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Anders Rand Andersen

Lifetime efficiency – the challengeEmaZys Technologies founder, Anders Rand Andersen, founded the company because he was inspired and interested in PV lifetime and efficiency. Today he and Arne Pedersen, CEO, talk to PES about our industry and the importance of collaboration. They also introduce us to the Z100 PV Analyzer. Read on to find out more...

The Z100 PV Analyzer measures the position of a range of PV system faults and the instrument is suitable for fast work during solar PV operations and maintenance. The Z100 PV Analyzer works well under low light conditions and it is therefore possible to perform O&M and service tasks in almost any weather. The Z100 PV Analyzer records useful information in the field and typical faults are found within 3 minutes of arrival at the PV system terminals. This increases productivity of the PV service team and leads to work time reductions of up to 40%.

PES: Welcome to PES Solar/PV magazine. Thanks for talking with us. Would you like to begin by explaining a little about the background of your organisation and how you currently serve the solar/PV industry?

Anders Rand Andersen: The motivation to set up EmaZys Technologies came about when I started to realise the importance and challenge of solar cell lifetime. Lifetime is as important as efficiency and price, but I noted early on that solar cell conversion efficiency records appeared to be the most prestigious goal for scientists. However, as a result of my work with dye solar cells, I became more interested in the PV system lifetime and ways to keep actual field mounted PV systems operative and profitable for as long as possible. In 2010 dye solar cells were widely promoted due to relatively good efficiency, but the thermal stability was not realistic for commercial applications. This inspired me to study stability.

I was also captivated by the advanced solar cell characterisation methods used by Janne Halme and his team at Aalto

University (Helsinki). I had had the opportunity to work in his laboratory during my PhD studies. So this is the background to EmaZys Technologies. I simply felt the urge to start a company that would be dedicated to PV system lifetime and focus on new PV test and measurement technologies, such as impedance testing.

Today EmaZys Technologies supply O&M companies, EPCs, installers, module manufacturers and PV experts with our Z100 PV Analyzer. This is a new technology suite entirely developed to strengthen PV system economy via enhanced fault finding and impedance testing capabilities. We also work within solar PV technology consulting and we contribute to various workshops and webinars to stay close to the pulse of the industry.

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PES: Is this a growing industry? How are you capitalising on this growth?

ARA: Yes, the solar PV O&M industry is growing at the moment, just like the PV market. According to Green Tech Media, the global PV operations and maintenance market is set to reach 237GW by 2018, but probably it will grow even more as the installation market increased by more than 50 GW last year. I guess this explains the interest we are experiencing this year. We have customers from almost all over the world now and currently a special interest from the APAC region. We are capitalising on this first of all, by increased sales, but almost equally important at this stage is that we are learning how the different regions look upon solar PV O&M productivity, allowing us to implement user driven innovation and new products for the future. There has been some consolidation within modules and inverters, but in the O&M market we still see a lot of variation in workflow and methods.

PES: Please tell us about EmaZys Technologies new product the Z100 PV Analyzer. What new technology has been used in its development?

ARA: The Z100 PV Analyzer is a testing device that can analyse full PV strings, and detect a range of common and less common defects. Perhaps most important of all, this instrument can actually measure the position of a range of solar PV system faults such a ground faults, broken connectors, module disconnects and modules with bypass diode malfunctions or degraded cells. The core technology is impedance measurements in a broad frequency interval. This means that the instrument is “actively” transmitting small signals into the PV system during testing. This approach is very untraditional, since most conventional test apparatus records voltage and current measurements. Such data are good for performance testing, but it is rarely diagnostic if a PV system is not performing to its specifications. Impedance data reveals what is causing the energy loss in the PV system.

The data measured by the Z100 PV Analyzer is analysed by the on-board computer and the result is sent via Wi-Fi to the user’s smart device. From the smart device the test results are typically shared to a cloud immediately, so that our customers can track the work in detail. The actual output on the user screen is however greatly simplified stating the type and the position of the fault. The skills needed to measure the position of ground faults and disconnects using the Z100 PV Analyzer can be learnt in 3 minutes.

PES: How can your PV Analyzer speed up work routines and reduce time loss for the end user?

ARA: The Z100 PV Analyzer can increase the O&M productivity in a number of ways. First of all it can localise ground faults and disconnects in 1-2 minutes after connecting to the PV system terminals. This reduces the need for dismantling systems and testing individual modules often resulting in hours of saved work time. Also ground faults down to 3 MΩ can be easily detected, which makes it a lot easier to find ground faults that “have disappeared” when a PV system e.g. dries up after rain.

The instrument has an integrated 1000V cable tester, which means that it can transmit signals that can be picked up and heard with a handheld pickup that comes with the instrument. This feature reduces the time spent looking for strings under test, which is a substantial problem in the field. PV systems are traded and repowered. Documentation is not always available, so simply finding the string through testing can be time consuming. We have solved this problem for most cases.

The string impedance test can quickly perform a full diagnosis and give the condition of the string, whilst also returning the isolation resistance (RISO) and the voltage (VOC). This makes it possible to find suspicious strings before they become problematic and lose performance.

For the periodic ground faults, typically occurring in the morning, we have integrated a timer function. In this way the instrument may be momentarily installed at the string to perform a ground fault position test every 15 minutes for e.g. 24 hours. This normally catches any periodic ground faults and helps to eliminate the need for repeated driving.

