national workshop on need for real-time monitoring of

National Workshop on

Need for Real-time Monitoring of Rooftop Solar Systems

-Sharing of International Experience

Monday, 7th

June 2021 |9:30 AM-11:00 AM (IST) & 4:00 PM-5:30 PM (IST)

Session 1: 9:30 AM- 11:00 AM (IST)

Opening remarks: Mr. Amitesh Kumar Sinha, Joint Secretary, Ministry of New and

Renewable Energy (MNRE)

India is targeting 175 GW of RE capacity till 2022, wherein contribution of solar rooftop

is very important and so far 4.5 GW of solar rooftop has been installed. At present,

DISCOMs are facing challenges in assessing quality of solar rooftop system installed as

well as in predicting the energy supplied by the solar system in their distribution

network. For utility scale project, the provision on Deviation Settlement Mechanism is

applicable but for distributed solar, mechanism needs to be developed for monitoring the

energy being injected in the grid. The monitoring of variability in the energy generated

by distributed solar would help DISCOM in managing frequency, voltage, etc.

efficiently. In future, the variability of solar energy needs to be tackled and mitigated by

implementing storage systems, and also by adopting accurate forecasting which will help

in better scheduling. In this background, real time monitoring becomes very important.

MNRE is also exploring options for establishing the centralized level monitoring system

where all the systems will be connected and monitored and data would be available to

DISCOMs to analyze & monitor the performance of the installed systems.

Speaker 1: Geoff Stapleton, Managing Director, Global Sustainable Energy Solution

(GSES):

Australia is a large country with inter connected grid and most of the population is from

the east coast. In the east coast grid, there is a 40,000 km of transmission line, 850,000

km of distribution line and 9.7 million connections to the grid. There are 2.7 million PV

installations in Australia with a cumulative capacity of 21.4 GWp, and thus solar is the

largest single generator with more than 25 percent of total household in Australia having

solar rooftop generation. In the last few years, there has happened PV growth in the large

utility scale system, otherwise most of the installations were happening in residential &

commercial. There has been issue of voltage rise in some of the grid resulting in the

instability, due to which the monitoring system was required. In Australia, there are

different products available for monitoring depending on the size and requirement. In

first example, inverter manufacturers provides monitoring platforms and basically the

residential customers prefer to use them to look after their system performance. One of

the company which has a major impact on the solar market is “Solar Analytics”. They are

involved in large number of government run programs and their real time monitoring data

is actually built in the government system. It has actively managed platform and a

diagnostic algorithm runs in the background. Another product is SwitchDin which is

cloud based and MODBUS based which provides monitoring and control across a

number of devices and lots of data can be collected. On the large industrial & utility scale

side, Meteocontrol is used which allows for string monitoring and also helps in

forecasting based on the historical data. Another example is Azzo which provide

solutions specific to particular plant requirements and uses high SCADA equipment to

provide end to end solutions to stakeholders. Selection from among various equipment that is

available in market is also critical to ensure customer benefit from it. With the involvement

of different type of assets like hospitals, government apartments, etc., GSES asset

management provides monitoring for solar assets portfolio managers. It helps in monitoring

different type of assets based on different parameters like in Australia they use performance

ratio which would then give an idea of different losses happening in the system. GSES

also have a website maintained and regulated by IRENA, so as to gather the real time

data and look over the generation happening across.

Q&A Session:

Q What is the percentage of capacity that have been deployed in Australia with storage,

as the system costs are high? How the DISCOMs are managing with the revenue

losses, as the consumers are shifting to solar power?

A There is a very small percentage of PV installation is done along with storage, and

only the Government and the utility are putting plant with storage. The government are

bringing in solar fee to be paid by consumer for using distribution network, as the

power from solar plant uses the transmission infrastructure. As a result, the consumer

bill cannot be reduced to zero and a minimum amount need to be paid by them to the

utilities. This will help the utility in making some revenue and help in proper

maintenance of their infrastructure.

Q Do you use inverter to record all solar parameters or some parameter from inverter

and some from smart meter?

A The parameters are collected from both the smart meter as well as the inverter.

Q Which communication system is being used in the solar system and how you deal with

communication failures?

A In Australia, the communication mostly happens with the usage of internet, as most of

the areas has a good internet connection. But still there are issues in the remote areas

and they have a problem with data connectivity.

Q How do you communicate with solar generator for regular maintenance and

emergency?

A The level of monitoring is done up to the string monitoring, but it depends on the size of

plant.

Q What are the important parameters to be monitored from utility perspective?

A Energy generated from the system and Voltage rise.

Q How did you deal with the vendors and integrate all of the system for monitoring?

A In Australia, the utility use MODBUS which is a very common form of communication.

MODBUS is used by many smart meters company as well.

Q MODBUS based software are used for communication and also by utility for specific

function like demand response, who is the owner of these system, if they are put by

utility or aggregator?

A Customer owns the system, switchDin is sold to customer and the government uses that

to communicate to the site.

Q What is the additional cost that comes up by adding remote monitoring?

A Mr Geoff will get back.

Q What is the real time monitoring level in Australia, if it is centralized or utility or

individual level?

A Central monitoring would be responsibility of utility.

Speaker 2: Mr. Dinesh Babu, Team Leader, World bank:

With the emerging digital ecosystem, stakeholders are feeling the need of an online

monitoring system, to analyze data for policy making and allow different stakeholders to

see the whole value chain. Different stakeholders have different requirements, such as

Policy & Regulatory body has to visualize the project status & environmental impacts,

whereas DISCOMs requires data for improved demand forecasting & scheduling. Thus,

NISE laid down a pilot project in association with CREST at 40 different sites in

Chandigarh with a cumulative capacity of 9.4 MWp. Under the SUPRABHA program,

performance assessment of pilot project was carried out, challenges & key takeaways

were noted, and activities were listed as per UNFCCC guideline for carbon assets at these

sites. One of the challenge encountered was that each inverter OEM has separate

communication protocol and different format. So, it was decided to take data from energy

generation meter rather than individual inverter. The data logger of NISE used MODBUS

technology whereas the meter used the DLMs. So, a converter was placed to record data

from meter and push date into the cloud after conversion. Interoperability issue,

communication protocol, and multiple inverter OEM onboarding were the main

challenges. Thus it was recommended to have standardization of communication protocol

at national level, and standardization of specification of data acquisition hardware for

future interconnection. Also, a smart metering based technology will be more efficient to

monitor health of the plant instead of a data logger. Based on the experiences, CREST

suggested to have standardization of protocol for both hardware & software, so that

centralized system can be created. Whereas, NISE recommended for standardized

communication protocol, inclusion of random data validation, and DISCOM should

identify company which have cloud facility to push the data.

