Result description
The key ambition of this Result is to contribute to the increasing lifetime and performance of PV plants, reducing their environmental impact. Supported by advanced monitoring, it explores the categorization and clustering of PV modules and inverters based on actual power classes and efficiency, in order to suggest the right moments to perform component substitutions and optimal string reconfiguration to minimize mismatch losses (due to uneven degradation of modules and the incorporation of new modules). Through the “progressive” repowering approach, it will be possible to increase the PV plants’ energy yield without increasing the land needed, using, during the years, the most up-to-date components, with the highest efficiency. Furthermore, this is done by intervening several times during the lifetime of the plant, splitting the total investment in more than one shot.
This Result is built upon two solid foundations: advanced monitoring and field interventions.
- Advanced monitoring is about the categorization and clustering of modules and inverters based on actual power classes;
- Field interventions that will then be carried out for partial and tailored plant reconfiguration.
To summarize, the progressive repowering concept brings in four main benefits:
- Maximum plant efficiency: constant increase of energy yield instead of accepting the natural component degradation.
- Optimization of use of land: this will occur without increasing the land needed, by using the most up-to-date components, with higher efficiency than those that will be substituted.
- Flexible financial approach to repowering: this method allows to distribute capital expenditures into multiple years, instead of large “one-shot” investment as it is common practice today, reaching similar if not better financial results during the lifetime of the plant.
- Circular economy: e-waste reduction connected to second life (re-use of decommissioned PV modules) and material recovery from disposed components for further use in the industry.
Addressing target audiences and expressing needs
- Business partners – SMEs, Entrepreneurs, Large Corporations
- Expanding to more markets /finding new customers
Asset owners and asset managers who are interested in optimizing their aging PV portfolio
- Other Actors who can help us fulfil our market potential
- Private Investors
R&D, Technology and Innovation aspects
The Progressive Repowering concept could not be built upon PV module level monitoring since the technologies tested during the project proved to be not ready for large-scale solutions. Nevertheless, it is intended to continue the development of such concept at string and inverter level.This Result will be further developed within other EU funded initiatives, such the SUPERNOVA and CLIMINVEST.
- Europe
Result submitted to Horizon Results Platform by BAYWA R.E. OPERATION SERVICES SRL
