EN 
PT_BR 
With collaboration of Henry Hein
Equipment failures, losses caused by utility power interruptions and uncontrollable factors, such as decreased irradiation and dirty panels, are the main factors that culminate in the loss of performance of photovoltaic systems in Brazil.
This was just one of the main conclusions of the professionals who participated in the first panel discussion of the second day of Connect Channel, which is being held this Wednesday (25), in São Paulo (SP).
Gustavo Souza, specialist in the performance of solar plants in GreenYellow, explains that today around 50% of all losses monitored by the company occur due to failures in equipment, such as inverters, trackers and transformers.
“The reasons for these failures vary and can occur from the construction phase of a plant, through commissioning and even, in many cases, occur because of a 'blank spot' that was forgotten at the beginning of the development of the plant. project and went into operation”, he reported.
The executive said that the remaining 50% are caused by losses caused by concessionaires – when there is a power outage on the grid – and other losses that do not affect the availability of a solar plant, but that harm the performance of equipment, such as dusty photovoltaic modules.
Availability factor
Felipe Ronchini, Construction coordinator at Brazil, commented on the availability factor of solar plants, which, in his view, is one of the great villains of performance.
“The work that is done to mitigate downtime is fundamental, such as acting on guarantees quickly and having, mainly, O&M (Operation and Maintenance) partners, with the capacity to make local dispatches quickly and effectively”, highlighted.
“At Brasol, we focus a lot on the qualification and quality of the partner that makes the dispatch. Therefore, it is necessary to look for solid, conscious partners and identify points that, sometimes, people fail to evaluate. In-depth and solid knowledge of the equipment, for example, is a differentiator, as is knowledge of workplace safety,” added Ronchini.
Artificial intelligence
Gustavo Malagoli, director of Business Development and Technology at (re)energizes, was also present on the panel and spoke about the importance of using artificial intelligence in projects.
“If there is no well-done O&M with digitalization, often with robotization, we run the risk of large investors, like Brasol, looking and saying: this is not giving the return it should, and perhaps due to inadequate O&M”, he stated.
As an example, Malagoli cited the importance of carrying out, mainly, aerial thermography equipped with artificial intelligence algorithms – which communicate with the SCADA system and cross-reference data – to save time and increase productivity in the robotization process.
2 Responses
interesting and important approach for the sector that has grown so much and even though it is already a reality in our country.
excellent information provided, I already had a view regarding these occurrences, but now this information is much clearer and more realistic, coming from reliable sources. information show that only adds.