FINAL WORD
“
OUR VISION IS TO BRING
DIGITAL TO EVERY PERSON, HOME
AND ORGANISATION FOR A FULLY
CONNECTED, INTELLIGENT WORLD.
Energy Agency’s outlook. In the near future,
over 30% of the annual newly installed
power plant will be the PV plant. However,
with the increase in renewable energy
construction, the short circuit ratio (SCR)
of the power grid is gradually reduced. We
can see the SCR in some countries will be
and control, a smart transformer station
for overseas IPS solution and a Smart
PV management system for real-time
monitoring and management.
Our latest improvements on the solution are
testament to how we deploy AI technology
in FusionSolar: 1) Smart Tracker Control
Algorithm, 2) Smart I-V Curve Diagnosis 4.0
and 3) Smart Grid-connection Algorithm.
At Huawei, we use the AI-Boost FusionSolar
Smart PV solution with the aim of reducing
LCOE and supporting the grid with the
following three key features:
1. Smart Tracker Control Algorithm
The tracker can significantly increase the
energy generation. More and more PV plants
deploy trackers to reduce LCOE. Currently, the
trackers rely on an astronomic algorithm to
ensure the modules to be perpendicular to the
direct sunlight. However, the uneven landscape
in the PV plant is not being considered. The
shading between different rows of PV panels
could reduce the yields. In cloudy days, the
diffused light accounts for a higher ratio than
that of normal days. And the tracking angle
without optimisation can’t harvest as much
power as when the light is scattered.
Huawei integrates AI and the collaborative
energy generation with a tracking algorithm
to optimise the tracking angle through the
recurrent neural network, based on the
mass data from the plant performance. And
during the backtracking, Huawei adopts each
row to avoid inter-row shading and capture
more solar energy.
What we have introduced here is only
achieved by the algorithm upgrade without
the cost of any additional devices. We
have tested this technology in PV plants
in different latitudes. And the results show
that, compared with standard mode,
the smart control algorithm can improve
energy generation by at least 0.5%. This
technology utilises standard interface and
communication protocol and it’s quite easy to
collaborate with different vendors of trackers.
2. Smart I-V Curve Diagnosis
We also use AI to reduce OPEX as we improve
I-V curve diagnosis. This idea came about
following discussions between ourselves and
a strategic customer. We developed an online
inspection and diagnosis of all PV strings.
Compared with the conventional solution
that uses on-site sampling test and timeconsuming
manual analysis, the smart I-V
curve diagnosis can largely shorten the site
inspection time from weeks to half a day.
AI learns based on experts’ knowledge and
can accurately identify 14 types of string
failure which is certified by TÜV. These
diagnoses can further provide trouble
shooting solutions to close the loop in the
O&M process. This function has already been
deployed in 5GW PV plants worldwide and
the number is still growing.
Huawei continues to upgrade the algorithm
to suit more and more scenarios. This year,
the 4th generation can support diagnosis of
the mono, bifacial and shingle PV modules.
It is also compatible with the mix installation
of different PV modules in one string. The
function is provided through licensing and
any of our current customers with Huawei
Smart PV solution, either for their existing or
the new PV plans, are welcome to test it out.
3. Smart grid-connection algorithm
As the LCOE of PV continuously decreases,
solar is expected to become the major
energy source according to the International
going down quite significantly. Or in another
way, more and more regions will face a new
challenge of a weak grid. It is expected that
between 2025 and 2030, the SCR will be
lower than two in a lot of countries.
Huawei has been researching grid connection
technologies for many years and improved
its control accuracy. Currently, Huawei has
achieved stable grid-connection in all PV
scenarios. We are confident that our algorithm
can help our clients to build a robust system
with more resilience. The smart inverters could
support SCR as low as 1.5 to avoid frequent
synchronisation failure incidents. Moreover,
the Huawei solution is capable of providing
better POD (power oscillation damping)
control, which has already been considered
and partially adopted with some of our clients
in Latin America.
In summary, as digitalisation transforms
key industries, we could see the trend of
All Things Sensing, All Things Connected
and All Things Intelligent happening in
the PV industry too. To achieve this vision,
smart inverters are key components to
reshape the industry. Inverters are no
longer just converting DC (direct current)
electricity to AC (alternating current), but
to control and diagnose the health of the
PV systems, ultimately making the system
smart and intelligent. At Huawei, our vision
is to bring digital to every person, home
and organisation for a fully connected,
intelligent world. This would apply to the
solar energy industry. We advocate building
an AI-enabled smart PV ecosystem by
working with clients, policymakers, upstream
and downstream partners to create a fully
connected and digital PV system. •
84 INTELLIGENTCIO www.intelligentcio.com