Non-invasive tracking of photovoltaic modules at the utility scale level

Abstract

Existing methods of utility-scale PV plant monitoring and measurement are invasive, and often require disconnection of the solar module in order to connect the module to measuring tools. This paper describes a method to validate a novel approach to non-invasive monitoring. Specifications for the technique include the ability to understand and diagnose plant health while also being cost-efficient and time-efficient compared to existing methods. After a series of research and on-site solar farm visits, it was concluded that a way to measure performance without the need for module disconnection would be to use plant health metrics that a typical solar farm accesses daily, and compare those metrics to an ideal metrics.