchase Agreements and
Interconnection Agreements
• Asset Management Agreement
• Power generation licence agreements
Copies of each contract and explanatory guidance can
be found at the Open Solar Contracts website: • Building permits and environmental permits
www.opensolarcontracts.org.
• Additional maintenance services (optional, see 7.5. 7.5. Additional services should be regulated within the
Additional services). In the Open Solar Contracts contract. A dedicated clause should indicate the
O&M template, this would fall within “Additional procedure that should include: (i) a proposal by the
Services” O&M Contractor within a fixed time frame, (ii) a fixed
period for the Asset Owner to accept it or request
In the table below is a non-exhaustive list of Additional
modification, (iii) a final approval. Pre-agreed tariffs for
services and general market trends with regards to
manpower, machinery renting etc could be agreed and
whether these Additional services are generally
a specific table could be attached as Contract Annex.
included in the O&M agreement or not.
This is provided for in the Open Solar Contract O&M
All the services not included in the scope and in the template, with reference to “Standard Rates”, which
fixed fee such as 7.4. Extraordinary Maintenance and can be pre-agreed for additional services.
TABLE 7 EXAMPLES FOR ADDITIONAL MAINTENANCE SERVICES AND GENERAL MARKET TRENDS
Although some O&M Contractors still provide A best practice is a Minimum Guaranteed Contractual
Performance Ratio (PR) guarantees, recent Availability of 98% over a year at least at inverter level.
developments including the recommendations of the In certain jurisdictions, such as in Mexico, where
Open Solar Contracts initiative, show that eliminating labour legislation and the requirements of the network
PR guarantee and only using Availability guarantees operator stipulate the presence of full-time technical
and Response Time price adjustments has several on-site staff, a Minimum Guaranteed Availability of
advantages. 99% can be provided – it should, however, be
appropriately reflected in the O&M agreement’s price.
PR is to a large extent a result of equipment choice,
design and construction, over which a (third-party) For contractual KPI reasons, Availability should be
O&M Contractor has little influence, beyond calculated at inverter level, on an annual basis. For
vegetation control and module cleaning. Moreover, more information on this, see 11.4.1. Contractual
removing PR as an O&M Contractor KPI makes power Availability.
plant handover from EPC to O&M Contractor or from The Availability achieved by the O&M Contractor is
O&M Contractor to O&M Contractor simpler. translated into Bonus Schemes and Liquidated
Generally, the PR warranties are applied on projects Damages. For more information on this, see 12.4.
where the O&M contractor remain the same company Bonus Schemes and Liquidated Damages.
(or a close company) as the EPC contractor, in which
case the O&M contractor carry on the risk of the
technology made by its sister company. 12.3.2. Response time price adjustment
Availability guarantees and Response Time price The O&M Contractor should be obliged to react on
adjustments protect the Asset Owner from poor alarms received from the plant through the monitoring
performing O&M Contractors. Availability is the KPI and supervision system within a certain period of time,
that best reflects O&M Contractor’s service. Thanks 7 days a week. This translates in a minimum
to the Response Time price adjustment, in case of guaranteed Response Time with the consequence of
events affecting the performance of the plant that are an adjustment to the contract price (the O&M fee)
not covered by the Availability guarantee, the payable to the O&M Contractor in the event of failure
contractor has to intervene in a pre-agreed timeframe to meet the Response Times. For a definition of
depending on the impact of the fault. Moreover, the Response Time, see 11.3.3. Response Time.
O&M Contractor is also obliged to intervene in case of
When setting a Response Time price adjustment, it is • If the costs exceed the above budget limit, the
recommended to differentiate between hours and Contractor should communicate the issue in
periods with high and low irradiance levels as well as writing to the Asset Owner within 8 business hours
fault classes, i.e. the (potential) loss of energy from the end of the Response Time.
generation capacity or relevance in terms of safety Force Majeure events are excluded from Response
impact of the failure. Time obligations.
An example for response times according to fault In the Open Solar Contracts O&M template, a failure
classes can be seen below in Table 8. (Note that this to comply with a Response Time by more than five
example considers a larger C&I or utility-scale solar PV business days on any one occasion may also entitle
power plant. In case of small-scale installations, an Asset Owner to terminate the O&M contract.
minimum Response Times may be longer.)
In case the replacement of an equipment is needed, 12.4. Bonus schemes and liquidated damages
the O&M Contractor should commit to make it
available to the plant's site and replace it within 8 The Availability guarantees provided by the O&M
business hours from the end of the Response Time, if Contractor can be translated into Bonus Schemes and
the spare part is included in the portfolio of minimum Liquidated Damages. The Bonus Scheme concept is
spare parts list. If the spare part is not included in the referred to in the Open Solar Contract O&M template
minimum spare parts list, the O&M Contractor should as the “Availability Bonus”. These ensure that the Asset
commit to order the spare part within 8 business Owner is compensated for losses due to lower-than-
hours from the end of the Response Time and to guaranteed Availability and that the O&M Contractor
replace it on the plant area in the fastest possible way, is motivated to improve their service in order to
after receiving the related spare part from the achieve higher Availability. Higher Availability usually
equipment supplier. leads to higher power generation and an increase of
revenues for the benefit of the plant owner. Hence the
In case the fault cannot be fixed by the O&M Bonus Scheme agreements lead to a win-win
Contractor and the equipment supplier's intervention situation for both parties and ensures that the O&M
is required, the following actions are necessary: Contractor is highly motivated. The Open Solar
• If the intervention requires spare parts up to the Contracts O&M template provides for a list of
limit under the O&M cost responsibility (see 12.8. “Excusable Events”.
