Solar plants do not consistently generate energy; instead, they produce it only when conditions permit, as their output is contingent upon weather conditions. For instance, a single cloud can lead to a significant reduction in energy production.
The new monitoring system is designed to observe and forecast the performance of these plants and also modify the auction that determines energy prices to reflect more realistic conditions.
The objective was to investigate the relationship between solar plants and weather conditions in terms of energy production. The team employed devices that have been available on the market for several years, to which they introduced new implementations. With the aid of these devices, the collection of equipment, referred to as Extended Phasor Measurement Units, is capable of collecting energy data (including current, voltage, and frequency) as well as meteorological data (such as solar radiation).
The essential point is that this data is gathered every 10th of a second, with remarkable detail; so much so that it produces approximately 2 to 3 gigabytes of data monthly. Since the devices are synchronized with one another and situated in various locations, including adjacent solar plants, the information they supply enables one to understand past events and predict future occurrences.
It’s about closely monitoring the systems to gather as much information as possible and being able to react to any negative effects that could affect the stability of the electrical grid.
Víctor Pallares López, Researcher, University of Cordoba
The closer the monitoring is, the quicker measures can be implemented to detach the system from possible disruptions by disconnecting it and halting their spread.
The sensors have been meticulously calibrated, evaluated in both the lab and at two Pozoblanco facilities, and all discrepancies have been examined; thus, the team is currently engaged in the second phase of the project: scrutinizing all the data produced.
The study is presently underway as a component of the national initiative titled "Edge management of photovoltaic plants based on an analytical architecture with near-perfect temporal precision," associated with reference PID2024-158091OB-C21.
Journal Reference:
Arenas-Ramos, V., et al. (2025) Implementation and Characterization of a High-Precision Monitoring System for Photovoltaic Power Plants Using Self-Made Phasor Measurement Units. IEEE Sensors Journal. DOI:10.1109/JSEN.2025.3598820. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11131518