Applications
More than 30 solar sites on one SCADA platform
Ecoplexus has 35 systems in operation, and needed a way to monitor and operate those sites remotely.
bringing existing sites onto the single system, and it also needed the kind of data access that would appeal to potential buyers of its sites. NLS provided all this and more with Ignition SOURCE: INDUCTIVE AUTOMATION
SOLAR POWER IS GREAT FOR OUR PLANET. But it’s not always as simple as one might think. For example, what if you’re trying to manage more than 30 solar sites, all with different control systems and equipment? Ecoplexus, a leader in renewable energy, was in just that situation. But the company was committed to getting all its systems onto one platform. With the help of system integrator NLS Engineering, Ecoplexus was able to accomplish its goal. Now, the company has a consistent look and feel for all its sites—in addition to lower costs, greater efficiency, more data, and improved data analysis. Ecoplexus provides a range of professional services for all stages from development to ownership. It has offices in the United States, Mexico, Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam, and its sites produce 365 MW of power. Another 420 MW are in construction or backlogged. Projects in development could add another 3,600 MW. NLS Engineering has completed more than 1.5 GW of utility solar SCADA design, programming, and commissioning in the United States and Canada. The company focuses on supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) for renewable energy. Ecoplexus needed a standardized, customizable SCADA system that could handle large solar and energy projects while also providing deep data acquisition and analysis. The company had a fairly tight timeline for
SOURCE: INDUCTIVE AUTOMATION
New SCADA system developed at Ecoplexus provides better data access, improved efficiency, and lower costs. The company also now has a consistent "look and feel" for all its solar sites—in addition to lower costs, greater efficiency, more data, and improved data analysis.
by Inductive Automation. Ignition is an industrial application platform with tools for building solutions in SCADA, human-machine interface (HMI), and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). “We have around 35 systems around the country,” said John Morrison, senior vice president for U.S. operations for Ecoplexus. “We needed a way to monitor and operate those sites remotely, and Ignition is the tool that we use to do that. We just have to have data that other systems don’t provide. We’ve had previous data acquisition systems, but they didn’t give us the visibility we needed with the richness and robustness of the data necessary to really operate these farms well.”
Unlimited licensing saves money
Previous data acquisition systems didn't provide the visibility, richness and robustness of the data needed. 11. 2019
i n d u str i a l e th e r n e t b o o k
NLS Engineering brought in Ignition in part because of the software’s unlimited licensing model; there are no extra costs for additional sites, tags, users, devices, or projects. And the software was easy to integrate with numerous disconnected sites.
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