Recording of Tuesday, June 18, 2024 | The smarter E Europe 2024 | Conference Program | Language: English | Duration: 15:37 .

ENGIE Group's Laborelec Research Center Develops Simulation Tool to Optimize PV Plant Lifetime and Minimize Failures

The speaker is a research engineer at Laborelec, the research and innovation center of the ENGIE Group, focusing on solar and hybrid systems. Located in Brussels, Laborelec undertakes various projects related to electricity including power networks, nuclear energy, renewables, carbon capture and storage. The current project discussed involves modeling failures in photovoltaic (PV) plants to optimize operations and maintenance (O&M) for longer plant lifespans. A specific use case highlighted involved unexpected losses of power due to cabinet fires caused by component failure within an inverter. These incidents indicate discrepancies between design assumptions—often based on inaccurate O&M models—and real-world operational costs and failures. Efforts are being made within ENGIE to centralize data from O&M teams for better design decisions. To address these challenges, they developed a simulation tool that predicts site-specific component failure rates over 20 years. This helps in estimating repair costs, delays, energy loss during downtime, and making cost-effective decisions about repowering or revamping sites while considering long-term service agreements with suppliers.

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Speaker

Aquin Magnus
Project Engineer
ENGIE Laborelec
France

Talk of session: Utility-scale Solar Power I: Trends in Development, EPC and Asset Management

As regulatory requirements and margin pressure make project development increasingly challenging, EPCs are confronted with new system designs and high volatility in product supply and cost. Once a PV power plant has been built, the O&M needs to ensure a high output. This requires more and more digital analytics, while asset managers must deal with increasing reporting services. The session will cover:

• Status of utility-scale solar power project development needs
• How EPCs deal with rising costs and supply volatility pressure
• Advanced analytics for effective O&M
• Asset management throughout the entire project lifecycle
• Q&A

Further Talks of this session:

Welcome and Introduction

Speaker

Dr. Benedikt Ortmann
Global Director Origination & Business Development Projects
BayWa r.e. AG
Germany

To Talk

Advantages of R&D in Innovation, System Design and Technical Concept Optimization

Speaker

Martin Dennenmoser
Head of R&D
BayWa r.e. Solar Projects GmbH
Germany

To Talk

Digitalization in Solar Construction - Attempts to Leapfrog Evolution in Project Realization

Speaker

Dan Garlin
COO Renewables
Uniper
Germany

To Talk

The Importance of Asset Management From Development Through Life Cycle of the Project

Speaker

Dr. Carlos Javier Sarasa
Managing Director
ELGIN ENERGY
United Kingdom

To Talk

Panel Discussion: How to Optimize LCOE for Reducing TCO

To Talk