Solar energy operators in America and around the world are at a strange intersection. Even as the predictions for generation head toward 75 gigawatts (GW) in 2015 for North America alone, the financial picture is more complicated. A reduction in subsidies, a decline in regulation-based and renewable portfolio standards’ (RPS) demand, and lower negotiated power purchase agreements (PPAs) have many operators looking closely at every aspect of operations and maintenance (O&M) to maximize efficiency and project return-on-investments (ROIs).

As the market matures, new decisions have to be made. Growing demand requires more PV generation, typically resulting in larger fields. At the same time, concerns over transmission efficiency and environmental impact make distributed or dispersed generation a logical choice for other developers.

Theory versus reality
Ultimately, regardless of a solar plant’s size, operators know that continuous monitoring brings three powerful advantages:

1. Faster commissioning;
2. Lower O&M costs; and
3. Higher long-term kilowatt-hour (kWh) output.

In theory, quantifying the cost savings and improved revenue driven by these benefits should make decisions around solar monitoring simple and straightforward. Ideally, monitoring starts at the string-level and rolls up, system-wide. Clearly, this level of granular real-time data makes the diagnosis of performance issues easier before and after commissioning—which begs the question: where’s the dilemma?

Cost details
Although the value of continuous solar energy monitoring seems undisputed, the consensus around the depth of that monitoring begins to evaporate as costs are considered. During commissioning, developers can price the value of traditional wired monitoring and its infrastructure—namely, connectivity and power—which require proper cabling to be installed and maintained. And, post-commissioning, operators can price the loss of performance for one or more strings, versus the expense of any repairs.

In either case, the price of wired monitoring is a disincentive for thorough, string-level, system-wide monitoring. But what if there was another option, and those costs could be eliminated? Wireless monitoring solutions provide that other option. They offer a smarter way forward, delivering detailed, continuous data during the commissioning process and throughout the life of the plant.

A wireless solution multiplies the benefits of solar monitoring exponentially by dramatically increasing cost reductions while, at the same time, strengthening the quality and reliability of the information output.

Benefits include:

• Lower, trench-free construction costs;
• Reduced or eliminated copper and fiber-optic costs (for bus-powered solutions);
• Easier access to more detailed data in real-time; and
• A longer range.

Wireless monitoring begins with commissioning and continues across a solar plant’s lifecycle. But, in many cases, the cost of a monitoring system can be offset by the savings gained during the commissioning process alone.

Herein, wireless solar project monitoring allows for:

• Early and continuous performance diagnostics, even before SCADA systems are installed;
• A system-wide overview of solar panel and solar plant efficiencies and requirements;
• Reduced O&M costs due to faster troubleshooting and mitigation; and
• Best practices that become driven by data and actual need, rather than habits.

The lower price of wireless further impacts the argument for and against string-level monitoring. A wireless monitoring solution not only reduces the price of getting string-level data, it can also make that information more meaningful once gathered through Cloud-powered aggregation and analytics.

Set in the Cloud
Moving performance data into the Cloud has big advantages for solar developers and operators. While wired systems can take advantage of Internet or Cloud gateways, robust, low-power wireless networks are better suited to continuously move critical information upstream.

Adding a Cloud platform to a wireless monitoring solution helps transform machine-to-machine (M2M) connectivity into a robust network of intelligent endpoints—the very vision that the much-hyped Internet of Things made practical and pragmatic. A wireless Cloud platform provides delivery of granular data, from string and inverter level up, onsite, across state, or around the world, and offers:

• Easy integration and analytics;
• Seamless data backup and recovery;
• 24/7 access on a mobile or other connected devices; and
• A simpler provisioning of information to stakeholders.

From the first module coming online to the final destination in the Cloud, wireless connectivity brings concrete efficiency and valuable insight that can reduce solar O&M costs and improve the performance of a solar farm.

Safer solar
Beyond compelling bottom line financial priorities, the challenges faced by operators are more complex than simply a question of dollars. Technical defects and failures don’t just mean lost revenue; they can lead to serious equipment damage, injury, or even death.

Wireless awareness gives operators early warning and automatically notifies control boxes, disabling faulty components before the problem arises. It’s a powerful example of how machine-to-machine (M2M) connectivity and the Internet of Things can have a real impact on real challenges.

As solar operators work to improve the efficiency, reliability, and safety of their plants and processes, the integration of wireless monitoring can allow such professionals to do so on an ongoing basis—anytime, anywhere. The benefits seem custom-built for PV systems: early answers, reliable automation, and bigger data, all delivered at lower cost, in real-time.

Craig Goodwin is the senior product marketing manager of Synapse Wireless.

Synapse Wireless
www.synapse-wireless.com