Renewable energy sector

General Discussion
1

Hi,

As Ignition integrators, we would like to enter the market of renewable energy sources.

  1. What are your experiences in this topic?
  2. How different is this sector from the industrial sector? I mean technology, i.e. what controllers did you connect with, did you connect directly to inverters or other devices.
  3. What do you need to pay more attention to? E.g. response times, redundancy, database connections, scripting, alerting, maintenance, etc.
  4. How do customers react to SCADA? What convinces them to this solution?

Thanks in advance for your responses :blush:

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I do a lot of work in power systems.

At an industrial level, you are likely going to be working with a Power Meter or PQA that has CT or Rogowski coils on the solar output, not the actual inverters. In a residential setting, the inverters are basic and likely just provide wifi with their own basic metrics built in. I have solar at my premises, however I use a CT into a Janitza 512 Pro Power Quality Analyser that Ignition then talks to on ModBusTCP.

I also work with BESS (Battery Energy Storage Systems) and do System Services like FFR (Fast Frequency Response). Again I use Janitza in these systems and custom scripts in Igntiion to make it all work.

I think the main selling point of Ignition SCADA is you can give the customer a system that fits their purposes and integrates with their devices whatever they may be.

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Just for clarity, PQA = Power Quality Analyzer and CT = Current Transformer.

I don't have any first hand experience with using Ignition with RE sources, but I did do some research on monitoring technologies as a possible subject for my master's thesis. I ended up doing something else, but it was an interesting topic.

SCADA grid monitoring is sort of a joke to power grid engineers for event monitoring as SCADA, in the traditional sense, recorded data once every 1-2 seconds. The majority of monitoring devices used in today's grid are PMUs and microPMUs (phasor measurement units), which report 30-60 times per second.

I've seen emerging technology called CPOW, or continuous point-on-wave, monitoring where data is sampled several thousand times per second without any filtering or sine wave force fitting. The data storage requirements are huge for these kinds of systems. This probably doesn't have much to do with your renewables questions, unless they are grid tied systems. I just like talking about this kind of stuff :slight_smile:

There are devices already in use that can sample and record data at high rates, but they usually are event triggered. This means an event needs to be pre-defined, but not all events can be known or characterized correclty. That's where CPOW says "let's record all the time and characterize it later."

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1.Ignition is well-suited for monitoring and controlling renewable energy assets like solar, wind, and energy storage systems. It offers real-time data, scalability, and integration with various devices, making it a strong platform for entering the renewable energy market.

2.The renewable energy sector differs from the industrial sector mainly in the types of equipment and communication protocols used. In renewable projects, you often connect with inverters, energy meters, weather stations, and battery management systems, using protocols like Modbus, OPC UA, and MQTT. Unlike traditional industrial systems, there is a greater focus on monitoring environmental data and integrating with energy grids.

  1. In the renewable energy sector, key focus areas include:
    Response Times: Crucial for real-time monitoring and control.
    Redundancy: Ensures system reliability and uptime.
    Database Connections: Efficient data storage and retrieval for large datasets.
    Scripting and Automation: For data processing and system optimization.
    Alerting: Immediate notification of issues for prompt action.
    Maintenance and Predictive Analytics: Preventive maintenance to minimize downtime and extend equipment life.

5.Customers generally react positively to SCADA systems due to their ability to provide real-time monitoring, centralized control, and data analytics. Key selling points include improved efficiency, enhanced safety, reduced downtime, and better decision-making through data insights. The ability to integrate with existing systems and the potential for cost savings further convince customers of SCADA's value.