Spare Parts Management), the O&M Contractor
Since the O&M Contractor’s responsibility is focused
may proceed without separate approval (insurance
aspects to be considered). on the O&M works for the PV asset, other influencing
factors like force majeure events, grid operator
activities to reduce the plant output, grid instability or
TABLE 8 EXAMPLES FOR FAULT CLASSES AND CORRESPONDING MINIMUM RESPONSE TIMES
Fault class 1 The entire plant is off, 100% power loss. 4 daytime hours
Fault class 2 More than 30% power loss or more than 300kWp down. 24 hours
Fault class 3 0%-30% power loss 36 hours
NOTE: Fault classes and the corresponding Response Time guarantees APPLIED even if the duration of the respective power loss is
less than the corresponding Response Time guarantee, provided that the power loss may occur again.
In most countries there are strict legal requirements for transfers to the Asset Owner from the date that the
security service providers. Therefore, PV power plant O&M Contractor receives payment for the same.
security should be ensured by specialised security
Besides ownership matters, it is very important to make
service providers directly contracted by the Asset
sure, upon mutual agreement, that one of the parties
Owner or, exceptionally, subcontracted by the O&M
undertakes the responsibility of insuring the spares: as
Contractor. The security service provider should also
a recommendation spare parts stored on-site should
assume liability for the security services provided. For
be insured by the Asset Owner and spare parts stored
more information on this, see 6.9. Power plant security.
off-site should be insured by the O&M Contractor.
There should be a components, materials and spare
12.8. Spare parts management
parts defects warranty for 12 months from the date
The Open Solar Contracts O&M template takes two of installation, which should continue to apply even
approaches to Spare Parts management. Either the after expiry or termination of the O&M contract.
O&M Contractor takes full responsibility for Spare
For more information on Spare Parts Management,
Parts or there is a distinction between “Included Spare
see the Chapter 9. Spare Parts Management.
Parts”, which are included in the O&M Contractor's fee,
and “Excluded Spare Parts”, the cost of which would
be payable in addition to the fee plus a pre-agreed 12.9. Power plant monitoring
margin. In either case, replenishing Spare Parts stock
The O&M Contractor should operate and maintain the
will be the O&M Contractor's responsibility, although
metering system according to local regulations or
at the Asset Owner's cost in relation to Excluded Spare
norms. In some countries there are two metering
Parts. This guidance considers it best practice to take
systems: one that measures power injection in the
the second approach of clearly identifying Included
grid, owned and operated by the grid operator, and one
and Excluded Spare Parts, in order to find an
that measures power production, owned by the Asset
appropriate balance between the amount of risk that
Owner as part of the installation and operated by the
the Asset Owner is willing to accept against the cost
O&M Contractor.
of the O&M fee.
The O&M Contractor will also make sure that
Although it is best practice for the O&M Contractor to
performance monitoring and reporting is operated
be responsible for replenishing the spare parts stock, it
and maintained according to the monitoring
is not necessarily responsible for the full cost of doing
specifications and best practices (see 10. Data and
so. Some Asset Owners require O&M Contractors to be
monitoring requirements).
fully responsible for the cost of all spare parts within the
O&M fee, however, the more cost-effective approach is The Asset Owner has the right to carry out the
to agree which are “Included Spare Parts” and which are verification of the metering system to evaluate and
“Excluded Spare Parts”. control the exactitude of the measured data.
Included Spare Parts are those which the O&M
Contractor is to be responsible for within the O&M fee. 12.10. Reporting
Excluded Spare Parts are those which the Asset Owner
Reporting should be done periodically, as contractually
is responsible for the cost of replenishing and do not
agreed between the O&M Contractor (the Technical
fall within the O&M Contractor's O&M fee. This is a
Asset Manager) and the Asset Owner. The Asset Owner
flexible approach allowing the Asset Owner and O&M
should have the right to debate the report within a
Contractor to agree which spare parts fall into which
certain timeframe.
category. It enables both parties to have a level of cost
certainty whilst balancing this with the Asset Owner's For more information on industry best practices
appetite for risk. regarding Reporting, see 5.1. Technical reporting.
Ownership of spares is often with the Asset Owner
from delivery to site or placement in the spares stock.
In the case of excluded spare parts, ownership
O&M contractors are increasingly relying on 13.1. Smart PV power plant monitoring and data-
innovations and more machine and data-driven driven O&M
solutions to keep up with market requirements.
Traditional monitoring systems generally consist of
Innovations in O&M services are anticipated to reduce
on-site data loggers that collect electrical data from
the levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) by 0.8% to 1.4%
devices installed on the PV plant inverters, strings,
between 2015 and 2030. The savings are dominated
meters and weather data from meteorological
by improvements in OPEX and power plant availability,
stations. A management software then allows remote
and hence net Annual Energy Production (source: KIC
performance management, data visualisation, basic
InnoEnergy, 2015).
KPI calculations, reporting and alarm and ticket
The most important trends and innovations shaping management.
today’s O&M market are summarised in this section,
These systems, used on their own, commonly fail to
grouped into three “families”:
detect the root causes of underperformance. The
1. Smart PV power plant monitoring industry is therefore rapidly moving towards the
and data-driven O&M adoption of ‘smarter’ solutions based on advanced
2. Retrofit coatings for PV modules data mining techniques.
3. Waterless cleaning of PV modules. Data mining is the process of digging through data to
discover hidden connections and predict trends.
Sometimes referred to as “knowledge discovery in
databases,” the term “data mining” was not coined
until the 1990s. Its foundation is comprised of three
intertwined scientific disciplines as shown in Figure 16
on the following page.
Although data mining is not a new discipline, its
capabilities are now being unleashed due to the
potential of big data and increasingly affordable
computing power and storage. Its potential to enable
O&M contractors to move beyond manual, tedious
and time-consuming practices to quick, easy and
automated data analysis is now becoming more
tangible (source: SAS, 2018).
