Performance monitoring of a solar photovoltaic power plant using an advanced real-time system

This paper presents a novel system which has been developed to supervise in real time the operation of a Grid-Connected Utility-Scale PV Power Plant in order to ensure a reliable and uninterruptible power supply. The system is composed of a complex acquisition architecture which measures the required information with a high temporal resolution and using a high-precision protocol for synchronizing all the devices, something strictly necessary for accurately establishing a relationship among all events taking place in the plant. Moreover, an advanced system for monitoring and supervising all the distributed devices, as well as for the real-time treatment of all the registered information is presented. This system does not only enable a better control over the performance of all the PV plant's components by detecting any failures or deviations in production, but it also monitors the power quality of the injected signal and its influence on the distribution grid.