OPERATION AND

MONITORING OF A SOLAR
POWER PLANT FOR
EFFICIENT OPERATION
 INTRODUCTION
What is Solar Power and Solar Power Plant?

Solar power is the conversion of energy from

sunlight into electricity.
This conversion is carried out in Solar Power Plants.
Depending on how the energy from sun is
converted into electricity, these plants can be of two
types
1. Photovoltaic Plants
2. Solar Thermal Power Plant
 How does a solar power plant work?

Operation of Photovoltaic Plants :

Photovoltaic plants consist of photovoltaic cells

which work based on the photovoltaic effect.

In a solar power plant, an array of solar cells in

created (in series and parallel with each other) to
produce desired current and voltage level.
 Photovoltaic Effect
In photovoltaic effect, two
dissimilar materials (like
silicon and germanium) are
put in close contact. When
exposed to radiation,
electrons from one material
absorb the photons, get
excited and jump to the
other material. This
movement of electrons
induces positive charge in
one material and negative in
the other resulting in
generation of electro motive
force.
Typical layout of a Solar Photovoltaic Plant
 Components of Solar Photovoltaic Plant

A typical Solar Photovoltaic plant consists of :

1. Solar panels (photovoltaic cells)

2. Solar tracking system
3. Voltage regulator and inverter
4. MPPT (maximum performance point tracking)
5. Batteries
 Operation of Solar Thermal Power Plants:

A solar thermal plant generates heat and electricity by

concentrating the sun's energy. That in turn builds steam that
helps to feed a turbine and generator to produce electricity.
The operation of solar thermal power plants is based on the
following steps:
1. Mirrors capture solar radiation at a point so as to generate
very high temperatures (4001,000 C).
2. The obtained heat transforms the water in a steam boiler.
3. Pressurized steam rotates a turbine which drives an
alternator.
4. The generator produces an alternating electrical current.
Layout of a Solar Thermal Power Plants
 Components of Solar Thermal Power Plant

A typical Solar Thermal Power Plant consists

of :
1. Collectors
2. Tracking system
3. Receiver
4. Energy Storage
5. Steam generator and solar super heater
6. Turbine
7. Condenser
Solar Power Plant
Monitoring
 A PV monitoring system essentially
involves :

1. Capturing the power plant/system performance

indicators.
2. Analyzing the plant/system performance
indicators
3. Identifying the problems affecting the
performance of the PV power plant
4. Reconfiguring/Re-calibrating the plant as
required, eliminating the performance
bottleneck.
 The first is done using sensors/meters and data
loggers.
Quite a few data loggers and inverters have the
ability to export data and let the operators look at
it visually over the web. However, when it comes
to analyzing and identifying the problems, it is
predominately manual. Reconfiguring based on
the feedback is the last stage.
 How does it work?
The output of a solar panel, essentially current and
voltage, are stored in the memory of an inverter.
These stored values are sent to a central control unit.
Using different means of communication channels
like Ethernet, Internet, dial up access, GSM etc.
The data is transmitted to a server from where alerts
and status messages are sent to the users via SMS,
email etc.
 The core parameters measured are:

1. Array voltage
2. Grid voltage
3. Array current
4. Grid (injected) current
5. Array power
6. Grid (injected) power
 Benefits of Monitoring
The typical monitoring software that comes does a
reasonable job of identifying the gross level under
performance.
1. Able to see change in the performance and raise a
flag before the problem actually happens.
2. Monitors not only performance of the plant but
also the health of various components.
3. Helps the plant owners identify any warranty
breach so that they can get compensation from the
manufacturers.
 Problems with Solar Power Industry

1. ~52% solar plants are not performing to their

capacity.
2. There is no tool for Base lining and
benchmarking.
3. Mismanaged scheduling of Operation and
Maintenance.
4. Requirement of smart demand management tool.
5. No tool to measure net electricity, generated less
used or forecast yield.
6. Real-time performance ratio & solar yield
calculation required.
7. Some faults are impossible to detect without
active monitoring.
 Increasing Efficiency of Plants

Solar panels normally operate at 8-10%

efficiencies The efficiency of the solar panels goes
down with the deposition of dust, pollen grains,
soot etc. This calls for regular cleaning of the
solar panels.
Use of tracking system significantly improves the
operational efficiency of solar power plants as it
ensures that the panels are always facing the sun
and hence, operate at a maximum efficiency.
 Use of software based remote monitoring system.
A Software as a Service platform makes solar data
simple to acquire, understand and act upon so that
you can improve yield & profitability.
Benefits :
1. Increased Forecasting Performance: Predict yield
accuracy with increase certainty.
2. Yield Analysis: These system provides analytics to
understand if yield is as expected or designed.
3. Effective O&M: Equipment issues can be diagnosed
in real-time and corrected immediately.
4. Real Time Insights : production can be monitored
in real-time via a centralized platform.
5. Maximize Performance: any under performance
caused by weather or by equipment can be
determined easily.
 Remote monitoring using SCADA