Geolocation of PV Manual or automated location of the PV modules inspected. Layout recreation with precise
modules geolocation down to individual module ID or even to module’s serial number.
Thermal anomalies Manual or automated detection of thermal anomalies, where the exact position of each
detection and affected PV module is identified on the plant’s layout. Minimum requirements for this
classification analysis can be found in IEC TS 62446-3:2017.
PV module failure Diagnosis and root-cause analysis of PV module failures. This is where the link between
analysis thermal anomaly and PV module failure is done (warning: not all the thermal anomalies may
be considered failures). Temperature differences should be projected to nominal irradiance
in accordance with IEC TS 62446-3:2017.
Data analytics Basic or advanced data treatment to describe the impact of failures in the PV plant. e.g.
degradation trends, failure distribution by harm degree and by module manufacturer; power
losses assessment and impact on revenue, etc.
Maintenance Actions needed to minimise yield losses based on defect criticality. It can be seen as a list of
implementation plan recommendations that can be directly translated into scheduled or corrective field operations.
Inspections follow-up Usually as a cloud-based platform, it’s where the results of previous inspections can be easily
compared with new ones, e.g. year-to-year power degradation.
Reporting Report created manually or automatically. In most cases the report is tailored to the
customer’s needs and requirements. It contains the summary of the findings and additionally,
depending on the provider, it could contain some calculations of estimated power losses.
Source: BAYWA R.E.
as a daily-work tool do not only conduct IR inspections portfolios as human-error drives down the accuracy
of PV plants, but also industrial aerial inspections of oil of thermal imaging assessment. This means that
ducts, off-shore oil extraction platforms, roads, bridges companies with automated solutions have a huge
and wind turbines, just to name a few. Therefore, the advantage in this regard.
data acquisition stage is an activity that could be easily
Aerial inspections and their associated post-processing
outsourced by O&M contractors, mitigating the risks
activities are evolving very rapidly and the quick
related to technology obsolescence and avoiding the
adoption of new technologies is of high strategic
costs of drone regular maintenance.
importance in today’s highly competitive O&M market.
There are some companies which utilise specially
modified piloted aircraft in lieu of drones for
Pilots
inspections of large sites and portfolios. These
systems have advantages of much faster capture Any aerial thermography or other PV module and plant
times (up to 150 MW/hr) while maintaining high monitoring application involving drones or piloted
resolution due to the higher quality of cameras which aircrafts must be carried out by a licensed operator
can be used. These systems have the disadvantage and in accordance with all local and EU-level civil
that the costs can be prohibitive for individual sites aviation regulations. Before any such operations can
due to greater mobilization costs. take place, each flight must be thoroughly planned
from a logistics, regulatory and safety perspective, and
Most companies today still rely on manual data
a comprehensive on-site risk assessment conducted,
processing, which represents a big drawback for large
with findings recorded in a flight log. In addition to the Aerial thermography is becoming a widely accepted
collected inspection data, each flight should also be and employed tool of inspection in corrective
fully recorded in terms of date, time, wind speed and maintenance worldwide. Given the price drop in
direction and battery levels. equipment (both RPAs and thermographic cameras),
it will become even more available. Further innovation
is to be expected in autonomously controlled RPAs as
Advantages and disadvantages
well as data analysis using Artificial Intelligence.
With the advent of aerial inspections, resources
If deployed properly, aerial inspection could become a
required for data collection can be significantly
cornerstone technology for effective O&M and they
reduced. Aerial infrared (IR) thermography might
would not only be an activity performed just to
seem a trivial activity, but when not conducted
comply with contractual obligations.
following a set of minimum technical requirements
(described in IEC TS 62446-3:2017), it is almost of no
use for effective plant maintenance. In that context, 13.1.2. Automated plant performance diagnosis
high-quality IR images captured by an aerial platform
Purpose and description
and their proper post-processing allow for a detailed
PV module failure analysis that could trigger As described in SolarPower Europe’s Global Market
conclusive maintenance decisions. Furthermore, field Outlook, the PV industry showed in 2017 the highest
interventions can be optimised, and PV plant growth in the energy market, with total capacity
underperformance can also be better understood and installed of nearly 100 GW worldwide. In such a
addressed (e.g. faulty modules that need to be context, PV plant reliability is subject to higher
replaced can be identified with precision and high- reliability requirements. With special consideration for
quality IR images can be used as proof in warranty aging plants where the secondary market is growing,
claiming processes). Aerial thermography reduces the automating diagnostics of PV assets is crucial.
inspection time and the number of personnel on site.
Until now, plant performance assessment is typically
For instance, using this method, a 12MWp PV plant can
executed in a top-down approach, analysing low
be inspected in a single day. Additionally, since images
performing objects by drilling down from substations,
are taken from the air, the data yields a helpful
inverters to junction boxes and strings. This process
overview to check whether plant layout and other
is time consuming and expert dependent.
documents are correct.
Furthermore, the process does not guarantee revealing
As with any form of thermography, the inspection all underperformance issues.
method is limited by meteorological conditions: For
Automated bottom-up diagnosis using advanced big
the inspection data to be of value, a minimum
data mining techniques can overcome the
radiation of 600 W/m2 is required. For drone
disadvantages of classic plant performance
inspections, in order for the RPA to be controlled
assessment by experts: time saving of expert data
safely, and depending on the type of RPA used, wind
handling, more error prone and better diagnosis
speeds should not exceed 28 km/h.
performance.
State of play
State of play
The demand for IR inspections is growing fast, and so is
Big data mining algorithms have been successfully
the range of services offered by new players in the
applied to solar plant data and have proven to reveal
market, who are now pushing aerial inspections beyond
performance issues beyond top-down expert analysis
basic reporting. Advanced aerial inspections, understood
in a semi-automated way. Further R&D into this
as semi-automated or fully-automated solutions are
subject area serves to make the algorithms more
being put into practice for both IR inspection stages,
robust for automated application on large portfolio’s
data acquisition and post-processing.
and bringing them to root-cause failure identification.
