Feature: The digitalisation of solar

There has been substantial investment in the application of digital technology within the solar sector, leading to rapid innovations, resulting in one of the most flexible forms of power generation available. Alison Finch, Chief Marketing Officer, Huawei Solar Europe explains.

Technological advances and the move towards a low carbon economy are transforming the global energy supply. The use of renewable technologies and other forms of decentralised energy continue to increase, with countries moving away from centralised models of generation from conventional sources. But while renewables are central to reducing global CO2 emissions, the variability of their output represents a challenge in terms of integration into energy systems. With increasing amounts of intermittent technologies on grids, such as solar and wind, ensuring a stable and responsive electricity supply is key.

This is a challenge not just facing grid operators, but the energy sector as a whole. Due to solar's increasing share in the global energy supply "“ growing by 50 per cent year-on-year in 2016, according to Solar Power Europe's Global Market Outlook "“ solar is a technology that is now well placed to respond. There has been substantial investment in the application of digital technology within the solar sector, leading to rapid innovations, resulting in one of the most flexible forms of power generation available.

What is Industry 4.0 and how does it impact solar?
Around 250 years ago, the First Industrial Revolution began, with the use of water and steam power to mechanise production. Today, after two further industrial ages, driven first by electricity and then by IT and electronics, a digital revolution is firmly underway, considered by many to be the Fourth Industrial Revolution, or Industry 4.0.

The way in which individuals, small companies, and large enterprises conduct business and interact with one-another is currently undergoing fundamental change, as a result of smart technology: big data, cloud computing and advanced communication technologies, giving rise to virtual realities, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT). The use of such technologies is set to increase exponentially over the next decade, with IHS forecasting that the IoT market will grow from an installed base of 15.4 billion devices in 2015 to 75.4 billion in 2025 .

The benefits of applying such technologies to solar are significant. By facilitating increased control and more effective management, Industry 4.0 has the ability to improve both the reliability and stability of this abundant but intermittent form of energy generation. Increasing responsiveness through digitalisation is also helping the sector to become more competitive. As PV costs continue to fall, they will begin to compare favourably to retail electricity prices, so that a need for direct subsidy will no longer exist. For grid parity to be achieved, the industry must commit to the long-term digitalisation of solar, and continue to invest in making solar "smart".

The Digitalisation of Solar
Harnessing the power of data through smart technologies is central to the digitalisation of solar. From individual sensors to inverters, solar plants produce huge amounts of data which, through intelligent analysis, can reveal valuable information. The application of complex algorithms equips asset managers with the means to forecast with accuracy and make real-time decisions that increase energy yields, thereby vastly increasing the return on investment of each solar array.

One such technology is Huawei Solar's unique I-V Curve Diagnosis, which enables solar plant owners and operators to remotely monitor their assets in minute detail. Each PV string provides granular data about an array which, when aggregated, provides accurate information about the performance of a whole plant. From the comfort of their personal computer or smart phone, energy managers can monitor all PV strings at a plant and estimate performance online with high precision, accurately identifying faults and the root cause of issues. This enables plant owners and O&M operators to greatly increase uptime, through predicative maintenance and reduce operating costs, by removing the need for expensive on-site testing.

Technologies such as this can be incorporated into a comprehensive, digitalised system, which can both help to optimise the overall performance of a solar power plant and to maintain grid stability. Huawei's FusionSolar Smart PV Solution combines smart hardware, from the inverter through to innovative power line communication, with digital information and internet technology. This enables automated PV system O&M through smart data collection, high-speed communications and cloud computing.

This complete solution optimises plant uptime and increases energy yields. As a direct outcome, asset managers typically see much lower failure rates, thereby simultaneously increasing their return on investment and lowering operating costs. At Toggam Farm, Lakenheath, UK, a 12.8MW PV plant uses Huawei FusionSolar enabling fully digitalised automated O&M. A balanced and flexible infrastructure comprised of multiple string inverters (rather than a few central inverters) ensures system reliability; one inverter failure simply cannot impact the whole array. As a result of Huawei's string inverters and smart PV controller equipment, the plant generates higher yields, safely and reliably, whilst reducing O&M costs.

In addition to utility-scale applications, digitalisation will also dramatically change the residential solar market. Households are getting smarter every day, with more and more appliances connected by the Internet of Things. By combining these with smart PV hardware and intelligent monitoring software, a complete smart home energy system can be created. This is what Huawei has delivered with FusionHome, the Smart Energy Solution that enables customers to effectively manage their power consumption and maximize energy yields. The Huawei FusionHome Smart Energy Center is capable of communicating with intelligent home appliances, controlling information and energy flows to maximize the amount of solar power used.

Although the advantages in terms of energy yields and cost reductions are clear, solar's successful digitalisation will also depend on both grid stability and cyber-security. Huawei uses well-defined, advanced power electronics to provide enhanced grid support, stability, power quality and increased grid resilience. FusionSolar supports complex, low voltage, ride through and reactive power provisions, to bring frequency and voltage stability to weak grids. Likewise, cyber-security can significantly jeopardise the availability and reliability of power systems; as a leading ICT provider, Huawei participates in international protection standards to tackle present and future system vulnerabilities.

Innovation and Collaboration
So while it was energy that was at the heart of early industrial revolutions, it is now the sector which perhaps stands to gain the most from Industry 4.0. The solar industry must now work together and commit to investing in the innovation and technologies that will enable it to realise the benefits of digitalisation.

Huawei is a company which is uniquely placed to take a lead in this transition, given its extensive expertise across both telecoms and energy. Huawei is able to take the global experience it has in developing and deploying wireless network infrastructure and smart phones and apply this to the technological development of PV. It is also a company which has innovation at its core, with over 40 per cent of its 180,000 employees working in R&D and over $45billion spent on product innovations over the past 10 years. From natural cooling technology to preventative maintenance to integrated DC disconnect, solar technology must be at the cutting-edge of digitalisation to maximise energy returns.

The digital transformation of solar cannot be delivered by one company alone. If the industry is to grasp the opportunities presented by digitalisation, companies across the sector will need to work together to construct the systems and structures that will support a "smart" solar industry. To this end, the European solar PV association, SolarPower Europe, recently launched its Seven commitments on digitalisation , a project I had the pleasure to lead, as a member of its Digitalisation & Solar Task Force. The commitments cover prosumer choice, peer-to-peer trading and smart and stable grids among other topics, all of which are seen as part of bringing forward 'digital solar'.

Further to this, Huawei is building 15 new "˜OpenLabs' across the world, where it will work collaboratively with customers, industry organisations and partners to jointly address the challenges of the digital transformation across smart cities, energy, finance, logistics, manufacturing, and media.

Solar's Digitalised Future
The smart technologies of Industry 4.0 have the capacity to address many of the challenges facing the solar sector, while helping to widen access to clean and affordable electricity. Digitalisation is already beginning to change the industry, but long-term thinking, investment and collaboration will be required if this is to be fully realised. Huawei is committed to progressing this digital transition, driven by its dedication to technological innovation.