Web tools for performance analysis
and planning support for solar
energy plants starting from
remotely sensed optical images
Dr. Marco Morelli
University of Milano – Department of Physics Flyby S.r.l. – R&D Department
1.
Introduction
2.
Scheme of the web services
3.
CSP-Planner service
4.
CSP-Controller service
5.
First results obtained
6.
Current coverage and users
7.
Free access to the demo versions
8.
Conclusion and outlooks
Flyby developed two innovative web
services in the field of renewable energy also through the collaboration with the
University of Milano and the participation to the FP7 ENDORSE project
Introduction
The services concern with solar energy plants planning and monitoring, exploiting satellite-based data (MACC Core Services) and being delivered on the web using also GIS technology
• “Controller” web service -> monitors
in near real-time the performances of an existing solar energy plant, readily detecting possible malfunctioning
• “Planner” web service -> supports
the identification of the best site for installing a new solar energy plant and for configuring it optimally, providing also an estimate of the potential
investment’s profitability
The two services, that are adaptable to any solar energy plant (e.g. PV, CSP or CPV), are the followings:
Scheme of the web services
Controller Planner
Near real-time (day before) solar irradiance (GHI or BNI) calculated from satellite every 15 minutes
Plane of arrays/receivers irradiance modelling
Solar energy plant and inverters physical modelling
NRT expected AC power behavior
Comparison with the measured production and alert in case of malfunctioning
Average solar irradiance (GHI or BNI) and average temperature (2m) calculated
from long time-series of satellite imagery
Expected monthly AC energy production
Expected break-even point and Return on Investment (RoI) analysis
Location and technical features
of the planned solar energy plant
Solar energy plant and inverters physical
Example: CSP energy plants
Select Location page
• Average BNI map
• Average air temperature map
• Average wind intensity map
CSP-Planner service: inputs (II)
Technical features page
• Solar collector modules
• Heat Transfer Fluid
• Glass Envelope
• Absorber Pipe
CSP-Planner service: outputs
Plant producibility and economics page
• Monthly energy yield
• Global economic indicators
• Cumulative cash flow
First results obtained
y = 0.9398x + 298.75 R² = 0.9043 0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 14000 16000 18000 20000 0 5000 10000 15000 20000 Cal cul at ed da ily A C ene rg y ( kWh)Measured daily AC energy (kWh)
The service has been successfully tested in August 2013 for a CSP plant located in Sicily (Italy): the discrepancies between the satellite-based AC power and the measured one were below 10%, i.e. within the typical end-users
Current coverage and users
• the current coverage of the Controller
service is the MSG satellite FOV (from -66° to 66° both in latitude and longitude)
• the Planner service has been developed
only for Italy (at the moment)
• the CSP-Planner/Controller services
have been tested and received positive feedbacks from many end-users, such as:
• Enel Green Power (Italy) • Endesa (Spain)
• Sahara Forest Project (Norway) • ESTELA (European Association)
CSP-Planner and CSP-Controller are currently free accessible online (in their demo versions) with the following credentials:
Free access to the demo versions
CSP-Planner Web-address: http://csp-planner.solarsat.eu/i-EM/Login.aspx User: user Password: Ersim_2011 CSP-Controller Web-address: http://pvcontroller2.solarsat.eu/CSPController/Login.aspx User: csp_user Password: Ersim_2011
Conclusion and outlooks
• The PV-Planner/Controller services have being
satisfactorily used since several years by tens of end-users
• CSP-Planner and CSP-Controller have been tailored for parabolic-trough CSP plants, but are currently being developed to include also Fresnel CSPs
• The Planner and the Controller services are being adapted also to CPV plants
• The satellite-based temperature, currently used in the Planner service, could be included also in the Controller service (NRT technique in development with the
collaboration of the University of Genoa) -> big-quick environmental data handling problem still to be solved!
Contacts
Many thanks for your attention!
Dr. Marco Morelli
Department of Physics University of Milano, Italy
Email: [email protected]
Eng. Andrea Masini
R&D Department
Flyby S.r.l., Livorno, Italy
Email: [email protected]
Dr. Marco Alberto Carlo Potenza
Department of Physics University of Milano, Italy
Email: [email protected]
Dr. Fabrizio Ruffini
R&D Department
Flyby S.r.l., Livorno, Italy