Optimisation
Valuie
Fault n t
atio sigh
diagnosis mn
ed Fore
om
Rec
Fault
detection
ght
Insi State of the art is
somehwere here
Analysis
tion
rma dsight
Info Hin
Complexity
Source: ACHIM WOYTE, 3E
Year?
4.0%
Replacement rate (4%)
0.0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Year
of PV inverters, it is still uncertain what their actual programs in the medium to long term. This will of
lifetime will be under site specific operating course reduce the overall risk of a PV project and
conditions. In practice, inverters will not fail at a hence increase the investing opportunities.
precise given moment in time as often modelled in the
business plan. Moreover, failure-based maintenance
13.1.4. PV plant yield forecasting
i.e. replacing the inverter(s) when this fails may not be
the most efficient solution. Purpose and description
A good predictive monitoring system could help on Electricity generation from PV plants is limited by the
assessing the optimal hardware replacement cycle by varying availability of the sun’s radiation. Even though
modelling the uncertainty in the time-to-failure with grid operators are generally obliged to dispatch PV
a known probability distribution function. plant production at all times, the growing penetration
Maintenance optimisation models can provide tools of PV may force new regulations to guarantee grid
relying on the output from root cause analyses, stability and the correct balancing of electricity supply
remaining useful life time analyses and alerting and and consumption at all times, causing unpredictable
prediction of assets failures in the optimal planning of losses to plant owners (curtailment).
maintenance and related resource allocation.
Ramp-rate control with and without local storage is
Big data analytics can bring added value at any stage currently studied in order to mitigate the impact of fast
of O&M objectives: analysis from observation of irradiance fluctuations on power system stability.
collected information to fault detection, fault Approached from the generator side, large PV plants
diagnosis and finally optimisation through could also contribute to power system stability by
recommendations issued from the advanced providing upward or downward reserves. Technically, this
monitoring system. Today different approaches are is possible; however, particularly the provision of upward
proposed. Whereas classic Artificial Intelligence (AI) reserves will reduce the overall performance of the plant
proposes an advanced diagnostic through knowledge- in question. The business case for such operation
based models, unsupervised and supervised learnings modes will depend on the incentives available for
methods offer different approaches (e.g. neural deviating from the objective of maximum energy yield.
networks) using statistical approaches.
State of play
Advantages and disadvantages
The prediction of PV production is becoming an
Advantages: essential tool to capture economies in a market with
large penetration of variable renewable energy
• Lowering the cost of ineffective scheduled
maintenance sources. Expected PV yield output accounting for
specific PV plant simulation model and forecasted
• Reducing device downtime meteorological resource is a well proven technology.
Disadvantage: Algorithms that are able to match weather forecasts
with PV plant characteristics in order to predict energy
• Methods are often very sensitive to device models production on an hourly basis for few hours ahead and
and brands and can thus not be generalised easily. up to the next 48 hours are already playing an
important role in the monitoring software market.
State of play The market is rapidly moving towards the need of
Today, no model has been proven to be completely advanced intra-day correction of the forecasted
reliable. Big-data analysis allows easy recognition of a energy production at sub-hourly resolution and by
fault and, in some cases, provides a clear diagnosis taking into account actual PV plant conditions like
and recommendations on the short-term actions to remote curtailment, broken inverters, local losses, etc.
take to avoid probable upcoming issues. The trend is Therefore, long and short-term data collection
to model the behaviour of the entire system and to constitute an added value to improve the PV plant
plan optimal maintenance and hardware replacement yield forecasting.
should be able to provide the client specific warranties 13.3. Waterless cleaning of PV modules
(e.g. product liability insurance).
In many places around the globe which receive
significant precipitation at least once a month, the need
State of play to wash solar panels is almost irrelevant. A study
published in the International Journal of Sustainable
There are already commercially available anti-
Energy found that one gram of dirt per square meter
reflective coatings that can be applied in a retrofit
can decrease a panel’s output by more than 30 percent,
manner. Other products are currently being developed
which is why commercial PV farms often employ some
and tested to substantiate the applicability of the
form of cleaning (Al-hasan & Ghoneim, 2007).
solution on a large scale and data will be collected
from different locations. However, many utility-scale and commercial and
industrial PV sites in Africa are located in arid climates.
“Mature” ARC technologies which has been tested for
These arid regions are known for large amounts of
years are already available. They provide reliable
dust and insufficient rainfall to automatically clean
results both in terms of durability and
solar panels. Furthermore, in some of these regions,
overperformance. This coating solution is based on a
access to clean water is a problem which further
mechanical application via a controlled process that
exacerbates the problem of cleaning solar modules.
involves pre-coating measurements, quality control
during the coating process and post-coating Various solutions have been launched over the past
measurements. For this purpose, sophisticated few years including nano-coating the glass on solar
equipment such as spectrometers, able to measure modules installed in arid areas (see also section 13.2.1.
the variation (%) of reflection before and after the on Anti-soiling coatings), the use of pneumatic
coating process, are needed. The market provides a cleaning systems which employs pressurised air jets
wide offer of such devices and with prices in the range and robots which use a combination of brushes and
of 5-9k EUR, but not all spectrometers are good for air blowers to remove dust, sand and bird droppings
ARC applications. from modules without using water.
Further research in this field is ongoing in multiple
facilities globally and it is expected that the outcome
of this research will result in ever-better solutions and
PV yield performance as these solutions are
commercialised.
