Site monitoring misses array failures (even major ones)

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1 NEW YORK STATE S PREMIER CONFERENCE FOR ADVANCED ENERGY Commercial & Utility Scale Photovoltaic Array Management Gordy Presher gpresher@solarsentry.com

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3 Solar arrays are underperforming especially as they age Independent studies document that annual array losses average 2.5% i 0.5% - Solar cell degradation 2.0% -Fixable defects and failures, e.g. installation quality, product defects, and environmental lightning, hail, UV exposure, soiling, vermin Masked by solar resource variability (up to +40% in any given month) Site monitoring misses array failures (even major ones) 2003 Oakland, CA site, with today s leading monitoring system Site performance dropped 13% in a single month Unnoticed from September 2007 until March 2009 Found only because of engineering interest in the site Diagnosed by highly skilled personnel Summary: Site monitoring is ineffective at finding underperformance and even if it s found, expensive manual diagnostics by skilled personnel are still required. 3

4 Service-based Approach Embed inexpensive purpose-built electronics in the array As a service, Solar Sentry: collects data securely via web analyzes data to pinpoint problems dispatches lowest-cost personnel by deploys targeted power management technology Advantages Inexpensive, real-time problem resolution Reduced costly manual diagnostics Maintenance as needed replaces scheduled maintenance Component-level information Benefits More energy produced at lower cost/kwh Significantly better bottom line Financial returns assured Customer can collect on 25-year solar panel warranties Value-oriented Technology Patents pending in US, EU, Japan & Canada Another patent in process aimed at power optimization IP aimed at simplification and costreduction of monitoring, diagnostics and power optimization i 4

5 Invest 2% in instrumentation and diagnostic services Harvest more energy Reduce energy cost/kwh (LCOE) Cut your financial risk Significantly improve your bottom-line 500 kw Roof-mounted Ontario solar electric site Original Solar Power Site with Solar Array Diagnostics Site installed cost $ 2,497,500 $ 2,546, % Projected annual revenue $ 318,502 $ 337, % Annual operating cost $ (12,740) $ (12,247) -3.9% Annual amortized capital $ (254,376) $ (259,344) +2.0% i Annual pro-forma profit $ 51,386 $ 66, % Payback from Solar Array Diagnostics 3.3 years i 5

6 es esmart TM String Combiners ($0.03/W) Measure and compare strings of panels Find blown fuses, bad or weak strings Internet communications hub Wireless Panel Sentry communications Requires virtually no additional installation training or effort Software ($0.07/W) & Services($0.01/W/yr) End-to-end secure communications Cloud computing database & analysis Actionable diagnostics Three-level dispatch Local caretaker, site maintenance technician & supervisors Site reporting and benchmarking Diagnostics-oriented dashboard Panel Sentries PP Provide 5% panel-level diagnostics Unique panel-level technology Learn more about site performance Find bad panels collect on 25 year warranties ($0.01/W) PP Unique capability with Patents Pending in U.S., Japan, Canada and the E.U. 6

7 Installed May, kW of DC power 216 panels, in 24 strings, with 9 panels/string Fully Instrumented Array 2 esmart TM String Combiners 216 Panel Sentry Adapters Secure data every 6 minutes over internet January 1, 2010, 3:30 PM Solar PanelString Power (Watts) January 1, 2010, 3:30 PM Solar PanelPower (Watts x 10) i

8 Monitoring During Installation On-site tech assistance Automated vs. manual testing Remote engineering oversight Higher quality reduced installation time Problem Discovered Remotely Midway in array a panel connection unmade Remotely observed A 4% initial-quality problem was resolved Monitoring & Diagnostics Improvements in Commissioning Automatic measurement vs. manual Less labor cost, travel and risk Thorough real-time measurements Higher initial quality Lower commissioning costs Everyone wins 8

9 Solar panels are vulnerable to soiling Panels include solar cells wired in series Significant covering of single cell affects entire string Problem identified immediately Rain was in the forecast Three days later Problem resolved Not necessarily the case for all soiling problems leaves etc. vs. 13% lost no knowledge of loss for 18 months Solar Panel Output Loss: 14% String Output Loss: 2% (20% of a full year s harvest) 9

10 Available Solutions Incumbents: Site Monitoring (up to 5 /W) Site uptime/inverter focused No array info costs owners $$$ Insurgents: Instrumented String Combiners (10-30 /W) More granular problem detection Weak diagnostics and mitigation Partial solution without SCADA system Custom SCADA systems adds significant project cost with lower benefit Techies: Panel-level Power Devices (25-60 /W) Optimize energy production from each panel, especially in shade Residential/small commercial focus New site architectures raise installed cost, operating cost and technical risk Solar Sentry Insurgent Techie (11 /W) Fully integrated solution, superior cost/benefit ratio More granular information drives superior analytics Actionable diagnostics and complete system software drive higher site profitability Future Rooftop Market Safety regulations will likely dictate panel-level electronics Opportunity for Techies Enhanced Panel Sentry 10

11 Solar Panel Prices have Fallen Precipitously Prices down 60% in three years Market growth impressive even in difficult financial times Performance-based Incentives Gaining Ground Premium FITs Germany 10 years ago, rate payers (small monthly premiums) Resulted in fast world market growth dominated by Germany Being introduced in N.A. - Ontario, Canada and some states Reduced system prices, in both Germany and rest-of-world srecs Pioneered in NJ Solar set-asides in the renewable energy portfolio Paid for by shareholders/rate payers (small monthly premiums) Driving solar performance & more cost-effective technology Better monitoring and diagnostics solutions More mature service-based offerings will emerge 11

12 So is Solar Sentry Low-cost technology that delivers big dividends 12

13 3 Seconds over Boston June, 2006 NGM 13