Case Study

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Enterprise SCADA Solution

FOR A REMOTE SOLAR OPERATIONS CENTER

SB Energy opted for a unique, single-platform solution that would give them real-time visibility and control over their six national locations. Thanks to this custom-made SCADA system, they can make informed business decisions and lead the way in remote solar management.

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6 National Sites
1.7 GW Total Rated Power
2700+ Modbus Devices
10K Updates per Second
THE PROTAGONIST
SB Energy is a leader in renewable energy, providing flexible renewable energy at scale and accelerating the global energy transition. They pair cutting-edge innovation with best-in-class execution.
They are a leading utility-scale solar, energy storage, and technology platform with some of the largest and most technically advanced renewable projects across the United States. 

 

THE STORY
In the Beginning...
SB Energy needed a single-platform, multi-site management tool that would allow their greenfield operations center full access to view and optimize performance at each remote site.
The Plot Thickens

The objective was to design an Ignition solution that could acquire, consolidate, and validate data from six solar sites in real-time--while also providing site monitoring and performance analysis with clear industry relevance.

Not only are Vertech's engineers experienced in designing and setting up SCADA solutions for different industries, but we also have a complete understanding of the Ignition platform. That's why SB Energy was confident that we were the ideal partner for their project.

Our solution included integrating Ignition with several 3rd party systems and devices, as well as developing custom graphics and reports.
The Happy Ending
The end result was a robust SCADA system that gives SB Energy complete visibility of its fleet of sites, assets, and energy production performance. Now SB Energy can maximize energy production and quickly resolve maintenance issues, saving valuable time and resources.

Application Features

Going Beyond Remote Access

Not only did we provide SB with full remote visibility and control, but we designed their system with a standardized data model and dynamic screens, so they can easily expand the system as their needs grow. Read below about some more of the innovative features built into this project.

  • Smart Alarming
  • Enterprise-Level Maps
  • KPI's
  • Weather Forecast Integration

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Nuisance Alarm Filtering.

We improved the alarming logic across the fleet to prioritize alarms and consolidate repeat alarms into one action. 


Built-in Alarm Hierarchy and Dependencies.

This feature allows the client to add dependencies to alarms. When equipment upstream fails or shuts down, the alarms on downstream devices automatically shut off. This enables the client to identify and solve the root cause of the problem, rather than responding to hundreds of subsequent alarms.

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Our team designed custom maps on Mapbox and integrated them with Ignition, so they blend beautifully into the visual application theme.

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Power and Revenue.

Our team collaborated with SB Energy to measure power and revenue using KPIs. By having the system display information from both business and operations in one application, decision-makers now have a clear understanding of what's happening across the entire portfolio.

Data Popups.

Alongside the KPIs, trending popups allow operators and management to keep up with real-time data patterns and stay aware of site curtailments and revenue losses.

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We integrated with Open Weather Maps and Windy.com to provide real-time weather updates for each site. We make real-time API calls to Open Weather Maps and Windy.com. We also leverage Windy.com's crisp map displays as needed throughout the system.

Working with Vertech was a great culture fit. They were great communicators, passionate, innovative, and able to provide solutions to any problem we had.

- Charles Fortuno, Sr. Manager SCADA & Control Systems
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