In 2017, about 850 million people in the world remained Standalone solar PV systems are often combined with
without access to electricity, and about 70% of those Energy Storage Systems (ESS). ESS are a set of
people live in Sub-Saharan Africa (ARE, 2019; ESMAP, technologies whose aim is to decouple energy
2019). Due to dramatical cost reductions for solar- generation from demand. The systems allow for
battery-based systems, it is expected that most new excess electricity to be “stored” and released during
mini-grids will be based at least partially on solar. periods of high electricity demand, providing cost-
Therefore, standalone PV plants and mini-grids are very saving opportunities to consumers and ensuring a
important for electrification of off-grid areas in Sub- steady and safe electricity supply. Energy storage can
Saharan Africa. contribute to better use of renewable energy in the
electricity system since it can store energy produced
Operation of mini-grids is probably one of the most
when the conditions for renewable energy are good,
complex matters of PV, because it depends on many
but demand may be low.
variables like composition of the generator, local
distribution of consumers, consumption profile, The selection of a storage system can significantly
strategy for later integration into a centralized grid etc. influence a project’s overall O&M strategy. Technical
For this reason, are limiting our first approach to O&M parameters such as battery lifetime, efficiency, depth
of PV plants in off-grid areas to standalone systems – of discharge (DoD) and/or power density, should be
with or without Energy Storage Systems (ESS). taken into consideration at the development stage to
select the adequate ESS and avoid unnecessary costs
In consequence, this chapter is to assist in the
throughout the project’s lifecycle.
application of the best practices, detailed in the
previous chapters of the document, to off-grid PV
plants. All best practices mentioned in these 14.1. Environment, Healthy & Safety
Guidelines could be theoretically applied to off-grid
Necessary precautions as outlined in Chapter 3.
systems, however in the case of off-grid systems
Environment, Health & Safety should be taken for
there will be different priorities. Apart from providing
standalone solar PV systems. Further emphasis should
the highest possible care in the most cost-efficient
be placed on training and skills required for working in
manner to deliver the lowest levelized cost of
heights and on roofs. It is more likely that access to the
electricity (LCOE), other objectives are at least as
system is available to other parties not directly
important, such as:
involved in the upkeep of the solar system. Installers
• Availability of electricity at the moment of and O&M providers should provide “stakeholder
demand and ease of maintenance; training” for people working or living in the proximity
of the installation.
• Availability of professional knowledge: expertise
is not always available; Proper signalization of dangers should be displayed
beside any hazardous device.
• Local instead of central monitoring.
EH&S considerations for Energy Storage Systems It is best practice to design the system in a way that
allows straightforward removal and replacement of
Most batteries are subject to environmental
modules. The system itself should be easily accessible
regulations that require recycling or proper disposal at
for inspection without needing to significantly
end of performance period. The ESS mentioned above
disassemble the ESS system. Disposal of hazardous
are electrical appliances and as such are subject to
material should comply with local and national rules
significant health & safety risks. To prevent hazards
and regulations.
(e.g. uncontrolled release of energy), an appropriate risk
assessment must be performed during the design and When dealing with owners of off-grid standalone
planning phases and necessary safety precautions systems, who are usually not professional solar
implemented. The hazards must be identified during stakeholders, additional thought must be given to the
these stages and appropriate measures taken to information provided to them at all stages of project
mitigate risk and to protect those operating the lifecycle.
system. The main risks are: impact, excessive heat,
• Retailers/installers should be clear about the need
crush or water penetration and electrical shock There
for ongoing maintenance and make sure this is
is also a significant health and safety risk of poisoning
reflected in any financial analysis provided to
or mishandling hazardous materials, especially the
customers. Best practice would involve either
sulphuric acid electrolyte added to lead-acid batteries.
• The retailer providing maintenance service
Both external and internal factors should be
themselves (or)
considered during the risk assessment since, in some
cases, the ESS itself can be the cause of hazardous • Ensuring a clear and continuous handover to 3rd
event. The major hazards for large-scale ESS can be party O&M.
categorised as follows:
• Provide a manual to the homeowner with contact
• Electrical, occurring when there is direct contact information and description of operational indicators
between a person and the system and procedures they can do, including clear
documentation that states the customer as
• Mechanical, occurring after a physical collision
responsible for maintaining original insolation/shade.
• Poisoning or exposure to hazardous materials
• Other, occurring due to an explosion, fire, thermal 14.2. Monitoring & reporting
runaway, or the leaking of chemical components
In the case of standalone systems, the Asset Owner is
from the system.
typically not a solar professional, therefore reporting
To avoid risks, the system should not overheat, come needs to be easily understood and clear. The purpose
into contact with water, or suffer from either electrical of reporting is to verify the asset is performing in
stress or high humidity. The risk of electrical shock can accordance to expectations as promised by the
be mitigated - as is common practice in photovoltaic retailer/installer in the selling process.
plants - with appropriate electrical insulation: for
A central question is to ensure the accuracy of the
instance, by wearing appropriate personal protective
performance monitoring of a standalone PV system,
equipment (PPE). The energy storage system should
given the likely absence of a pyranometer and module
be maintained by trained technicians since improper
temperature sensors.
handing increases the risk of electrical shock. For
personnel qualifications during the installation and
maintenance of stationary batteries, reference should Key Performance Indicators
be made to IEEE 1657 - 2018.
For reporting to Asset Owners, emphasis shall be
Safety data sheets should be provided to those placed on the Energy Performance Index (EPI) rather
operating the system. In case of repair or replacement, than Availability, Downtime or Performance Ratio. EPI
addition or alteration of the system, the safety system is an easily explainable metric that does not require an
should be re-evaluated and, if necessary, additional in depth understanding of solar. (See 11.1.2.6. Energy
safety systems implemented. Performance Index for more details)
Onsite Pyranometer High* High For more information, see 10.9.1. Irradiance measurements.
