Do energy storage systems need a safety assessment?

Safety Assessment: As more energy storage systems have become operational, new safety features have been mandated through various codes and standards, professional organizations, and learned best practices. The design and commissioning teams need to stay current so that required safety assessments can be performed during commissioning.

What should a PV O&M plan include?

A documented PV O&M plan for a system or fleet of systems should include the following (depending on system size, complexity, and investment). List of responsible-party contact information including site owner and offtaker of power, utility, local jurisdiction, local landowner, and emergency numbers.

What should NREL consider when testing energy storage systems?

Photo by Owen Roberts, NREL Considerations for energy storage system testing include the following. If cost-justified by a large purchase, consider qualification testing of battery systems. Include test conditions in specifications for battery O&M diagnostics and testing.

Why should you track energy availability in a PV operation contract?

Tracking this availability (or unavailability) provides transparency into the equipment reliability state to all parties involved in an O&M services contract. In most PV operation contracts, energy will be the driving factor of whether the system is operating as expected.

How does energy affect a PV operation contract?

In most PV operation contracts, energy will be the driving factor of whether the system is operating as expected. EPC guarantees, operator guarantees, owner measure of ROI, and other considerations for a contract are mostly based on whether the system produced energy as it was expected to.

How do I backup my solar monitoring system?

Reliable data backup and storage should be provided. A best practice is for data loggers to store 6 months of data and to backup data to cloud storage. A reliable method to “backhaul” the data is required. Most connect to the internet via DSL, but be aware that many site owners will not allow the solar monitoring system to use the site network.