SCADA stands for Supervisory Control and Data

Acquisition.
It is a Remote Monitoring Software Tool.
A SCADA performs two basic functions:
1. Display information about the current operating
conditions of a plant in an informative and
graphical interface.
2. To allow supervisory control of the plant by the
personnel.
 Apart from above basic functions, it :
1. Provides monitoring
2. Performs Data Acquisition
3. Has human machine interface (HMI),
4. Performs Event & Alarm Management,
5. Provides Real time data and Historical
Data Storage
 Components of SCADA system

SCADA system includes the following components:

1. local processors,
2. operating equipment,
3. PLCs/Remote Terminal Unit,
4. Intelligent electronic device,
5. Master Terminal Unit or Host computers
6. PC with Human Machine Interface (HMI)
 How SCADA based monitoring works?

In Solar Power Plants, the SCADA Data Acquisition

begins at the string level.
The sensors built inside the String Monitoring Boxes
(SMBs) senses and measures the DC voltage,
current, power, temperature inside the SMB etc as
required from the monitoring point of view.
These sensors are interfaced with Microprocessor
controlled electronic devices called as Remote
Terminal Unit/ PLCs
String Monitoring Box
 Depending on the size of the plant the number of
RTUs are connected to the SCADA Master through the
communication protocol like MODBUS, RS485,
RS232, CANBUS etc.
Data is collected from every field device and finally
information is transferred to the Server through
Wireless Communication (GPRS modem).
GPRS modem stores all the data into the memory and
sends it to the server.
The information gathered in the server can be
accessed in the Central Remote Monitoring Station.
 SCADA with IOT

The 4th generation SCADA system uses IOT.

The infrastructure cost of the SCADA system is reduced
by adopting the internet of things technology with
the commercially available cloud computing.
Benefits :
The maintenance and integration is also very easy for
the fourth generation compared to the earlier SCADA
systems.
These SCADA systems are able to report status in real
time by using the horizontal scale from the cloud
computing facility.
More complex control algorithms can be implemented.
 Case study of 3-MW scale grid-
connected solar photovoltaic power
plant at Kolar, Karnataka
 Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL) has
established 3 MW capacity peak grid-connected solar
photovoltaic power plant near Yalesandra village in
Kolar district of Karnataka.
The plant was fully commissioned on 27 December
2009.
The plant has 3 segments with each segment having an
installed capacity of 1 MW. Each segment has 4
inverters with a capacity of 250 kW each.
There are 13,368 modules (557 arrays with 24 modules
per array) that contain mono-crystalline Silicon solar
cells.
The plant is monitored by SCADA based monitoring
system.
 Plant Maintenance & Operation

In addition to 3 MW , one more 10 kW PV plant has

been installed on the rooftop of office building to
take care of domestic lighting and cooling loads of
the Plant including the load of exhaust fans.
At present, the plant is maintained by 13 workers
which includes 2 technical persons who look after
data collection and monitoring.
Three bore - wells have been installed at the site
with pump-set capacities of 2 HP, 5 HP and 10 HP.
The 2 HP pump set is used regularly to meet the
water requirements of the Plant.
 Cleaning of PV Modules:
Generally, the modules are cleaned by spraying
water with the help of extendable hosepipes.
Occasionally, wipers are used to remove the
accumulated dirt and bird droppings, say once in a
month.
On an average, each module is cleaned once in a
week on rotational basis
Performance analysis
 Conclusion
Being cost effective is an important requirement for
every product. For a power plant O&M costs has to be
kept under control.
This becomes possible by robust monitoring system.
Though every part of the plant and every input
attribute cannot be controlled to the desired levels,
continuous monitoring of the energy generation as per
expected forecast will ensure that the efficiency of the
plant is maintained at a high level throughout the life
of the plant.
The latest generation of SCADA complementing the
Internet Of Things with extensive data security
protection measures will possibly drive the next
generation O&M.
 References
1. Operation and Maintenance Methods in Solar Power
Plants - Mustapha Hatti.
2. Renewable Energy Systems Reports - H. Mitavachan,
Anandhi Gokhale and J. Srinivasan.
3. Remote Monitoring Systems for Solar PV Power Plant -
Divya Darshini. V, Electrical Engineer - O&M, Avi Solar
Energy Pvt. Ltd.
4. Operations and Maintenance of Solar PV Power Plants -
Rahul Bhardwaj, Manager Solar Business Unit, PT&D IC,
L&T Construction