EMS Unlocks Performance for Solar, Wind, and Hybrid Plants
GreenPowerMonitor’s advanced energy management system is designed to meet the unique requirements of utility-scale renewable power production.
GreenPowerMonitor, a DNV company, has released an energy management system (EMS) designed specifically for renewable power plant needs. According to GreenPowerMonitor (GPM), the digital platform significantly advances the management and operational efficiency of renewable power production facilities.
Renewable energy transition. Video used courtesy of DNV
Research from parent company DNV, an assurance, risk management, and technical advisory company, indicates that global energy production from renewables will represent 52% of total energy production by 2050. So far this year, renewable energy production is up 50% over last year’s levels.
Managing renewable power production and interfacing with the grid is a highly complex process, and platforms like the EMS are designed to help operators manage these complexities and get the most from renewable power sources.
Concept of renewable energy management. Image used courtesy of Adobe Stock
Managing Renewable Power
Managing utility-scale renewable power production introduces a range of complexities not found in traditional, dispatchable power generation such as coal, gas, and nuclear. In particular, the intermittency of renewable sources necessitates using localized energy storage to store surplus energy during peak supply and to provide supplemental power during low production periods. Additionally, since a renewable plant interfaces with the main power grid, local loads must be carefully managed to meet all power demand requirements.
GPM’s portfolio of renewable power management solutions is designed to address the unique complexities of renewable power production and is categorized into Cloud Solutions and On-Site Solutions. The Cloud Solutions portfolio offers “big picture” remote functions, including data storage, remote monitoring, analytics, financial, and maintenance functions. GPM’s On-Site Solutions are designed to monitor and manage assets in the renewable facility, including the control room and across the plant.
The EMS platform works in sync with GPM’s other platforms, including the company’s supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), Power Plant Controller, and Hybrid Power Plant Controller solutions.
For interfacing with the grid, the EMS can incorporate weather forecasts to automatically generate power dispatch schedules, allowing better management of the renewable power source’s inherent variability. The platform also incorporates price forecasts to determine the optimal time to sell reserve energy back to the grid.
Renewable energy monitoring. Image used courtesy of GreenPowerMonitor
GPM SCADA
The On-Site Solutions portfolio includes the GPM SCADA platform, which controls, monitors, and analyzes operations within the renewable plant itself.
SCADA system architectures comprise hardware and software components designed to collect and transmit data from field equipment to a centralized monitoring and control station.
Programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and remote terminal units are microcomputers that interface with and collect data from the renewable production equipment and relay this data, and in many cases processed information, to a centralized control station via a human-machine interface (HMI), or graphical user interface.
Based on the data, operators can issue commands back through the HMI and PLCs to the plant’s key equipment, such as wind turbines, inverters, battery storage systems, and solar arrays, to ensure proper and efficient operation of the renewable resource.
GPM’s management systems. Image used courtesy of GPM
GreenPowerMonitor
Founded in 2007, GPM initially focused on software solutions to help monitor photovoltaic solar power plants. However, it has now positioned itself more broadly as experts in managing all utility-scale renewable power production types. GPM’s solutions are currently used in more than 7,500 facilities across 90+ countries, representing more than 73 GW of aggregate renewable power production. GPM was acquired by DNV in 2016.