© 2013 Firstgreen Consulting

Firstgreen Consulting Pvt Ltd.U 28A/3 FF DLF PH III Gurgaon India -122002

+91-124-4063031+919899295854| | www.firstgreen.co

Solar Project Performance Assessment

Firstgreen Webinar Series : 29th April 2014

© 2014 Firstgreen Consulting

About Firstgreen Consulting

Project Management Consulting

Due diligence including technical, commercial and environmental services, Design and development  including pre-contract negotiations, Land identification, Vendor finalisation, Preparation of RFP and RFQ, Equipment procurement, Site supervision

Detail Engineering & Design

Plant layout & design, Solar PV system sizing, Module & inverter selection, Shadow analysis, DC cable route planning, Monitoring & control system design, AC system design, Plant storm water planning, Power evacuation planning

Lender’s Engineer

Borrower financial appraisal, technical due diligence, assessment of power off take arrangements, engineering design review, review of compliance and approvals, review of plant performance guarantees and warrantees, Site supervision

Project FinancingArranging finance from domestic banks, Private equity funding, Arranging the buyer’s credit, organising the collaterals, bridge loan financing,

© 2013 Firstgreen Consulting 3

Speakers

Dr. Sanjay Vashishtha CEO, Firstgreen Consulting

Mr. Basant Jain CEO Mahindra EPC

© 2014 Firstgreen Consulting

Key Topics

Requirement of Solar Plant Performance

Assessment

Plant Performance monitoring Strategies

Creating the PVSYST model for the actual data

String performance analysis

Quantifying the module soiling losses

Assessment of shadow losses

Inverter performance analysis

Thermography analysis of the PV plant

Effect of temperature on the plant performance

Benchmarking methods Ways to conduct the root cause analysis

Assessment of performance ratio of the

plant

© 2014 Firstgreen Consulting

Solar Plant Performance Assessment

© 2014 Firstgreen Consulting

The Performance of Solar Plants has been improving over last few years

Performance of Solar Plants in India

© 2014 Firstgreen Consulting

Requirement of SPV plant Assessment

Gangesh GreenCUF 12.2%

Waa SolarCUF 20.6%

Plant performance is dependent on BoS and System SizingIt is also dependent on the better O&M practices

© 2014 Firstgreen Consulting

Plant Data Monitoring Strategies

PV panelsCombiner

boxes Inverter Transformer ABT Meter

V,I V,I V,I, kWh V,I kWh

At the PV panels the solar

radiation is being recorded

At string level measurement of current & Voltages are monitored

At inverter level V,I are measured at the input

as well as at output level. The kWh is also

measured

The energy injected to the grid is measured at the ABT meter

© 2014 Firstgreen Consulting

Performance Assessment at String Level

© 2014 Firstgreen Consulting

String Performance can be affected due to Five Key Factors

Loose Lugs

High Operating

Temperature

Hot Spots in PV

Modules

Shadow losses

Undersized DC wires

Module Mismatch

The Underperforming string

11© 2014 Firstgreen Consulting

Shadow Losses

Shadow losses can significantly reduce your plant performance

© 2014 Firstgreen Consulting

Inter-row spacing and Shading

Inter row shading needs to be optimised. This can cause significant losses in your plant.

© 2013 Firstgreen Consulting 13

Monitoring the String Voltage and Currents

IV Curve of a partially shaded string

14© 2014 Firstgreen Consulting

Benchmarking of String Performance

Array string performance to each other.

String performance to a Standard Panel.

String performance to specific Solar Radiation level.

Panel to Panel performance within a string or to standard.

© 2013 Firstgreen Consulting 15

Inverter Performance Analysis

This inverter is performing bestThis inverter is performing

poorest

16© 2014 Firstgreen Consulting

Assessment of Plant losses

© 2014 Firstgreen Consulting

Monitoring instruments

Thermography Megger Tong tester Power meter

IV Tracer Pyranometer

© 2014 Firstgreen Consulting

Use of Thermography in Solar Plant Performance Assessment

© 2014 Firstgreen Consulting

Step by Step Approach to conduct Plant Performance Assessment

© 2014 Firstgreen Consulting

Five Step process for Plant Performance Assessment

Feasibility analysis

Identification of Options

Site Assessment

: Planning and organization

Priorities the feasible options

Where are the bottlenecks?

Validate the available Information

Analyze the data in advance

Implement the options

Monitor the results for continuous improvement?

© 2014 Firstgreen Consulting Questions ?

© 2014 Firstgreen Consulting

Thank YouFirst Green Consulting Private Limited

U-28A/3 FF, White Town House

DLF Ph III Gurgaon,

Haryana – 122002, India

Tel.: (+91) 124 4063031 , 9899295854 Fax: (+91) 124 424 1751sanjay@firstgreen.cowww.firstgreen.co

Questions ?