End of Session 1

Session 2: 4:00 PM- 5:30 PM (IST)

Speaker 1: Mr. Markus S, Manager, Tetra Tech, UAE:

The solar rooftop monitoring is needed by the DISCOMs or utility so as to understand the

behavior of the grid and the systems with the increased level of penetration of the solar

power in the system. It is also needed to reduce power purchase from bulk generators,

thus reducing operational cost. Level of readiness at utility level and prosumer level are

required for being able to monitor the system. Monitoring is a data intensive activity and

so large amount of data would be gathered with the start of real time data monitoring.

This would require data cleaning and data acquisition at consumer & distribution level.

Type of consumer using the power is critical for the utility and integration of different

types of power system or rooftops distributed across the distribution network is very

difficult to be handled by the utility. From data acquisition point, a basic layout system

should be there wherein readings can be aggregated from consumer at distribution

transformer level. Data collection depends on the levels of usage & generation. Time

stamping of the data depends on the level of information needed, size of the system and

the impact of the system on the distribution nodes. Normally, consumer transformer (CT)

& switchgear are not upgraded, and so in many countries there is a standard procedure in

rolling out programmable breakers with remote data link as it will also help in data

acquisition. Thus, Capacity building is required at DSO level like, understanding of solar

system design and engineering so as to keep everything standardized and easy to

replicate. Pre-standardized procedure helps in making the whole system consistent and at

the same reduces the cost for all of the stakeholders involved.

Speaker 2: Mr. Michael Ingram, Chief Engineer, National Renewable Energy Laboratory,

USA:

The modern grid is now depending more on the communication with the emphasis on

how the information moves and communicate. The NIST has developed framework &

roadmap for smart grid interoperability standards shown as spaghetti diagram which

translates deep interconnection. The series of interconnection presents challenges to grid

operator, market, distribution system, and to the prosumers. Considering the USA

scenario, IEEE 1547 standards are followed for interoperability system but this standard

has a limitation of only considering the power connections. In reality, interoperability is

just the local interface between DER and local distribution connection with respect to

communication. The Network adapter, communication network, and interface to

operation are not included in 1547 standards, so North American Reliability Corporation

(NERC) has given certain considerations. It was found in the USA that connecting all the

system regardless of their size back to the operator is impossible. One of the

recommendation would be to connect DERs with energy management system for

aggregation and then communication is passed to aggregator. It’s also passed in some

consideration to electric power system operator, and in some penetration it is passed up to

bulk power system operator. So, the DER must be able to respond from external control

to disable permit service, limit active power, as well as changing parameters for control

& protection such as shifting from certain modes of operation for voltage & reactive

power provisions. In the USA, all of the devices are certified by type testing. Basic for

the certification is that the DER must be able to perform all the operations that are

required in the grid code and the standards, and also respond timely to communications

whether that is a request for information or request for operational control. Federal

Energy Regulatory Commission has recently passed a ruling referred as order 2222,

which allows DER to participate in aggregation at the bulk power system level to act as

system resource and provides communications essential for that function.

Speaker 3: Dr. Garrett Good, Research Associate, Fraunhofer IEE:

The solar monitoring spectrum are defined under three levels, first level is when there is

no monitoring system or real time data available, second level is when there are partial

applications and third is when all of the plants are connected to monitoring system. If

there are no real time data available, we will have to depend on physical models for real

time and have to take satellite and weather data for forecasting. When there are some

plants, then reference plants will be used to extrapolate real time date or use machine

learning algorithm on reference plant to forecast. In the third scenario, real time feed in

will be known and there will not be difficulty in forecasting. Germany comes under the

second level which is partial scenario in the solar monitoring spectrum. There are plants

available that are measured with data, while some do not, as data are protected at these

plants by certain companies. Currently in Germany, half of the capacity is in medium grid

and though 97 percent of plant is in low voltage grid but it comprise of 55 percent of

capacity. So, basically there is the problem in forecasting the amount being fed into the

grid regionally as real time monitoring is not available for each plant. There are

limitations to power modelling, which are generalization & assumption about the

hardware, material, of efficiencies, etc. However, even if all of the specification of the

plant are known, it would be difficult to get data about weather conditions or other factors

like shading, fog, snow accumulation, soiling etc. Thus, in order to reach granularity

there has to be data available for each plant. It has been concluded that lack of rooftop

monitoring will complicate real time estimation which will increase necessary reserves

and market costs and hampers progress. Thus, rooftop monitoring should be included.

Speaker 4: • Dr.-Ing. Eckehard Tröster, CEO, Energynautics GmbH, Germany:

Energy scenario in Germany clearly shows the expansion of solar share in the installation

over the years. Considering the latest data it can be seen that for the load demand of 65

GW, more than half of it was supplied through solar. From the perspective of real time

monitoring for grid stability, IEA defines 6 phases of VRE integration. Wherein, under

phase I no impact can be seen on system level, under phase II it becomes noticeable,

under Phase III flexibility becomes relevant, and under phase IV stability might be an

issue. As an example, Control Centre of renewable energies in Spain are able to optimize

the operation with regard to security and supply, and doing calculations depending on

certain grid situation very successfully. However, from the perspective of German DSO,

the distribution system is changing wherein we are getting more PV share, 97 percent of

the generation units are now located in the distribution system. As per the experience of a

German DSO, PV data are not currently being monitored in SCADA system irrespective

of very high share of PV in their mix. But, they have short term plans to comply with

Redispatch 2.0 and under long terms to include smart meter data. It has been concluded,

real time monitoring of PV system is very important especially for PV operators to detect

early if there is any failure. Also in the short run, systems with size greater than 100 kWp

will be included for Redispatch 2.0 and for long run smart meter will be aggregated &

data will be used for system operation.

