“Unifying all the plants under a single monitoring system is a fundamental element for the correct management of the assets, but it is not enough if not supported by a careful analysis and interpretation of the same. “Connect data is better than collect data” – Claudio Alori, Head of Monitoring & Performance at EF Solare.
READING AND ANALYSIS OF PLANT DATA TO OPTIMIZE ASSET MANAGEMENT: EF SOLARE’S INTEGRATED MONITORING
EF Solare, as the first solar operator in Italy and one of the main ones in Europe, owns a very large and varied portfolio of over 300 photovoltaic plants distributed throughout the country. In order to pursue an efficient and effective management of its assets, EF Solare has committed in recent years to the digitalization of these assets by equipping itself with an integrated monitoring system. In fact, having a monitoring system that is reliable and adaptable to the peculiarities of the plants, which collects all the data in a single platform, helps in the use and correct interpretation of the same data.
The integrated monitoring system: “Connect data is better than collect data”
Thanks to the collaboration with a specialized international partner, EF Solare is equipping itself with an advanced integrated monitoring system capable of collecting and analyzing the data coming from the different plant components, allowing to verify their correct functioning and at the same time to know in real time the electrical production of the plant. In the first 4 months of the project 70-80 plants for 330-360 MW were involved, in 4 different regions. It is important to consider that the numerous data that are generated and transmitted by the system represent the basis for a correct asset management as they provide essential information to identify the state of the plants and their optimization possibilities through a careful and timely corrective maintenance.
«This project represents the last step of an activity that has kept us involved for more than two years. Unifying all the plants under a single monitoring system is a fundamental element for the correct management of the assets, but it is not enough if not supported by a careful analysis and interpretation of the same. “Connect data is better than collect data”. This is the added value that we give every day to our colleagues in Operation & Maintenance, helping them to timely diagnose malfunctions or failures of components, giving them the tools to identify the various corrective actions needed. The analysis of the data will allow us to make, in an increasingly conscious way, Data-Driven business choices. This process of integration of monitoring is therefore central to the different business functions and represents a competitive element in asset management” explains Claudio Alori, Head of Monitoring & Performance at EF Solare.
In a rapidly changing world, digital transformation is a real necessity and for this reason EF Solare continues with determination and ambition its important digitalization process that will allow the company to respond more quickly to future changes in a sector that is now more evolving than ever. The urgent development that will affect the renewable energy sector, and in particular the photovoltaic sector, has led EF Solare to evolve its approach by recognizing the value of data and their meanings in order to correctly interpret the present needs to stimulate the growth of the entire sector and achieve, through a rapid digital evolution, a future of higher awareness and more sustainable for all.