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People, equipment, construction, and technology best practices can optimize performance. As the solar sector matures, pressure increases for asset owners to earn higher returns. Not surprisingly, so has the demand to improve operations and maintenance (O&M) efficiency, the largest component of the post-construction budget for a utility-scale solar asset. Whether an asset owner performs O&M in-house, outsources it to a third party, or uses a hybrid combination of the two, a smart O&M strategy can substantially increase efficiency. Four strategies to consider are personnel, equipment, construction, and technology. Focus on people Recruiting and retaining competent people is one of the biggest threats that could impede the global transition to clean energy. In 2022, 44% of solar employers said it was “very difficult” to find qualified candidates. This is the highest percentage ever recorded in the National Solar Employment Census of the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) of the United States. Competition, a shortage of candidates and a lack of training and technical knowledge are factors that contribute to this situation. With 16,585 jobs in the solar energy sector in the United States, the challenge is considerable and falls primarily on asset owners, who are not technically in the “people business.” But operation and maintenance service providers are, especially the large national operators. Its complicated. Getting caught up in the day-to-day work of recruiting, training and managing talent can be a risky distraction for asset owners, diverting their attention from their number one priority: solar asset performance and production. It is especially difficult when the asset is located in remote or less desirable locations. However, ensuring preventive and corrective maintenance is essential for asset performance. And this requires highly qualified personnel with superior technical and security knowledge. One solution for asset owners is to skip the people and instead leverage the resources whose business is people: third-party O&M service providers. For staffing challenges, service providers with a national presence have the ability to secure adequate resources to meet immediate needs. And for remote assets, they may already serve the area, meaning they may already have other assets they operate and maintain nearby. Outsourcing to a qualified partner also alleviates the asset owners workforce development headaches. Becoming a solar field technical expert takes years, and with the proliferation of new technologies, the learning curve never stops. While in-house solar installers may have years of project construction experience, they are not likely to develop all the skills necessary to become a field technician, much less move up the companys career ladder into roles. project management reviews. Asset owners offer limited opportunities to field technicians who require specialized electromechanical training or mentoring. On the other hand, O&M service providers are dedicated to developing talents at scale. Larger national companies have invested heavily in workforce development infrastructure, from building a multimillion-dollar renewable energy training center to a mobile university that brings training directly to the workplace. Ensuring that technicians receive the vital safety training, certifications and recertifications necessary to meet the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (a US Department of Labor agency known as OSHA) is also the responsibility of service providers. Equipment strategy Solar energy supply chain problems have been a reality since the pandemic. Although concerns about availability diminish, managing the inventory of panels, inverters and other equipment to meet preventive and emergency maintenance needs at multiple sites is a significant challenge, especially for owners of large asset portfolios. Ten different projects could require holding inventories from 20 different panel and inverter suppliers, which is not surprising since the projects were likely built by different engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) service providers who sourced pieces available at that time. Unfortunately for the asset owner, this means 100 different types of parts, or more than 200 spares to ensure quick replacement and avoid the dreaded and costly downtime. This poses a big challenge for asset owners who maintain their own spare parts inventory. Even if they have outsourced to a third-party spare parts supplier, they face the daunting task of contracting separately for each project. As the solar sector matures, forward-thinking asset owners are factoring their equipment needs into their operation and maintenance strategy. They are standardizing the requirements for new projects. When replacing worn panels and inverters, EPCs are contractually required to source from a short list of preferred manufacturers and OEMs. By leveraging similar equipment across multiple projects, asset owners can allocate capital to bulk purchase fewer types of panels and inverters to alleviate spare parts and inventory issues. Or, by outsourcing spare parts inventory to a third-party O&M provider, they can establish a master services contract that covers all projects and substantially reduce the time and effort associated with contract negotiations. This strategic approach not only reduces spare parts inventory issues, but allows asset owners to proactively ensure their projects are built with the highest quality components and optimize bulk procurement pricing. Training needs also decrease as technicians service fewer types of equipment. Less equipment variation also means faster knowledge transfer and more agile deployment of technicians from one project to another for corrective maintenance or unforeseen catastrophic problems. Construction Plans Selecting an EPC is one area where the old adage of “pick two: fast, cheap or high quality” holds true, especially from an operations and maintenance perspective. Fast and cheap can lead to long-term problems that undermine an assets performance and productivity, not to mention catastrophic failures. Choose an EPC with a reputation and track record of delivering quality projects on time and on budget. Make sure you have a 100 percent complete site design before signing the EPC contract. Dont leave the final details to chance: thats where panels are installed and wiring is done, and where many operation and maintenance nightmares begin. This is because some EPCs typically employ a handful of experienced in-house professionals and outsource much of the labor to install the panels and wiring. When it comes to labor, make sure the EPC does not prioritize cheapness over quality. Technical Insights Health monitoring is a vital O&M task that requires examining and analyzing large amounts of data - from power outages to identifying faulty modules, calculating module efficiency and complying with network standards. - to ensure optimal performance of the photovoltaic system. Traditionally, condition monitoring has been manual and dispersive. Fortunately, advances in automating health monitoring and data performance analysis are changing this. Today, sophisticated asset owners turn to remote condition monitoring software to inform their operation and maintenance strategies and corrective maintenance plans. Monitoring is conducted at remote operations centers, such as Pearces NIRC/CIP Remote Operations Center, designed to meet the North American Electric Reliability Corporations (NERC) Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) standards. In these centers, performance analysis specialists have a birds eye view of several production centers at once. Automated condition monitoring provides Pearce with 24x7 visibility into any facilitys performance levels, identifying inefficiencies and performing data analysis to determine the root cause of an issue. Analyzing and diagnosing a problem remotely without sending a technician to the jobsite to assess the situation helps manage costs. And it speeds up the start-up of a project, significantly reducing downtime. Condition monitoring systems make O&M service smarter and more efficient. With data on the exact point of failure, whether it be a dirty filter panel, a faulty PV connector, or a malfunctioning inverter, the asset owner or their outsourced O&M service provider can dispatch a technician with the knowledge suitable for the exact location to resolve the problem more quickly. Large-scale solar energy has come a long way since the first solar park was built almost four decades ago. As the industry continues to evolve, O&M best practices and technology will too, paving the way for asset owners to deploy smarter strategies and achieve greater performance. |
