Renewable’s O&M Acclimatizes to COVID-19 Pandemic

Generating electricity during the pandemic remains essential work. It is true that with higher levels of sanitary precautions and less people present at plants, operation and management could become more troublesome. Emphasis ought to be put on the word “could.” GreenTech Media, using Wood Mackenzie’s analysis, reported how the O&M market is making smart use of the crisis to implement digital tools to enhance analytics and remote monitoring. MBN interviewees further provide insight into the many options available for remote renewable O&M.

Globally, renewable energy’s share in the energy mix keeps growing. But keeping these renewable power plants running is not a simple task. The global supply chain, for instance, has been impacted somewhat. In China, as well as in Europe, factories are now starting to operate, making this disturbance temporary. WoodMac identifies O&M as another point being impacted. Protocols regarding physical distancing can impact how efficiently a crew is able to perform their tasks. What is more, it raises operation costs and complicates planning a schedule.

WoodMac sees two distinct O&M strategies arise as a response. The first is through limiting O&M for only the most critical activities. This means that small teams will focus corrective maintenance where it has the maximum impact. The second strategy concerns making optimal use of the teams that are present on-site by making them focus on preventive maintenance. The latter has one major advantage over corrective maintenance as it can be done by repairmen working completely alone.

Regardless of what trend is followed, companies need to prioritize where to spend their now limited human resources. One area of opportunity is to implement Industry 4.0-related, smart applications. Through these digital tools and data analysis systems, as well as remote monitoring tools, companies can work more efficiently from a distance. GreenTech Media argues that these products are costly and take time to deploy. Furthermore, companies might not be looking into these technologies at all as they are prioritizing other necessities.

MBN interviewees think there is much to be gained, however. Providing these services is an opportunity as well, says Rafael Ordoñez, Director General of Telener 360. “SMEs have shifted from focusing solely on construction to now also include maintenance services and the offer of added-value services such as procedure development, software solutions, monitoring systems and personnel training that helps them develop the tools required for them to provide maintenance services.” Alberto Cuter of Jinko Solar sees this as an opportunity for local players to hop on to. “Maintenance is a strategic and fundamental part of the development of any generation plant to ensure that production levels remain high. A proper maintenance service should be considered from the beginning of a project to be able to clean the modules and perform preventive maintenance properly,” he said. One example of a company that can enhance efficiency of renewable energy projects is Aerospec Technologies. Country Manager Luis Escobedo told us how drones help reduce downtime needed for inspections: “Traditional O&M service companies take 45 days to complete inspection processes at a solar PV utility-scale project. We finish this process in a span of three days and at a fraction of our competitors’ total cost,” he said. The company uses thermal imaging drone inspection and turns data into specific analyses. All of this is done to enhance preventive maintenance in utility-scale projects. “The data management platform translates color gradient temperatures into the exact fault of each defective panel, such as glass fractures, shading, hot spots, bypassed diodes, string outages and disconnects,” said Escobedo.