Public pyranometers may be used if available.
Module level sensor High High
Satellite Data Medium-High** None For more information, see 10.9.1. Irradiance measurements.
Cell Sensors Medium Low
Local Comparison Medium-Low None The established baseline must be verified.
Historic Data Low None Monthly variation may be +/-20%.
* Pyranometers and cell sensors needs periodical cleaning and recalibration to keep the highest level of accuracy. If this cannot be sustained, a good satellite irradiation data set is preferable.
** Satellite data accuracy depends on type of source. However, the best references have a granularity of 3x3 km² and do not include local shades.
Maintenance of energy storage systems In the last years another type of dry cell battery has
spread rapidly: lithium-ion batteries (LIB). They
The most critical parts of off-grid systems are the
combine high power density (small size), high cycle-
batteries (or ESS). There are two types of batteries:
count (number of charge-discharge cycles during
• Wet cell batteries (or flooded cell batteries) lifetime), and fast recharge times. They may also
operate at higher ambient temperatures as compared
• Dry cell batteries
to lead-acid batteries. Furthermore, a LIB pack
The wet cell batteries used in off-grid PV systems are normally includes a battery management system,
normally vented lead acid batteries (VLA batteries). In which facilitates battery handling. They are (still) more
principle thick lead-based plates that are flooded with expensive than lead-acid batteries, but prices are
an acid electrolyte. The container is unsealed (“vented”), decreasing rapidly.
because gases produced during operation need to
Apart from battery typology, three factors determine
escape to the air. Therefore, the batteries have to be kept
battery lifetime:
upright and the area be well ventilated to ensure safe
dispersal of the hydrogen gas it produces during 1. Ambient temperature
overcharging. Normally they are kept in dedicated
2. Cycling
battery rooms, and strict safety measures have to be
observed. VLA batteries are highly reliable, if 3. Quality of maintenance
maintenance instructions are observed (for example,
The rated capacity of a battery is based on an ambient
adding water in order to regenerate the electrolyte
temperature of 25°C. Any variation from this operating
liquid). However, flexibility is limited, because after some
temperature can alter the battery’s performance and
months it will be difficult to add new batteries to an
shorten its expected life. Depending on the type of
existing system. It is important to use VLA batteries for
battery, this factor may be more or less important.
solar application. VLA batteries for cars or motorcycles
are inappropriate and will break down quickly. Each cycle (discharge and subsequent recharge)
reduces the battery’s relative capacity by a small
A dry cell battery uses a paste electrolyte, with only
percentage, albeit a much smaller percentage for LIB.
enough moisture to allow current to flow. Therefore, it
The length and depth of the discharge cycle
can operate in any orientation without spilling. Valve-
determines the reduction in battery capacity.
regulated lead-acid batteries (VRLA batteries; sealed
lead-acid batteries, captive electrolyte lead-acid Gradual decrease in battery life can be monitored and
batteries) are lead batteries with immobilized sulfuric evaluated through voltage checks, load testing or
acid electrolyte. Since they are sealed within monitoring. Periodic preventive maintenance extends
polypropylene plastic and hydrogen recombines with battery string life by preventing loose connections,
oxygen inside the battery, water or gases do not removing corrosion and identifying bad batteries
escape under normal conditions, and water needs not before they can affect the rest of the string. By
to be added. For this reason, they are also called respecting the manufacturer’s maintenance
‘maintenance-free’ batteries, even if this term is guidelines, the end of battery life can be accurately
misleading, because it only refers to water refilling. estimated and replacements scheduled without
They are ‘valve-regulated’, because security valves will unexpected downtime.
vent the batteries, when gas pressure becomes too
In order to perform a systematics maintenance, a plan
great inside the battery, for example because of
on location showing how component and system
excessive overcharging.
must be tested is required. In case of reparation or
Two common types of VRLA batteries used in PV replacement or of any component within the system,
systems are: it should be checked whether the change comply with
the applicable regulation.
• Gel batteries, which use a silicon dioxide gel as
electrolyte.
• Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM) batteries, where a
fiberglass mats absorb the electrolyte. 14 Note: this list is intended to be illustrative and not limiting.
TABLE 11 INCIDENTS COVERED BY O&M SERVICE AGREEMENTS FOR DISTRIBUTES SOLAR SYSTEMS
Inverter alarms Minimum Alarms generated by the inverter should be acknowledged at least daily.
requirement Maintenance responsible should take necessary actions in the shortest delay
(within 2days)
Monitoring Failure Minimum O&M Provider should have good guidelines and troubleshooting guides that
requirement allow system owner to self-diagnose and resolve within 2 days.
Inverter failure Minimum As soon as inverter failure is indicated by inverter alarms or monitoring failure
requirement a replacement should be installed within 1 day.
System Level Best Practice Duration and frequency of reporting should be according to the expected
Performance Alerts accuracy and availability of live irradiation data.
Best Practice for monthly comparison, minimum annually.
Module- String/ Recommended For commercial projects with more than one inverter, reporting should be at
Inverter Level minimum at inverter level.
Alerts String or MPPT level reporting to alert to string failure is recommended where
possible.
Module cleaning Minimum The expectation for module cleaning planning should be based on the site, the
(and pyranometers requirement installation type and size, the environmental conditions.
or sensor cells if Actual planning of module cleaning can be adjusted based on the performance
present) (EPI) of system over time.
Al-hasan, Ahmad Y. & Ghoneim, Adel A. (2007), “A new correlation Muehleisen W., G. C. Eder, Y. Voronko, M. Spielberger, H. Sonnleitner d,
between photovoltaic panel's efficiency and amount of sand K. Knoebl, R. Ebner, G. Ujvari, Chr. Hirschl, “Outdoor detection and
dust accumulated on their surface”, in: International Journal of visualization of hailstorm damages of photovoltaic plants”,
Sustainable Energy, Web: Renewable Energy 118 (2018) 138-145.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/147864505002
91834 NREL. 2017. System Advisor Model (SAM). National Renewable Energy
Laboratory. http://sam.nrel.gov.
