Perspective Mr. Majesh Nayak, Director & COO, Oorjan Cleantech Pvt. Ltd. The fast-growing Indian solar market and the narrowing profit margins due to lowering solar tariffs has made the operations
O&M of solar plants involves difficulty
and maintenance (O&M) of solar plants an important business segment. Managing O&M costs (comprising about 1-1.5%
since these plants may either be spread on
p.a. of the plant capex) and ensuring better quality is key to ensuring improved solar generation and profitability to considerable extent (about
large acres of land or may be granular but
30%). The major components of the O&M costs comprise of module cleaning, manpower and security (over 40%) followed by capital expenses, tools and spares,
distributed across roofs. The unavailability
etc. O&M activities could range from supervision and monitoring, to maintenance, to general plant administration.
of skilled labour is another major issue
O&M of solar plants involves difficulty since these plants may either be spread on large acres of land or may be granular, but distributed across roofs. The unavailability
faced by the O&M industry.
of skilled labour is another major issue faced by the O&M industry. Other challenges include transportation of men, machines and spares across sites, the evolving laws and regulations, etc.
Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure the service quality and costs is important
Mix of technology and effective resource planning will help solve the above challenges
here. Using various budgeting and financial models like cost linked budgeting and
and optimize costs while improving quality of the services. Using remote monitoring
use of latest technologies such as drone technology and robotic cleaning will optimize
technology and easy web-based comprehensive dashboard, like the ones developed
costs to great extents, while ensuring better quality service.
by us at Oorjan, helps efficient operations as well as save on costs by reducing
Thus, effective planning and budgeting of resources coupled with technology adoption
underutilisation of resources. Further, resource planning is the key. Say, should the
and centralisation of decision making will help achieve cost optimisation with quality
cleaning activity be done manually or should it be automated, etc. setting the Key
services.
Mr. Sandeep Jadhav, COO, Mahindra TEQO Challenges to effective cost management in Solar
Hi-Tech, Optimized and Local
O&M
Focus Areas
Solutions
Solar Operations & Maintenance (O&M) is a labour-intensive
Plant Security
Electronic Detection Fences ● Electric Fence
industry which accounts for huge operational cost. The key O&M activities that impact operational costs are security, vegetation removal and module cleaning.
● Video Analytics Module Cleaning
● Mounted on Rails
A) Security: Solar PV plants are usually constructed in remote locations which need proper surveillance considering theft, dacoity and possible detriment. Given the 5x to
Dry Robot Cleaning
● Mounted on Modules Technical Manpower
Site based skilled manpower
10x growth of solar plants in the recent past, managing the security activities of these
● Skill Upgradation
power plants through conventional methods has created one of the major challenges
● Training & Standardisation
for the industry. B) Module Cleaning: Solar module cleaning is the most important scheduled maintenance
● Near Manless Plant Data Analytics
Data Analytics ● Power Forecasting
activity which contributes up to 40 percent of the overall O&M revenue. With many
● Auto Trending and Alarms
solar power plants located in drought-prone and desert-like areas, non-availability of water for cleaning modules is going to pose a huge challenge in the future. C) Lack of skilled manpower: Operators spend a large amount of time and resources on training local technicians for good O&M practices and finding trained manpower, plus
Overall, module cleaning and manpower costs together constitute the bulk of solar plant O&M costs which can be significantly reduced with automation and digitization such as robotic cleaning solutions, AI/ML based predictive system, Agro PV Model and aerial drones for site inspection.
retention is a hard task. D) Vegetation Removal: Uncontrolled vegetation disrupts maintenance and causes shadows on PV arrays, leading to hot spots and generation loss. Dry vegetation
Solar module cleaning is the most important
collected leads to a higher risk of fire. Thus, weed removal is a cost and resource
scheduled
maintenance
activity
which
burden to any solar project.
contributes even up to 40 percentage of
Growth Strategies to Stay in Sync with Market Demand, While Promoting
the overall O&M revenue. With many solar
Cost Efficiency
power plants located in drought-prone and
Innovation has a central role at Mahindra Teqo in developing the growth strategies for local
desert-like areas, non-availability of water
and global markets. The main purpose of our work is to build O&M of the future – “HighTech, High-Value, High-Quality” with focus on decreasing the Operational Expenditure per MW and increase the production efficiency by infusing the innovative solutions powered
for cleaning modules is going to pose a huge challenge in the future.
by technology to drive operational and cost efficiency through various ways like:
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