Q&A Session:

Q Can the real time monitoring could also end up in DISCOMs in having control over the

export?

A It is Possible with the Advance metering system like the system introduced in Germany

but it is a very high secured system. So, rather a cheaper solution would be sufficient,

and at the end of the day it is also a question of contract. We can observe information

technology is coming more into the usage in daily life like example of mobile

technology, where controllability is getting cheaper and we are getting used to

organizing big data. So, there is an option of using monitoring & control for DISCOM.

Q If any presenter can share any live monitoring dashboard and also explain how it can be

used for our advantage (like using EV charging) for reducing peak demand.

A The concept for integration of EV charging has been a concept for a long time. At

present they are being implemented in the new generation vehicle in the USA. One such

example is the Ford F50 lightning which is equipped with smart charger options which

can interact with the grid and control center to be able to either supply a house entirely

isolated from the grid or it can act as a backup battery for the grid and deliver for

ancillary services or certain degree of load shedding capability. Thus, it depends on

the technology and it will be developed over the years. Similarly, Volkswagen is also

working on vehicle to grid concept.

The real time monitoring dashboard was shown from the time when EMS was

commissioned, it was observed that monitoring the data helped in maintaining

frequency after installing EMS with real time feed-in.

Q What are the cost involved for whole monitoring system? Any input on the cost

involved on the consumer end and the cost for the whole system to work?

A This technology is forced into the market and the cost is to be borne by the customers.

It gave opportunity to the aggregator and system operator as they have to go for a

small cost to incorporate monitoring in their system, as major portion of the whole

ecosystem is already borne by the consumer. The price borne by the consumer is 100

Euro per year which is quite high in Germany. But there are other cheap solution also

available in the market which were less complex. So, if we remove security and

clearance level, we can have decent advanced metering solutions integrated into the

system, which is the scenario in Indonesia where the cost was 50 USD per device.

Q Whether the capital cost and the running cost of the system for real time monitoring is

borne by the government or by the consumer? What is the percentage of the system

being monitored online by the DISCOMs/utilities out of the total rooftop system

installed in the distribution area of any country? Do you believe or is it necessary to do

the online monitoring of the system for a smaller system (1-10kW), who should do for

the smaller system? Whether there is any protocol for third party data, is there any law

followed for data privacy?

A The cost is borne by the consumer in USA and Germany. It depends on the jurisdiction,

as there are option to rent as well. In Middle East it is entirely borne by utility,

whereas in Asia it is either utility or consumer.

In USA, utility have their own meter for measurement and so do not rely on the

monitoring capability built in the inverter. In case of smaller system, utilities do not

rely on these monitors but are considered in the regions where there is a higher

penetration of smaller system in the total. While in Asia, there are no monitoring of

rooftop system, every systems are monitored in the gulf region. These may be because

availability of optic fiber connection in the region and 100 percent roll out of the smart

meter. As the net meters are rolled out completely, the smaller system are monitored

mainly for financial purposes and technically no consideration for monitoring is given

for the size of the system below 1 MW. In Europe, rooftop systems are monitored for

financial balancing purposes, but technically there is no monitoring of system below

100 kW size. The utility has to decide the threshold for monitoring the system.

There is no protocol for third data party protection as the data is not that relevant. On

the security side, smart meter gateway is there to look into this aspect. But, in case of

larger system, where the data is integrated into the SCADA system, utility has to own

communication link for security reason. In USA, it is an emerging issue and level of

confidentiality is being looked after.

Q If there would be any solution to the accounting problem through Data acquisition

system? If it is similar for off-grid system as well?

A On accounting side, that is the communication problem and if we go for smaller size

then that would mean dealing with large set of data points. The data set will multiply

exponentially and for that there would be need to increase the communication &

computation power to also grow exponentially to address the accounting.

However, on the off-grid system, there is no need for such monitoring as there is no

involvement of utility and the owner is the sole stakeholder in it.

End of Session 2

creating sustainable change through education, communication and leadership © 2021 GSES P/L Training • Consulting • Engineering • Publications

Solar Power Monitoring in Australia

Geoff Stapleton

Managing Director-Australia

creating sustainable change through education, communication and leadership © 2021 GSES P/L creating sustainable change through education, communication and leadership © 2021 GSES P/L

Australian Energy Market Context

1. Approximately 40,000km of transmission lines

2. Approximately 850,000km of distribution lines

3. Serves approximately 9.7 million customers

4. Largest amount of network infrastructure per capita of any electrical grid in the world.

5. One of the longest continuous end-to-end interconnected power systems (5,000km from Port Lincoln to Port Douglas)


Solar Power in Australia

As of March 31, 2021, there are 2.77 million PV installations in Australia with a combined capacity of over 21.4GWp


Monitoring

Reasons for Monitoring 1. Performance Monitoring

2. Operations and Maintenance

3. Monitoring for Control

a) Load control b) Battery control c) Utility (DISCOM) control d) Market participation

Factors that influence Monitoring 1. Single site or Multi site

2. System age

3. System size

4. Application

a) Residential b) Commercial c) Industrial d) Utility Scale

…The rest of the presentation will provide examples that illustrate the above


Example 1

For a single residential site, most customers still opt to use the monitoring platform provided by the inverter manufacturer. Current inverters provide robust platforms for the system owner to monitor performance, savings, load control, system backup, and error codes and data logging for maintenance purposes.