The Z100 features a “module test” where individual modules can be shaded while the whole string is tested. Using this method it is possible to test the PV module bypass diodes. Latterly we have shown that Potential Induced Degradation can be found using the shading method. According to our customer feedback the Z100 set of testing features can save up to 40% work time and it reduces repeated unnecessary journeys substantially because the technician is able to find the faults straight away.

PES: Are there any other advantages, both in technological terms and for the customer?

ARA: The instrument is housed in a very tough hard case and weighs about 4 kg. The customer thus gets a lot of possibilities packed in a highly portable solution. This has been found to be the main value for our customers, who often need to take a lot of equipment to the field.

In terms of technology, it is worth mentioning that impedance measurements are useful for analysis down to very low irradiation levels. It means that typical critical PV system faults can be found in cloudy weather. The O&M season is therefore a lot longer when the service team uses the Z100 PV Analyzer. It is beneficial for O&M companies as they no longer need to wait until spring to check systems. Conventional PV testing is often limited to days with at least 700 W/m2 of irradiation. The Z100 PV Analyzer works fine at just above 100 W/m2, so basically it’s more flexible and service visits don’t need to be cancelled, or journeys to customers made in vain because the weather suddenly changes.

Schematic illustration of the Z100 PV Analyzer testing principle. The core technology is impedance measurements in a broad frequency interval. This means that the instrument is “actively” transmitting small signals into the PV system during testing. At each frequency a small current is measured, and the impedance is calculated and interpreted. The output on the user interface is however greatly simplified to messages such as “ground fault between panel 5 and 6” etc.

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The Z100 sets up a Wi-Fi hotspot that you log on to with e.g. your smart phone. From here you simply operate the instrument using a browser. We know this is a new approach but times are changing fast and we believe that the customer should be able to use his favourite device to control the Z100. We created a simple interface that requires a minimum of initialisation and usually most customers figure out how it works within minutes.

PES: How important are O&M solutions and improved productivity to EmaZys?

ARA: As a matter of basic company philosophy, we emphasise the importance of constantly exploring productivity and technological possibilities. The focus has shifted from more and more PV systems to Operations and Maintenance, especially in the European PV industry. The changing political landscapes mean that PV O&M in Europe is now becoming a booming industry, despite an increasingly global market. There is more attention to asset optimisation, plant performance ratio and cost-effective decisions. The market is developing towards a future with smart O&M strategies, new technology and integrated solutions with entrepreneurs, key developers and service providers leading the way. Thus for EmaZys it is important to be a part of this development and stay close to the new opportunities.

PES: We have read about EmaZys’ close cooperation with research institutes such as Aalborg University and DTU photonics how does this work and what are the benefits?

ARA: We are involved in several R&D projects. We have been able to pursue new ideas with Aalborg University and DTU and employ a number of students, which has given us unique insights that we can use in our products. Recently we confirmed that our core technology “impedance testing” can actually be used for detection of different kinds of solar panel degradation.

This was quite a discovery and we are now beginning to develop more features.

Also we are working with industry experts such as Kenergy and Zenit solar, to test new features before they are launched on to the market.

The close relationship with experts and research has really paved the way for innovation in our company.

PES: Geographically speaking, where are your key markets and do you have any plans for expansion into other areas?

Arne Pedersen: The Z100 PV Analyzer was initially introduced in Scandinavia and then later mainly in Germany, Italy and United Kingdom. It is a step-by-step process to setup distribution, but currently we are also beginning to move in to Taiwan and Japan. The latter two are areas of tremendous growth and potential, so there is a lot of optimism from partners in this region. The EU market is special since there is a big need for improved solar PV operations and maintenance, but at the same time the political landscape has changed quite a bit, so in some regions we see variations in the optimism.

There is a strong PV growth in the US, and California seems to be leading new exciting business models within residential and utility PV. Therefore we see a big potential for our technology in the US and it will be pursued.

PES: Which is the main target group for you currently? Are we talking utility - scale, commercial or residential?

AP: We actually service all of those industry segments, but you may see slightly different value propositions among these customers. Some like the mobility and power of the instrument. Other customers emphasise the digital setup where data can be shared as they are measured. Others again, highlight the fact that the instrument is easy to operate, which means you don’t

need to be an engineer to use it. In general all customers appreciate that the Z100 PV Analyzer works well in bad weather and that it can actually measure the position of PV system faults.

From a technical point of view our solution may be applied to almost any PV system due to the very high level of modularity and conformity we see in solar PV systems. In this way we can help almost any industry professional who is looking for a faster way to find PV faults and a flexible way to service their customers.

The typical pattern is that larger O&M companies work on contracts, where a certain power plant yield will result in economic rewards. We help these companies work faster and hence reach contract goals at minimum cost. Other customers may be technical advisors or module manufacturers who are looking for a handy solution that can be checked in as hand luggage and used in almost any weather and able to distinguish module faults and typical system faults in cables, RISO faults etc. that hinder optimum system performance.

PES: What are your thoughts about prospects for 2016 and moving into 2017 with regard to your organisation and the solar/PV industry in general?

ARA: According to SolarPower Europe (who recently released PV Market Outlook 2015-2020) the solar PV market keeps growing faster than any expert is really able to predict and the latest “high scenario” prediction is up to 700 GW of global installed PV capacity by 2020. This corresponds to several billion individual solar panels, which basically, all need maintenance. We see this as an opportunity to expand our business and become an active player in more markets. It would be great to get in contact with more sales partners from the US and South America, so that we can start to market the product together.

www.emazys.com

“According to SolarPower Europe the solar PV market keeps growing faster than any expert is really able to predict and the latest “high scenario” prediction is up to 700 GW of global installed PV capacity by 2020”