ARE (Alliance for Rural Electrification) (2019), Annual Report 2019,
Web: https://www.ruralelec.org/publications/annual-report-2019 NREL, 2018. Best Practices for Operation and Maintenance of
Photovoltaic and Energy Storage Systems, 3rd Edition. National
Brabandere, K. De; M. Richter; F. Assiandi and B. Sarr. 2014. Renewable Energy Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratory,
“Engineering Models for PV System Operations,” Performance SunSpec Alliance and the SunShot National Laboratory
Plus WP2 Deliverable D2.3, Jul. 2014. Multiyear Partnership (SuNLaMP) PV O&M Best Practices
Working Group; December 2018, Web:
Eder G.C., Y. Voronko, P. Grillberger, B. Kubicek, K. Knöbl, “UV- https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy19osti/73822.pdf
Fluorescence Measurements as Tool for the Detection of
Degradation Effects in PV-Modules”, 34th EUPVSEC 2017. N. Reich, B. Mueller, A. Armbruster, W. G. J. H. M. van Sark, K. Kiefer, and
C. Reise. 2012. “Performance Ratio Revisited: Is PR > 90%
ESMAP (Energy Sector Management Assistance Program) (2019), Realistic?” Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications
Mini Grids for Half a Billion People: Market Outlook and 20 (6): 717–26. doi:10.1002/pip.1219.
Handbook for Decision Makers, Web:
https://www.esmap.org/new_esmap_report_minigrids_for_half Patzold M., K. Kaufmann, C.-M. Lin, M. Rudolph, D. Lausch, “Quantitative
_a_billion_people Evaluation Of Soldering Contacts During Thermal Cycling Using
Magnetic Field Imaging (Mfi), 36th EUPVSEC 2019
European Commission. 2018. “Energy storage”. Web:
https://ec.europa.eu/energy/en/topics/technology-and- Pelland, Sophie; Jan Remund; Jan Kleissl; Takashi Oozeki and Karel De
innovation/energy-storage Brabandere. 2013. “Photovoltaic and Solar Forecasting - State of
the Art.” Report IEA PVPS T14-01:2013. International Energy
European Commission. 2019. “Cybersecurity Act”. Web: Agency Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme.
https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-
market/en/news/cybersecurity-act-strengthens-europes- PVsyst SA. 2017. PVsyst Photovoltaic Software.
cybersecurity http://www.pvsyst.com.
European Parliament. 2016. Cyber Security Strategy for the Energy Richter, Mauricio, Karel De Brabandere, John Kalisch, Thomas Schmidt,
Sector (IP/A/ITRE/2016-04 PE587.333. Web: and Elke Lorenz. 2015. “Best Practice Guide on Uncertainty in PV
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2016/58 Modelling.” Public report Performance Plus WP2 Deliverable
7333/IPOL_STU(2016)587333_EN.pdf D2.4. Web:
http://www.perfplus.eu/frontend/files/userfiles/files/308991_Pe
GTM. 2013. “Megawatt-Scale PV Plant Operations and Maintenance: rfPlus_Deliverable_D2_4_20150205.pdf
Services, Markets and Competitors, 2013-2017”, Greentech
Media. SANDIA. 2017. PVPerformance Modeling Collaborative.
https://pvpmc.sandia.gov/
IEC 61724-1:2017. Photovoltaic system performance - Part 1:
Monitoring. International Electrical Commission. Web: SAS. 2018. “Data Mining, what it is and why it matters.” Web:
https://webstore.iec.ch/publication/33622 https://www.sas.com/en_us/insights/analytics/data-
mining.html. Retrieved on 19/09/2018.
IEC TS 62446-3 Ed.1: Photovoltaic (PV) systems - Requirements for
testing, documentation and maintenance - Part 3: Photovoltaic Schlothauer J., S. Jungwirth, M. Köhl, B. Röder, „Degradation of the
modules and plants - Outdoor infrared thermography.” 2017. encapsulant polymer in outdoor weathered photovoltaic
modules”, Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells 102(2012) 75-
ISO 9060. 2018. “Solar energy — Specification and classification of 85”.
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KIC InnoEnergy. 2015. “Future renewable energy costs: solar SolarPower Europe (2020), Engineering, Procurement and
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reduce the cost of energy from European photovoltaic SolarPower Europe. Download from www.solarpowereurope.org
installations”. Web: http://www.innoenergy.com/wp-
content/uploads/2016/01/KIC-InnoEnergy-Solar-PV- Woyte, Achim, Mauricio Richter, David Moser, Stefan Mau, Nils H.
anticipated-innovations-impact.pdf Reich, and Ulrike Jahn. 2013. “Monitoring of Photovoltaic
Systems: Good Practices and Systematic Analysis.” In 28th EU
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“Magnetic Field Imaging (MFI) of Solar Modules”, 35th EUPVSEC
2018.