Example 2

Solar Analytics provides an “actively managed” platform where diagnostic algorithms run in the background to detect performance loss and identify the most probable cause. The platform can be used with any system and therefore makes for a good portfolio platform. The platform uses a simple, yet highly capable meter which is also a MODBUS gateway from control. Some utilities use this gateway to curtail generation when its too high in certain areas


Example 3

SwitchDin is a MODBUS master which provides monitoring and control across a number of devices. The purpose of SwitchDin is to provide highly granular data set to a number of interested parties. For example the system owner can monitor performance, the utility can use the site for demand management and the retailer can use the site for market participation. The SwitchDin device is a full Virtual Power Plant enabling device


Example 4

Meteocontrol is a German product which is best suited for large industrial and utility scale plant. The system allows for the integration of a number of field point sensors such as string monitoring, anemometer, pyranometer, etc. and uses machine learning to perform system forecasting and performance diagnositcs.


Example 5

Azzo is a systems integration company and provides solutions specific to the individual plant requirements. Groups like Azzo are often required when the customer and the utility have specific communications and control requriements. Azzo uses high end schneider SCADA equipment to provide end to end solutions to the requirements of all stakeholders


Example 6

GSES provides monitoring for solar asset portfolio managers. Most asset managers currently only conduct preventative or corrective maintenance but GSES asset management allows for condition (ie data driven) portfolio maintenance by providing direct advice to the site manager. This is done through a combination of machine learning and professional services.

Rooftop Solar Online Monitoring – Opportunities and Challenges

June 2021

01 | Need for Online Monitoring of RTS Systems

02 | NISE’s Pilot Program for RTS Online

Monitoring

03 | Challenges & Key take-away form NISE’s pilot

04 | Online Monitoring through AMI (Smart Meters)

05 | Opportunities for the Data Monitoring Centre to

serve various stakeholders

Agenda

Online Monitoring of RTS installations will strengthen India’s solar initiatives and facilitates stakeholder needs with the emerging energy ecosystem

Page 3

Distribution

companies

Require improved demand

forecasting and planning

Financial

Institutions

Need high quality real-time

generation data to validate

performance of proposed projects

Policy and

Regulatory

Need to visualize the project status,

subsidy flows and environmental

impacts of projects

End users Participate in energy markets, future

electricity requirement planning

Manufacturer Require real-time performance data

utilized for enhancing

product/service offerings

NISE implemented the pilot project for Performance Monitoring of Solar PV Systems capturing 40 sites with 9.4 Mwp capacity

Page 4

25 7

3

1 1 1 1 1

Site Distribution

Total: 40

2840

5395

535

50 100

70 155 300

Category wise Plant capacity(KWp)

Academic institute

Water works site

Police station

IT Park

District Court

Hospital

Sports complex

Transport facility

Total: 9.4 MWp

Communication GSM/GPRS modem for data

upload with Dataloggers

Data Access

through both

Inverter and Meter Inverter API integration

7 sites Successfully integrated

IP65 Rating for Datalogger

Developed Implementation Roadmap and procurement strategy with AMI technology for online monitoring

Support Establishment of NORS-DMC 3 As-is assessment of Pilot sites implemented by NISE

Performance Evaluation 1

Developed concept note for scaling up and establishment of NORS-DMC

Detailed Concept Note 2 Developed POADD and CPA-DD as per UNFCCC CDM guidelines for carbon

Project Design Document 4

Activities undertaken by SUPRABHA Program for establishing framework of NORS-DMC

NISE implemented a pilot program for Online monitoring of the rooftop solar installation in Chandigarh

Page 5

Weather monitoring sensors

Energy Generation

Meter

Datalogger

Dedicated NISE Cloud

Server

Inverter

Data Logger Bi-

direction Meter

API Access

Internet

Inverter OEM Server

*API access is yet to be facilitated

Internet- GPRS

(Raspberry Pi)

NISE Pilot

Parallel Meter

The pilot project led us to identify various implementation challenges and formulate key takeaways from the project

Page 6

1

2

3

Interoperability issues with components lead to redundancy of devices and added cost to the pilot

Communication protocols and hardware aspects on data acquisitions devices lacked standardisation

Multiple inverter OEM onboarding to access data API has been a challenge

1

2

3

Standardization of communication protocols for seamless implementation of data monitoring platform across India

Standardization of specifications of the data acquisition hardware for future interconnections and implementations

Onboarding of various stakeholders such as inverter OEM, project developers, consumer, DISCOMs and SNA

Challenges Key Takeaways

In terms of cost effectiveness versus value add achieved, it was observed that the value

proposition of monitoring the energy generation at ‘Solar Generation Meter (SGM)’ is the highest

considering cost, accuracy and reliability

The Advance Metering Infrastructure (Smart Meter) can be a potential solution for pan India rollout and establishing a central level data monitoring centre

Page 7

Smart Meters Communication

Network

Meter Data Acquisition

System (MDAS)

Meter Data Management

System (MDMS)

Technology components of Advance Metering Infrastructure

Advanced meter devices with

two-way communication

capabilities

Capacity to collect

information about energy

generation at various time

intervals

Transmits data through fixed

communication networks

Advanced communication

networks supporting two-way

communication

Networks such as -

• Fibre Optic Communication

• Fixed Radio Frequency or

public networks (e.g.,

landline, cellular, paging)

Software applications on the

Control Centre hardware

used to acquire data from

meters

Host system which receives,

stores and analyses the

metering information. In this

case, NISE Data Monitoring

Centre

Typical Architecture of Online Monitoring of Rooftop Solar-Data Monitoring Centre

Presentation title Page 8

Framework architecture for monitoring the performance of the Rooftop Solar installation through Advance Metering

Infrastructure (AMI) using Smart Meters at Solar generation side.

