Advanced testing of PV plants using portable SCADA tool

Abstract

The Performance ratio (PR) describes the technical quality of PV installation. On yearly basis, it is a good performance indicator for monitoring and comparisons of PV plants at different locations, but for shorter testing periods or commissioning, weekly -based or hourly-based indicators are preferable. We have developed a testing tool based on small SCADA which allows on-field measurements. The main advantages are flexibility and speed of testing. Thanks to the recent developments of "smart" sensors, the measuring tool can be adapted and reconfigured in accordance with the scale and type of equipment under test. Sensor data are collected and processed on site and performance indicators are extracted nearly in real-time. This report describes the methodology and practical experience in two application cases implemented in the frame of PV CROPS project.