A Digital Twin is an enhanced virtual replica of a physical asset, which provides users with a more intuitive and structured means of interacting with data associated with that physical asset. It also serves as an auditable system of record, aggregating and normalizing data from multiple sources to provide asset owners and operators granular insights into the performance of their assets. Geo-located data within the Digital Twin streamlines action, helping to reduce operating costs and time-to-action.
Read on for eight ways a solar digital twin can address asset underperformance on solar farms.
8 Ways to Use a Digital Twin to Improve Solar Asset Performance
1. Comprehensive Monitoring and Control
Digital twins provide comprehensive monitoring of solar farm components such as panels, inverters, and trackers. By representing performance data input from various sensors, inspections, and other sources, a solar digital twin can identify anomalies, detect underperforming assets, and alert operators to potential issues. Moreover, localizing these insights to specific GPS locations on a solar farm is critical for both field and office teams. This allows for timely corrective actions, reducing downtime and maximizing energy production.
2. A Clearinghouse for Essential Data Streams
Solar digital twins enable operators to store disparate and complex data streams, serving as a system of record for a solar farm. Datasets integrated into a digital twin’s solar site records can include inspection reports, weather and power performance data from sensors located on a farm, SCADA or DAS integrations, technical specifications, performance models, warranty documentation, shipping receipts, photographs, and field notes.
3. Warranty Claims Assistance
Digital twin store solar site records, including visual evidence, relevant inspection data, and identifying information such as serial numbers – thus expediting the warranty claims process with equipment manufacturers. The relevant information stored in a digital twin can easily be transmitted to OEMs. Having a unified system of record for your assets, asset managers and OEM can track the history of the equipment.
READ MORE ABOUT RAPTOR SOLAR’S WARRANTY CLAIMS PRODUCT
4. Power Production Analysis
Accurate power production analysis culled from solar site records is crucial for asset managers to conduct root-cause analyses. A solar digital twin allows for the comparison of power production statistics with insights such as anomalies identified during inspections, irradiance metrics, and weather conditions. Contextualizing power loss within a framework of numerous competing factors allows for quicker remediation and thus assists in stemming asset underperformance.
5. Field Flexibility via Mobile Digital Twins
Field technicians can use a mobile version of a map-based digital twin to quickly locate both themselves and affected equipment on a sprawling solar farm. Once in the field, technicians can identify and address any anomalies and access task lists, notes, and equipment information from a digital twin. Technicians can also contribute to the solar digital twin’s site records by submitting written updates and photos while in the field.
6. Lifecycle Management
Throughout the lifecycle of a utility-scale solar farm, numerous handoff points arise, making it crucial to have a centralized data repository — in the form of a digital twin — for maintaining an auditable history of pertinent data. The solar digital twin becomes a vital hub for all stakeholders at all stages of a solar installation. By consolidating key information and solar site records such as financial analysis and operational data, a digital twin ensures transparency and accountability at every stage. Whether it’s passing the project from the development team to the construction team or transitioning it to the operations phase, a centralized repository simplifies the transfer of critical information, fosters collaboration, and enhances the overall efficiency of solar projects.
7. A Learning System via a Data Stack
Solar digital twins act as learning systems, continuously evolving and improving based on real-time data and feedback from site records. As new data becomes available via a data stack, the digital twin’s accuracy increases. Operators can leverage the insights to fine-tune processes, optimize asset performance, and identify opportunities for further efficiency gains. This iterative improvement cycle ensures that the solar farm operates at its highest potential.
8. Incorporating Robotics and Machine Learning
The integration of robotics, such as drone-in-a-box (DIAB) technology, has brought a new dimension to the data inputs of digital twins in solar projects. By leveraging autonomous drones for solar farm inspections, DIAB collects valuable data that feeds into a digital twin‘s solar site records. Through machine learning algorithms and pattern recognition, this data can be analyzed to identify and detect equipment defects, enabling remediation and optimizing the overall performance of solar farms. The combination of robotics and digital twins offers a powerful solution for efficient monitoring, diagnosis, and decision-making.
Solar digital twin technology has the potential to revolutionize the maintenance and operations of solar farms by stemming asset underperformance. Digital twins provide real-time insights and analytics, enabling operators to proactively manage assets, optimize performance, and enhance overall efficiency.
Next steps
From the civil engineering on your site down to the wiring on the back of your panels, the Raptor Solar platform provides you detailed, up-to-date data on the conditions and performance of your solar fleet so that your team has the intel they need to do their jobs effectively, quickly, and safely.