Modules

In-built communication

device

Inv 1

Inv 2

Inv x

Communication Infrastructure

Solar Generation Meter

(Smart meter)

High

End

System

(HSE)

Meter Data

Processing

Analytics &

Visualization

Data Acquisition and Processing

Solar Power Plant

Internet

GPRS,WLAN,3G,4G

Bi-directional Meter

The Data Monitoring centre can provide services to various stakeholders, including policy makers, developers, DISCOMs and consumers

Page 9

• Competitive performance benchmarking

• Access to solar performance ratings

• Access to solar component performance

ratings

• Reduced transaction costs for the

generation of climate assets

• Aggregation, processing and storing of

plant level data at central level

Developer/EPC

State Nodal Agency

Financier/Bank

DISCOM MNRE

Plant owner/Prosumer

2

4

Subsidy Allocation

Loan disbursement

based on commercial

due diligence

Net Import Net Export

Online Data

Monitoring Centre

• Neighbourhood

performance

benchmark

• Participation in

Energy markets

• Information on

demand trends

• Improved demand forecasting, planning and

scheduling

• Monitoring and meeting RPO requirements

• Generation based incentives to the project

developers

5

6

• Performance rating for developers

• Certified and validated generation data

can facilitate bankers in project yield

assessment

• Reliable information about O&M, track

record and plant performance

3

• Visibility on generation achieved and

plant performance

• Visibility on environmental benefits

achieved

1

Financial flow

Services

DMC value additions

For a Pan India implementation of Online Monitoring Centre for Rooftop Solar installations, the policy makers need to consider following factors

Page 10

Technology Specification 1 Standardization of data acquisition, processing, integration technologies, communication protocol and other specifications.

Various technologies are available in the market viz. data logger, Smart meters, API etc.

Process Oriented Methodologies 2 Making the data monitoring methodologies process-oriented and technology agnostic and providing specification

regarding the data parameters to be captured and process of data integration with central monitoring centre

Responsibilities of various stakeholders 4 Responsibilities of stakeholders such as MNRE, Discom/SNA, developer, Consumer needs to be identified. The developer

can be tasked with additional responsibility of data provision and integration with central station

Centralized vs De-centralized data monitoring centre 3 The implementing agencies can be tasked to implement the monitoring centre in respective states and provide data to

MNRE. Contrarily, a centralised data monitoring centre can be set-up at MNRE and the RTS plants are integrated directly

with the central monitoring station

Cost considerations for setting up infrastructure 5 Each monitoring technology requires different infrastructure which has different cost implications for each stakeholder

Ms Mani Khurana Senior Energy Specialist Email: [email protected] Dr Amit Jain Senior Energy Specialist Email: [email protected] Mr. Nithyanandam Yuvaraj Dinesh Babu Team Leader, EY Consortium / Senior Advisor Email: [email protected] www.suprabha.org Contact:9560719349

Thank you

NORS-DMC: Visualization and analytics dashboard for pilot sites

Page 12

Real-time Monitoring of Solar RooftopsNeeds, readiness and OM implications

Agenda

Needs for DSO/DISCOM

Readiness & Prosumer Types

OM Implications and Capacity Building

Needs for DSO/DISCOMDSO/DISCOM & PROSUMER

Solar Rooftop Monitoring - Needs

Why DSO/DISCOMS Need this capability:

- Understand the behavior of the grids and systems when solar is present.- Ensure solar integration without compromising the system stability and power

quality.- Become capable of improving their operations, reduce losses and increase

revenues.- Reduce power purchases from TSO and bulk power plants.- Increase control and load balancing capabilities.- Improve the power distribution management.

Readiness & Prosumer TypesDSO/DISCOM & PROSUMER

Solar Rooftop Monitoring - Readiness

Readiness at DSO level:- Mapping of hosting systems, with detailed loads and profiles for each area CT.- Ideally, prosumers to have single bi-directional Advance Metering Equipment

(AME).- Ideally, CT’s with remote operable breakers & programmable protections.- Registry of all prosumer’s systems, inclusive of:

- Hosting CT, kWp, kWac, grounding & Anti-islanding operation confirmation.- Advanced Metering Unit details & protocols.- Average TMY with yearly degradation.

- Define time horizon for data granularity per prosumer type and area’s CT’s.- Software capable of integrating all readings for AME’s and calculate area’s CT’s

load status real time and delivering basic (ideally, advanced, commands to the inverters.

- Data infrastructure architecture – Power line carrier Communication (PLCC) & Data Over Power (DOP) need an extremely clean and reliable power infrastructure; not recommended.

Solar Rooftop Monitoring - Readiness

Readiness at Prosumer level:

- Inverters with Anti-islanding and usual protections/actuators (OF/UF – OV/UV –ground – surge, etc).

- Ideally, advanced inverters with programmable grid responses and operation windows.

- Inverter’s capable of receiving operational instructions from DSO, either basic (on/off) or advanced (grid support).

- Data connection as defined by DSO (gsm carrier, open gsm, FO, LoRan, etc).- Basic (telemetry) or advanced AME (single and bidirectional if possible).

Solar Rooftop Monitoring - Types

Types of prosumer system from technical perspective:

- Classic residential & small commercial, where kWac <= facility supplied power or peak daytime load.

- Commercial & small industrial, where kWac <= facility daytime peak but connect direct at distro voltage.


Data acquisition point:

- Classic residential & small commercial:- Basic.

Aggregated at distro’s area’s CT, using Advanced Metering Equipment (AME) units with grid analyzing capabilities.- Advanced (+Basic).

Rooftops with kWac >= area’s average rooftop kWac or average daytime load* 5, requested to have dedicated AME.- Integrated.

All prosumers required to have AME.- Commercial & small industrial:

- Integrated.All prosumers required to have AME.


Data collection:

- Basic / Initial:- Data from usage and generation is timestamped stored in AME and

transmitted daily or weekly or monthly.

- Advanced:- Data is stored in AME for backup but transmitted at various time horizons,

from seconds to minutes, depending on the type of installation (grid supporting prosumer or demand regulation prosumer needs 1 second or sub-second).

OM Implications andCapacity BuildingDSO/DISCOM

Solar Rooftop Monitoring – OM & Capacity Building

OM impacts at DSO level:

- Removal of unmetered users is critical for adequate load evaluation, balancing and response.

