Allow the Sunlight In: Effective Solar Power Control in the Network

The swift expansion of solar photovoltaic (PV) setups is a beneficial advancement for eco-friendly energy providers, users, and stakeholders. Nevertheless, as an increasing number of these sustainable energy sources are merged into current power networks, network managers must collaborate closely with solar power facility operators to proficiently regulate power supplies. By doing so, they can harmonize power production with demand to provide the same dependable power they have furnished before.

The Appropriate Harmony—Satisfying Contemporary Power Requests

In numerous nations, renewable-energy power plants are grappling with progressively rigorous regulations. Luis Serrano, the Global Head of Project Execution and Network Integration at GreenPowerMonitor, a DNV GL organization, explains, “In the past, plants were free to generate as much power as they desired without fretting over the volume they fed into the network. Nevertheless, when renewable energy makes up to 20% of power generation, its impact on the network becomes more evident.” Consequently, network managers now confront fresh requirements such as the necessity to ascertain the number of renewable-energy plants delivering power to the network and the potential power contribution of each one of them.

Network managers now enforce network regulations that renewable-energy plant operators must consent to and comply with if they wish to continue supplying power to the network. Additionally, these network regulations allow network managers to remotely oversee the renewable-energy sources incorporated into the network and make adjustments when the supply and demand are out of sync.

An Eco-Friendly Network—Instruments to Facilitate Effective Solar Power Integration

As nations across the globe are advocating power generation from renewable energy sources, the capacity to oversee and govern the volume of such power flowing into the network has become a top priority. One solution is to deploy a power station controller (PPC). Once a PPC receives control instructions on new target points from network managers, it can promptly and precisely pass on the new target points to PV assets (for instance, inverters). This will enable the inverters to swiftly switch to the new target points, leading to an alteration in the quantity of solar power amalgamated into the network without requiring human intervention on the premises.

According to certain network regulations, PPCs must guarantee swift adjustment of target points, as rapid as 200 ms. The promptness at which power equipment can adhere to new stipulations hinges on how expediently and reliably information regarding the new target points is communicated to the inverters. The chief challenges include: (1) Network separations causing inverters to not receive the control instructions (2) Limitations of conventional communication protocols that may result in delays in setting adjustments. As a long-standing associate of Moxa and a top purveyor of solar PV monitoring and control units, GreenPowerMonitor, a DNV GL company, has meshed its PPC with Moxa’s network solutions to successfully surmount these challenges in over 3GW solar power plants.

1. Guaranteeing Timely Delivery of New Target-point Facts

To avert data loss and assure data trapped within a conceivably congested network consistently reaches its destination punctually, a contingency network should be on standby. Should one network become inaccessible, data can be transmitted via the contingency, ensuring continuous data transmission. Moxa and GPM have devised a system to avert network disconnections and assure a 20-ms recovery period, which is quicker than the 1,000-ms solutions present in the sphere.

2. Ensuring Power Apparatus Execute the New Target Points Without Delay

Another factor to consider is guaranteeing the prompt conveyance of data regarding new target points to inverters so they can conform to the new stipulations. Generally, in large-scale solar facilities incorporating hundreds of inverters, most of the inverters are reliant on serial communication. In this scenario, the traditional Modbus polling cycle is inadequately rapid as it only permits communication with one inverter at a time and data exchanges usually take approximately 100 ms. So, if more than two inverters necessitate communication, it will extend beyond 200 ms. Nonetheless, by leveraging edge computing and localized control functions, communication can be decentralized and simultaneous communications enabled so that inverters can adjust their target points, as stipulated by network managers, in a timely fashion.

Hitherto, the variability of energy from renewable sources hindered consistent power supply. Nonetheless, network managers can outshine this hurdle by utilizing PPCs installed at power stations and leveraging the heightened reliability of plant networks to remotely govern grid-linked renewable energy resources. With this, Serrano notes, “Power stations can maintain the same reliability they’ve always extended—simply more eco-friendly.”

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