Enhancing Solar PV Performance with Advanced Weather Monitoring Solutions in Mongolia
- Client
- A Japanese group company based in the Philippines (EPC)
- Site
- Mongolia's first solar plant with battery storage
- Capacity
- 5 MW solar, 3.6 MWh battery
- Industry
- Renewable
- Products
- Weather monitoring station (solar), Xtreme XG-930 data logger, Soiling index measurement system
- Result
- IEC Class A weather data since June 2022 through winters down to -30°C, including data on the effect of snow cover.
Harnessing Solar Power at High Altitudes Weather Monitoring Solutions for Mongolia's PV Plants
Effective usage of WMS systems in minus (-c°) temperatures where accumulation of snow will have an effect on energy generation.
This project is the construction of Mongolia's first solar power generation facility with a battery storage system. In Mongolia, electricity supply is dependent on coal-fired power generation, and air pollution is a serious problem. This project is being carried out as part of the "Upscaling Renewable Energy Sector Project," aimed at expanding the introduction of renewable energy.
Power generation capacity of this project is at 5 MW (megawatts), and BESS storage capacity is at 3.6 MWh.
As part of this project, Aeron has supplied its weather monitoring station in this solar plant constructed by a Japanese group company based out of the Philippines.
Considering the challenging environment in Mongolia, a particular set of sensors and accessories has been considered to withstand the local environmental conditions present.
The annual average temperature of Mongolia is 0.2°C (32°F), while the average winter temperature is -10° to -30°C (14° to 22°F) and the summer temperature is +10° to +27°C (50° to 80°F). These environmental conditions affect the solar panel module temperature, which plays a crucial role in conducting the energy & creating losses.
The data collected by our instrument can further be used to understand the effect of snow cover on the photovoltaic power plant.
Weather stations at dedicated power plants include a few of the important parameters:
- Global Horizontal Irradiance (GHI)
- Play of Array (POA)
- Surface Module temperature
- Ambient Air Temperature
- Relative Humidity
- Wind Speed
- Wind Direction
- Soiling Index Measurement System (To measure power losses due to
accumulation of dust and snow on panels)
- Lightning Detection System
To collect the data from the sensors, Aeron has supplied its Xtreme Series data logger (XG-930). All the data from the multiple sensors gets processed in the smart XG-930 Data logger, then the data is refined and processed with 24-bit ADC with minimal errors close to ±0.01% of FS at 30°.
The processed data is then transmitted to the SCADA system for further analysis and plan management, provided data is transmitted seamlessly over TCP-MODBUS.
Aeron offers a CLASS-A category weather station that is in compliance with IEC-61724:1 & IEC-61004-12-1:2022.
Deployment Month: June 2022
Author: Sagar Pathak (Manager Business Development -IoT)