- CT’s load and temperature monitoring.- Delivery of disconnect instructions to inverters.- Delivery of instructions to CT’s lines breakers for emergency disconnects.- Delivery of instructions to grid supporting prosumers for curtailment

and/or output adjustment.- CT’s and switchgears upgrade & modernization programs; programmable

breakers with remote data link are ideal.- Regular review and improvement of feeders and lines physical terminations

and connections.- Regular screening for grounding failures and phase leakages to ground.- Software calculating load asymmetries to prevent feeders unbalancing, voltage

and frequency excursions.

Solar Rooftop Monitoring – OM & Capacity Building

Capacity building at DSO:

- Solar systems design and engineering, inclusive of relevant standards, protections and standard interconnection schemes.

- Solar integration principles at DSO level and calculate variability boundaries.- Familiarize and calculate cancel-out/ripple effects within a given service area.- Usage of AME’s and programmable breakers as grid’s data acquisition units to

improve system monitoring.- Implement preventive maintenance programs.

Prepared by Markus Straslicka Manager Tetra Tech Inc forNational workshop on “Need for Real-time Monitoring of Solar Rooftop Systems – Sharing of International Experience”, being organized by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy on India.New Delhi, 7th June, 2021

Real-time Monitoring and Control Informative Background on the Interoperability Requirements in IEEE Std 1547-2018

Michael Ingram, Chief Engineer

June 2021

NREL | 2

Modern Grid

Power

Information Communications

Physically how information moves and devices communicate

Physically how electricity moves and devices interconnect

What information moves and how

information is organized

Distribution Grid, Operations, Market, and Provider Challenges: • Large and variable

generation, decentralized energy resources(roof-top PVs, on-site and co-gen)

• Diversity of electricity markets, technology, and services

• Cost, cyber security, metering, communications interoperability

• New options: storage, EVs

Customer Challenges: • Different brand of

equipment, distributed energy resources

• Ease of adoption and cost effectiveness

• Grid services requirements • Optimized use of DER (e.g.,

microgrids)

Linking Grid with Customer-Side Distributed Resources

SRC: NIST Framework and Roadmap for Smart Grid Interoperability Standards, Release 2.0

SRC: NIST Framework and Roadmap for Smart Grid Interoperability Standards, Release 3.0

NREL | 4

Interoperability

“The capability of two or more networks, systems, devices, applications, or components to externally exchange and readily use information securely and effectively” (IEEE 2018)

DER

Area EPS

Local communications interface

Power interface

Interconnection System

Scope

NREL | 5

Reality

“The capability of two or more networks, systems, devices, applications, or components to externally exchange and readily use information securely and effectively” (IEEE 2018)

Operations Network Adapters

Local DER Interface

Internal DER Communication

Networks

NREL | 6

Interoperability of DER and What?

• External communications not specified in 1547

• NERC recommended considerations:

– Use cases for external communications?

– When will system be needed?

– Performance needed for specific applications?

– Parameters of network and architecture?

– What DERs will be integrated (e.g., type, size)?

NREL | 7

Screening Criteria

• When monitoring and control might be required, industry recommends screening criteria to consider

– Increased PV hosting capacity

– Anti-islanding

– “Borderline” (< 50 kW) PV systems

– PV exceeding certain capacity limits

– Single-phase lines affecting upstream three-phase lines

(JUNY, 2017)

NREL | 8

Metering, Monitoring, and Controlling

• Metering = monthly or 15-minute reads of DER production (kWh); subject to jurisdictional compliance

• Monitoring = real-time communications to utility or others; informs long-term planning, interconnection, operations

• Control = ability of utility to turn on/off grid components (e.g. curtailment of PV); maintains safety & reliability

• Dispatch = market operation (advanced control); two-way information exchange

NREL | 9 NREL | 9

Hierarchy of communications and interoperability of DERs

Requirements depend on

- DER project size

- Voltage level, overall penetration

- Market requirements

- Asset ownership

Information Exchange (Dispatch)

Control

Monitoring

Metering

Safe

ty c

on

cern

s, D

ER p

enet

rati

on

an

d m

arke

t re

qu

irem

ents

NREL | 10 NREL | 10

Hierarchical architecture for DER communications

Hierarchical architecture allows for better utility management of many DER systems than direct control

Interoperability must be defined for upstream path

Bulk Power System (BPS) Area Electric Power System Operator (AEPSO)

Distribution System Operator (DSO) Energy Management System (EMS)

Point of Common Coupling (PCC)

NREL | 11

Communications Protocols

• Non-standard (proprietary) protocols create challenges for integration

• DER must support one of the following protocols:

– SunSpec Modbus

– IEEE Std 1815 (Distributed Network Protocol 3 [DNP3])

– IEEE Std 2030.5 (Smart Energy Profile 2.0 [SEP 2.0]).

• Optional protocols permitted (e.g., IEC 61850)

NREL | 12

Information Exchange (Minimum)

• Nameplate information = basic DER installation conditions

– IEEE-1547 gives minimum parameters

• Configuration information = actual “as-configured” values of nameplate rating elements

• Monitoring information = present DER operation conditions

• Management control information = updates to DER’s functional and mode settings

NREL | 13

Management Control Capability Requirements

• DERs must be able to respond to external control by

– Disabling permit service

– Limiting active power

– Changing functional mode

– Changing parameters for control & protective functions

NREL | 14

Security Considerations

• Cybersecurity requirements are not specified in 1547

• Stakeholders should consider:

– Physical security

– Communications interface security

– Network security

NREL | 15

Test and Certification

• Interoperability testing (type-testing)

Certified by testing agency

• Commissioning testing

Local DER communications interface must:

(1) perform all read/write operations

(2) respond timely to communications

NREL | 16

Utility & Aggregators/DER Grid Services Provider Requirements

• Typically, DER operator responsible for communications connection from DSO connection to DER and/or meters

– DSO determines form (cellular, radio, etc.) and misc. details

• US FERC Order No. 2222 recommends DERs be able to

– Participate in aggregation

– Communicate essential info to distribution operator and RTO

– Meet RTO/ISO performance standards

Distribution System Operator (DSO) Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)

Regional Transmission Operator (RTO) Independent System Operator (ISO)

NREL | 17

Bulk Power System Data Needs

• Entities responsible for modeling & assessment of bulk power system – Balancing authorities – Transmission operators – Transmission planners and planning coordinators

• Examples of contextual data – energy production characteristics – aggregation basis – performance capabilities (voltage, frequency, etc.) – information model for monitoring and control

Thank You

Michael Ingram | [email protected]

National Renewable Energy Laboratory – Golden, Colorado Photo: Dennis Schroder

mailto:[email protected]

NREL | 19

References and Additional Reading

• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). 2020. Participation of Distributed Energy Resource Aggregations in Markets Operated by Regional Transmission Organizations and Independent System Operators, Order 2222 FERC ¶ 61,247.

• Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 2018. IEEE Standard for Interconnection and Interoperability of Distributed Energy Resources with Associated Electric Power Systems Interfaces. https://standards.ieee.org/standard/1547-2018.html.

• Joint Utilities of New York – Interconnection Technical Working Group (JUNY). 2017. ―03/29/17 ITWG Meeting Follow‐Ups – Monitoring and Control Screens.‖ April 28, 2017.

• North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC). 2017. Distributed Energy Resources: Connection Modeling and Reliability Considerations. Washington. D.C.

• ———. 2018. ―Technical Brief on Data Collection Recommendations for Distributed Energy Resources.‖ March 29, 2018.

• ———. 2020. Reliability Guideline: Bulk Power System Reliability Perspectives on the Adoption of IEEE 1547-2018. Washington, D.C.

https://standards.ieee.org/standard/1547-2018.html



© Fraunhofer

REAL-TIME MONITORING OF ROOF-TOP SOLAR

The German Experience

1

© Fraunhofer

About me

Dr. Garrett Good

• Research associate at Fraunhofer IEE

• Expert in PV regional power forecasting and optical flow

• PhD thesis in turbulence

Mail: [email protected]

2

© Fraunhofer

AGENDA

Solar monitoring spectrum

Where is Germany

How is that going?

intern3

© Fraunhofer

SOLAR MONITORING SPECTRUM

None

Physical power models, real-time with satellite data

Forecasting via weather predictions

Data needed on installed plants

Partial

Reference plants can be used to extrapolate real-time for nearby plants.

Reference plant forecasts possible with ML.

Reference should be not representative.

Complete

Real-time feed-in known

Even rooftop plants can be individually forecasted, i.e. regional forecasts become portfolio forecasts.

intern4

© Fraunhofer

Currently in Germany

5% of capacity in a few plants in the high(est) voltage grid

40% of capacity (3% of plants) in medium voltage grid

55% of capacity (97% of plants) in low voltage grid

5

© Fraunhofer

Currently in Germany

2 million PV plants

TSOs base power estimates on 100s or even only 10s of large reference plants

(Soon 100s of thousands)

Enough reference plants accurately reflect weather conditions everywhere.

But reference plants not representative of rooftop solar.

6

© Fraunhofer

Power estimation and forecasting

Is regional, not portfolio

TSO/DSO control areas

Sometimes TSO nodes

Lacks detail for dynamic forecasting of DSO nodes

Many plants are modelled the same

Differences within grid unknown

7

© Fraunhofer

Limits to power modelling

Generalizations in PV modelling

Different orientations, hardware, materials, efficiencies.

Lack of information

Shading, fog, snow accumulation/melting, soiling, major dust events, smog…

…could generally be detected by real-time PV data.

Exact atmospheric conditions determining irradiation on tilted surface.

Effects at individual plants can only be modelled with their data.

8

© Fraunhofer

Regional Power Estimation

1. Using reference plants

“Upscaling” estimates plants without monitoring from those with it

Forecasting uses plant forecast models trained to past data instead of live values

2. Using physical models

Various model plants

Simulated over grid

Accoding to satellite/weather data

Statistical weighting of plant types

9

© Fraunhofer

In conclusion, a lack of rooftop monitoring

Complicates

Real-time estimation / grid operation

Forecast training / accuracy

This increases

Necessary reserves

Market costs

Hampers progress

Jetzt +4h +8h +12h +16h +20h +24h +28h

Messung

Messung Zukunft

Kurzfristprognose (auch Dayahead)

Kürzestfristprognose (Intraday)

Zeit

Ein

spei

sun

g

10

© Fraunhofer

THANK YOU

intern

04:15 PM- 05.00 PM Experience and Best practice from DSO/DISCOMs around the world on the aspects of i. Need for Real-time monitoring of rooftop solar and its use

for scheduling and O&Mii. Expertise/Capacity building required at DSO/DISCOM for

Real-time monitoring of Rooftop Solar Systems

Experience from US, Germany and Other Countries Michael Ingram, Chief Engineer, Sensing and

Predictive Analytics at National Renewable Energy Laboratory

NREL, USA (TBC)(15 minutes)

Dr. Garrett GoodEnergiemeteorologische InformationssystemeFraunhofer IEEKönigstor 5934119 Kassel(15 Minutes)

Dr.-Ing. Eckehard TrösterEnergynautics GmbHRobert-Bosch-Strasse 7, 64293 Darmstadt, Germany(15 Minutes)

11

Darmstadt, 7th June 2021

Dr.-Ing. Eckehard Tröster

[email protected]

Energynautics, Germany

Need for Real Time Monitoring?A DSO Perspective.

• Energynautics GmbH

• PV in Germany

• Real time monitoring for economic PV operation

• Real time monitoring for grid stability

• DSO perspective

• Redispatch 2.0

• Smart Meter

• Smart Grids

• Conclusion

AGENDA

2

3

ENERGYNAUTICS GMBH

Energynautics - Areas of Expertise

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT FOR POWER AND ENERGY

Renewable Energies Distribution Systems Electromobility

Smart GridsCombustion Engine

Power PlantsElectricity Markets

Grid Codes Island & Microgrids Transmission Systems

CLIENTS INTERNATIONAL

energynautics International Work Experience

This schema illustrates only a selection of clients.

