Photovoltaic energy storage plant construction policy documents

What are the requirements for large PV power plants?

Large PV power plants (i.e., greater than 20 MW at the utility interconnection) that provide power into the bulk power system must comply with standards related to reliability and adequacy promulgated by authorities such as NERC and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

Why should you track energy availability in a PV operation contract?

Tracking this availability (or unavailability) provides transparency into the equipment reliability state to all parties involved in an O&M services contract. In most PV operation contracts, energy will be the driving factor of whether the system is operating as expected.

Which inverter is required for a combined PV and storage system?

Combined PV and storage system topologies will generally require a bi-directional inverter, either as the primary inverter solution (DC-coupled) or in addition to the unidirectional PV inverters (AC-coupled).

How much of a PV module can be recycled?

Demonstration projects at SolarWorld and commercial-scale recycling operations at First Solar have shown that 84% to 90% by weight of a PV module can be recycled (Larsen 2009). If a system transfers ownership, it is important to consider how warranties are handled.

Should a PV O&M plan include decommissioning?

Include decommissioning in the PV O&M plan and/or asset management. The residential and small commercial O&M focus is on fleet performance goals rather than individual systems; meeting performance warranties of individual systems to meet customer satisfaction goals should be balanced against cost and cash-flow optimization.

How is operations quality determined in PV plant operations?

In the field of PV plant operations, operations quality is determined by (1) the ratio of the amount of energy harvested to the potential amount of energy available for a particular plant and (2) plant equipment availability over time.