A certain solar project would not be considered successful just upon commissioning. It would depend on how well the installation operates in subsequent years. This could be affected by a number of factors such as equipment failures, missing generation, and avoidable downtime.
At this point, solar asset management services become useful. It combines monitoring, analytics, maintenance, and performance optimization in one solution, which allows project owners to maximise their efficiency.

Solar ROI is determined by asset performance because a plant earns money purely by producing electricity. When equipment underperforms or goes offline, less electricity is generated and revenue drops.
Performance issues may include:

• Inverter and equipment failure
• Module failure
• Impact of dirt and environment on output
• Communication or monitoring problems
• Unplanned downtime
• Time lost to necessary maintenance

Left unresolved, these are some of the common reasons a solar plant is not performing well, and the sooner such issues are identified, the faster they can be resolved.
 

1. Continuous Monitoring
Yes. Continuous monitoring enables the operator to compare real data with expected generation. Indeed, an abnormal pattern signals to an operator possible equipment issues and performance problems before they lead to losses.

2. Predictive Maintenance
Yes, predictive maintenance is performed on the basis of operational data analysis, which means that predictive maintenance specialists will be able to come up with a plan and avoid unexpected outages.

3. Performance Optimisation
The analysis of performance can identify the areas in energy generation where it falls short of expectations. By identifying the points requiring intervention, measures can be implemented to increase efficiency and energy production.

 

Solar O&M Services enable the physical operation of the plant and include inspection, preventive maintenance, repair, as well as technical support. Moreover, asset management adds value to the above activities, considering the performance of the plant in the wider operational and commercial sense.
In doing so, the owners will:

• Ensure effective monitoring of the plant availability
• Determine the problems that occur frequently.
• Rank the maintenance activities.
•  Minimise the non-avoidable downtime.
• Protect against the loss of energy generation
   

Plant performance is significantly influenced during engineering and construction. First-rate EPC services of solar projects involve the proper selection of the system and equipment, construction processes, and commissioning.
A full synchronisation of the EPC process and asset management allows the operational staff to have full information about the performance of the plant and better understand the nature of the issues they face.

Effectively implemented asset management enables the group to convert the plant’s data into useful information.
Such data as-

• Energy generation
• Efficiency of the plant
• Performance of equipment
• Downtime
• Historical data

Allows the experts to identify gaps in the performance and facilitate that gives them the opportunity for immediate decision-making.
 

Waaree Renewable Technologies Limited combines knowledge in renewable energy EPC with asset management. This includes continuous monitoring of the power plants’ performance and data analysis.
Waaree RTL claims to have significant asset management experience of 1.2 GW and has more than 99% uptime.

In the case of Asset Management, everything is simple-
Better monitoring → Faster fault detection → Less downtime → Higher generation → Higher returns on investment
Asset management should be viewed as a strategic approach in connection with plants generating income.

The solar return on investment relies on the performance of the plant during its operations. Professional solar asset management enables owners to monitor the performance of the plant, resolve problems in a timely manner, minimise downtime, and increase generation.
Solar asset management can be easily combined with solar o&m and EPC services for solar projects in order to ensure reliable performance of the plants.