EN 
PT_BR 
Everyone knows that solar energy offers a great financial return. However, for this return to occur, a good plant operation and maintenance plan throughout its useful life.
In this sense, one of the most important parts of the operation of a business is the monitoring all data and various components that constitute it, since the return of investment depends on continuous and reliable energy generation.
This is because, depending on the size and complexity of the plant, there are a series of factors that can impact energy production, improving or reducing the profitability of the system.
Because of this, the Using a Scada system (Supervision and Data Acquisition System) can help improve the performance of photovoltaic projects.
Even though it is an existing technology, many companies end up not using it because they do not know that it can be useful for both GC (centralized generation) and DG (distributed generation) plants.
The Scada system is a technology that uses monitoring and supervision software to obtain more detailed information from plants, allowing monitoring, configuration, storing data and making resources available so that the owner of a plant can intervene manually or automatically in the process, whenever necessary.
In real time, for example, it is possible to view and monitor this information, such as identifying possible energy overloads in the inverters.
In the GC segment, it is even possible to change, in a few seconds, the positioning of the trackers (solar trackers) to obtain greater sunlight capture at certain times of the day.
In Brazil, one of the companies that provides the Scada system to solar power plant owners is AE Energia Automação. In the solution provided by the company, through a computer or cell phone screen it is possible to control the entire operation of the plant.
Bruno Musarra, the company's business director, highlights that with the increasing role of photovoltaic plants in the Brazilian energy matrix, monitoring and controlling energy generation is fundamental.
“The software from EA and other companies aims for this objective: to function as a solution to increase operational efficiency, enable intelligent management of plants and maximize business profitability”, he explained.
Features of the EA Energia Automação Scada system
- The graphical interface follows concepts of high visual performance and ergonomics/software usability requirements;
- Intuitive interface for signaling tracker position deviation;
- Production comparison of photovoltaic and string arrays;
- Supervision and control of inverters;
- Heat map of the power converted by the inverters;
- Monitoring of weather conditions;
- Complete view of the plant with supervision of the electrocenters;
- Integration with billing measurement system (SMF);
- Power limiter to meet restrictions determined by the ONS;
- Automatic maneuvering module;
- Integration with PPC system (Power Plant Controller).
To assist in monitoring a plant's performance, AE Energia Automação also offers a data platform called Data Solaris. The technology provides numbers and indicators for the solar plant, such as capacity factor, production efficiency and warnings about rain and irradiance, helping the customer in several ways.
For example, if a generating unit has a production rate below 100% on the platform, it is a sign that the project has some malfunction or limitation, which reduces the plant's performance.
Based on weather forecasts, the tool warns that it will rain up to five days in advance, and warns those responsible for operating the plant not to schedule a rainy day. cleaning the modules on the same date. The tool also allows the customer to compare the performance of photovoltaic modules and inverters.
Features of Datasolaris from EA Energia Automação
- Monitoring the plant's operational conditions in real time;
- Resources for classifying inverter stops;
- Production x Target x Certifications (P50/P90), Power x Irradiance, Power Balance, Performance Ratio, Energy Performance Index (EPI), Efficiency and Performance in the BOS, among others;
- Calculation of technical availability and operational availability
- Estimation of losses due to unavailability and poor weather conditions;
- Losses at the Substation;
- Optimization of washing photovoltaic modules;
- Generation estimate based on the irradiation forecast for the coming weeks;
- Generation monitoring reports, inverter ranking, tracker ranking, among others.
More platforms
In addition to AE Automação, an example of another company that operates in the solar energy segment and that has the Scada system is Weidmüller, through Procon-Web Scada.
It is an integrated system that can be implemented independently of hardware and operating system, bringing a web-based visualization to mobile devices with open communication standards, thus increasing the flexibility of the communication and monitoring system.
“This supervision and monitoring concept, designed for a scope of application within photovoltaic plants that integrates systems from different areas and suppliers, allows for easier application for the integrator and the plant owner”, he explains. Felipe Anjoulete, renewable energy application engineer at Weidmüller Brasil.
The professional adds that this avoids conflicts in communication, acquisition and data management, not requiring software, servers, specific knowledge or even licenses for operation.
“In addition to this detail, this equipment has characteristics compatible with the requirements of the plants, whether through the use of defined protocols, the flexibility achieved and even real-time monitoring, allowing the definition of alarms and indications in the developed supervisory system”, he commented.
According to Anjoulete, the requirements for applying electrical signal acquisition hardware and management software used in solar farms are similar to those used in industry, when we talk about communication protocols and temperature and protection requirements.
“It is natural that many solutions created for use on the factory floor migrate to use in the field, especially when we talk about innovations linked to industry 4.0”, he commented.
According to the engineer, one of the needs for Scada Systems is the reliability of communication between devices in the field. “In the beginning, protocols with physical signals such as RS-485 proved to be efficient for a while, but with the growth in power generated in the plants, there was a proportional increase in magnetic interference in cable communication signals, not to mention other factors, such as rodents damaging communication cables. In this way, the need for wireless data transmission increases more and more”, he pointed out.
One of the protocols created for IoT applications for rural areas that has been applied in UFVs is LoRa WIFI. LoRa uses unlicensed radio frequency bands such as 433 MHz, 868 MHz (Europe), 915 MHz (Australia and North America), and 923 MHz (Asia) and allows long-range transmissions (more than 10 km in rural areas) with low energy consumption.
Weidmüller's new string monitoring system, EagleEye, features LoRa Wifi wireless communication, together with the U-control CPU hosting the Scada system, thus offering a complete solution for monitoring and data acquisition in photovoltaic plants.
“There are studies that prove that a photovoltaic plant that has string-level monitoring reduces generation losses by up to 2%, as it allows rapid identification of faults”, points out Mauro Sirtoli, renewable energy manager at Weidmüller Brazil.
“This means that the role of the Scada system is not just limited to reporting generation to the regulatory body, but also to assisting the O&M team for a quick response when necessary”, he highlights, remembering that: “Invest in robust SCADA systems and quality means delivering a more reliable solution to the customer who is purchasing a photovoltaic plant”, he concludes.