Planned
name Surname Function
First
Comms
Data &
Electrician
Trainee
Electrician
Trainee
Electrician
Trainee
Electrician
Trainee
supervisor
Electrician/
supervisor
Electrician/
supervisor
Electrician/
supervisor
Electrician/
Administration
Administration
Administration
Engineer
Electrical
Managerial/
Engineer
Electrical
Managerial/
Engineer
Electrical
Managerial/
Engineer
Electrical
Managerial/
Not required
Health & Safety
Company’s Services introduction
Manual Handling
Required
Display Screen Equipment
Risk Assessment
Update required
Certification of Occupational Health & Safety
HV Substation Access
Managing Contractors
mental
Environ-
Certificate of Environmental
Management and Assessment
Other relevant training course and/or
certificate of Environmental Management
Metering
Certain Monitoring tool training Monitoring &
Power Electronics
Other skills
9 Cables • Datasheets
• Type & Routine test reports
10 LV & MV • Single Line Diagram “Protection relays
Switchgear • Switchgear wiring diagrams settings” and
• Equipment datasheets and manuals “Switching
• Factory Acceptance Test report procedure” are
• Type Test Reports considerations for
• Routine Test Reports the MV Switchgear
• Dimensional drawings
• Warranties & Certificates
• Protection relays settings
• Switching procedure (according to national regulations)
11 HV Switchgear • Single Line Diagram
• Steel structures assembly drawings
• HV Switchyard general arrangement drawing
• HV Equipment Datasheets and Manuals (CTs, VTs, Circuit Breakers,
Disconnectors, Surge Arresters, Post Insulators)
• Protection & Metering Single Line Diagram
• HV Equipment Type & Routine Test Reports
• Interlock study
• Switching procedure (according to national regulations)
• Warranties & Certificates
12 UPS & • Installation & O&M Manual
Batteries • Commissioning report
• Warranties & Certificates
• Datasheets
• Dimensional Drawings
13 Mounting • Mechanical Assembly Drawings
Structure • Warranties & Certificates
14 Trackers • Mechanical Assembly Drawings
• Electrical Schematic Diagrams
• Block diagram
• Equipment Certificates, Manuals and Datasheets (Motors, Encoders)
• PLC list of inputs and outputs (I/O) by type (Digital, Analog or Bus)
• Commissioning reports
• Warranties & Certificates
15 Security, • Security system layout/general arrangement drawing
Anti-intrusion • Security system block diagram
and Alarm • Alarm system schematic diagram
System • Equipment manuals and datasheets
• Access to security credentials (e.g. passwords, instructions, keys etc)
• Warranties & Certificates
16 Monitoring/ • Installation & O&M manual I/O list includes e.g.
SCADA system • List of inputs by type (Digital, Analog or Bus) sensor readings that
• Electrical Schematic diagram are collected by
• Block diagram (including network addresses) data loggers.
• Equipment datasheets
17 Plant Controls • Power Plant Control System description
• Control Room (if applicable)
• Plant Controls instructions
• Breaker Control functionality (remote / on-site) and instructions
• List of inputs and outputs
18 Communication • Installation and O&M manual
system • System internal communication
• External Communication to monitoring system or Operations Centre
• IP network plan
• Bus network plans
D. Important examples of input records in the record control. (Download it from www.solarpowereurope.org)
RECORD CONTROL
7 Corrective Corrective Associated Alarms (with date), Event Status EN 13306 - Maintenance.
Maintenance Maintenance Maintenance terminology
event
8 Corrective Corrective Date and Time of Corrective Maintenance Creation EN 13306 - Maintenance.
Maintenance Maintenance (or Work Order), Date and Time status change Maintenance terminology
event log (pending, open, recovered, close), End date and
time of the intervention, Start date and time of the
intervention, Technicians and Responsible Names
and Function
9 Corrective Intervention Affected Power and Affected Production,
Maintenance equipment/ Equipment Code / Name
Element name
10 Inventory Warehouse Inventory Stock Count and Movement, Equipment
Management management Code / Name
RECORD CONTROL
- String inverters
Check labelling and identification Minimum requirement Y R
D: Daily, M: Monthly; Q: Quarterly; SA: semi-annual; Y: yearly; nYr: every n years; T: Total installation; S: Defined subset; R: random subset.
plan is conceived for a 50 kW to 1 MW fixed mount rooftop installation with secure access. The maintenance plan applies
The abbreviations describe the importance and frequency of the maintenance tasks related to each component of the solar plant:
The utility maintenance plan is conceived for a 3-5 MW site (land-locked site far from seashore). The distributed maintenance
119
120
EQUIPMENT TASK IMPORTANCE FREQUENCY EXTENT
Check oil level (if applicable) and max. temperature Minimum requirement Y T
Functional verification Y T
Emergency generator Integrity check & cleaning According to manufacturer’s recommendations (Y) T
(if applicable) c
General maintenance (Y) T
Lights and electric sockets Integrity check & cleaning Minimum requirement Y T
HVAC (if applicable) Integrity check & cleaning According to manufacturer’s recommendations (Y) T
121
122
EQUIPMENT TASK IMPORTANCE FREQUENCY EXTENT
Fire detection central (if applicable Integrity check & cleaning According to manufacturer’s recommendations (Y) T
and local requirements
Check correct operation (Y) T
Mechanical lubrication SA T
Weather station d Integrity check & cleaning According to manufacturer’s recommendations (Y) T
Specific maintenance Y T
123
124
EQUIPMENT TASK IMPORTANCE FREQUENCY EXTENT
Electrical cabinets and switchboards Integrity check & cleaning Minimum requirement Y T
- Array/string junction box
Documents inspection (if applicable) Best practice Y T
- Generator junction box
- AC switchboards Check labelling and identification Best practice Y R
String inverters / charge controller Integrity check & cleaning Minimum requirement Q T
Performance test of inverter (10 min at maximum rated power) Best practice, according to manufacturer's recommendations Y T
Batteries Integrity check & cleaning (especially the terminals) Minimum requirement Y T
Emergency generator (if applicable) Integrity check & cleaning According to manufacturer's recommendations (Y) T
125
SolarPower Europe - Leading the Energy Transition
Rond-point Robert Schuman 2-4, 1040 Brussels, Belgium
T +32 2 709 55 20 / F +32 2 725 32 50
info@solarpowereurope.org / www.solarpowereurope.org