PROJECT REFERENCE:

INTEGRATION OF RENEWABLE ENERGIES IN THE INDIAN ELECTRICITY SYSTEM

GOAL

▪ Study on the integration of roof-mounted PV into Indian distribution grids

TASKS

▪ Analysis of the legal and regulatory frameworks in India as well as more detailed technical and regulatory studies for two distribution grid areas

▪ Scenario development for PV distribution

▪ Distribution grid modelling, load flow calculations, storage optimization

▪ Studies on power quality and voltage control

▪ Organization of capacity building workshops for the operators

COMMISSIONED BY

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), German development agency

7

PV IN GERMANY

2000

8

Wind: 62 GW

(incl. 8 GW Offshore)

PV: 54 GW

Biomass: 10 GW

Min. Demand:

32 GW

SOURCE: 50Hertz, Amprion, TenneT, Transnet BW, Google Earth

2006 2016

Wind Solar Biomass

2020

Development of Renewables in Germany

TYPICAL EXAMPLE OF PV IN GERMANY

9

Source: Google Earth

Power Generation in Germany on 1st June 2021

10Source: Fraunhofer ISE https://energy-charts.info/charts/power/chart.htm?l=en&c=DE

Source: SMA https://www.sma.de/unternehmen/pv-leistung-in-deutschland.html

PV Production on 6th June 2021 in Germany

11

12

REAL TIME MONITORING FOR ECONOMIC PV OPERATION

Real Time Monitoring important for Market/VPP Participation

13Source: Next Kraftwerke VPP Simulator: https://www.next-kraftwerke.com/virtual-power-plant-vpp-simulation/?lang=en

Typical features:

- Ticketing system

- Freely configurable reports

- Automatic error recognition

- Interpretation of error patterns

- Irradiation calculation

- Performance ratio

- String plan / Digital Twin

- Portfolio management

Real Time Monitoring important for error recognition! Various Monitoring Software available on the Market

14Source: https://www.photovoltaik.eu/planung/aktuelle-meldungen-vergleich-der-software-fuers-monitoring

15

REAL TIME MONITORING FOR GRID STABILITY

IEA defines 6 Phases of VRE Integration

16

Phase Description

1 VRE capacity is not relevant at the all-system level

2 VRE capacity becomes noticeable to the system operator

3 Flexibility becomes relevant with greater swings in the supply/demand balance

4Stability becomes relevant. VRE output can cover most of demand

at certain times

5Structural surpluses emerge;

electrification of other sectors becomes relevant

6Bridging seasonal deficit periods and supplying non-electricity applications;

seasonal storage and synthetic fuels

Real-time monitoring is one of the most importantTechno-Economic Measures

17

Monitoring and controlling VRE generation in real time decreases the number and quantity

of curtailments, maintaining the quality and security of the electricity supply.

18

Example: The Control Centre of Renewable Energies in Spain

Source: Control centre of renewable energy in Spain

source: http://www.ree.es/en/videos/corporate/cecre-control-centre

19

DSO PERSPECTIVE

The distribution system changes from pure consumption…

20

…to a production system withbi-directional load flow.

21

- System Data:

- Min Load 113 MW

- Max Load 326 MW

- Installed PV capacity: 221 MWp

- Currently no monitored PV data in SCADA System

- Short term plans to comply with Redispatch 2.0:

- Units greater 1 MW to monitor in 1 minute resolution

- 100 kW to 1 MW in 15 minutes resolution

- Long term plans:

- Include Smart Meter Data

- Develop Smart Grids

Interview with a German DSO

22

Bernhard BetzManager Grid OperationEWR Netz GmbH

New legal regulations for the extended redispatch process:

• Network Expansion Acceleration Act (NABEG 2.0)

• Valid after October 1, 2021

• All generation units greater than 100 kW have to take part.

➔ Redispatch participants increases from 80 to 60’000 power plants!

➔ DSO required to participate in the elimination of congestions and to ensure system stability.

➔Monitoring and forecasting gains importance!

➔ Cooperation between TSO and DSO required.

REDISPATCH 2.0

SMART METER GATEWAY CONCEPT

24

ControlBox

Applications

Smart Meter Gateway

Gateway Administrator

Grid Operator

Controllable Local System (CLS) Management

Act on the Digitization of the Energy Transition in 2016:

• Consumers with more than 6,000 kWh yearly consumption, and plant operators with an installed capacity of more than 7 kW require SMGW

• SMGWs of three different manufacturers need to be certified by Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) ➔ Rollout started only in 2020

First generation of SMGW:

• One load profile per day with the aggregated meter readings in 15-minute resolution

• Technically outdated, missing real-time data, control box not available

• Court stopped Rollout in March 2021

Second generation will hopefully bring more benefits!

SMART METER ROLLOUT

25

https://www.bne-

online.de/fileadmin/bne/Dokumente/Positionspapiere/2020/20200128_bne_Smart_Meter_Roll_out_the_German_case.pdf

Real Time Monitoring required for operation ofSmart grids: Example iNES

26PLC = Power Line Communication

CONCLUSION

(Real Time) Monitoring of PV Systems is very important for PV operators to secure the revenue streams:

• Early detection of failures.

• Participation in Virtual Power Plants (Aggregators, Market participation)

DSO perspective:

• Today, the system is operated (almost) without monitoring of PV.

• On the short run, larger systems (>100 kWp) will be monitored for Redispatch 2.0

• On the long run, smart meter data will be used for monitoring, this will also enable to operate smart grids.

Monitoring the distribution grid will become very important, however this is not only about PV but also other new consumers (e.g., electric vehicles, storages, heat pumps, air condition)!

Dr. Eckehard TrösterSenior Consultant & CEO

+49 (0) 6151 [email protected]

Thank you for your attention!

national workshop on need for real-time monitoring of

Documents