The first two Software‐as‐a‐Service (SaaS) editions of Solar Plant Vision meet the needs of solar PV plant operators and project developers. For customers that want a turnkey service, Solar Operations Services complement the company’s SaaS offering with a staff of operations experts that oversee and manage daily operations. The new Fat Spaniel Lifecycle Management solutions are tailored for the business models and distinct job functions spanning commercial, municipal, federal, utility, educational, and residential solar projects and enable solar plant operators to maximise system uptime, energy output, and return on investment.
“Solar developers, integrators, and operations personnel currently rely on imprecise tools with error rates of +/- 20%, which significantly impacts financial returns and plant efficiency,” said Matt Powell, CEO of Fat Spaniel Technologies. “The solar industry is at a critical juncture, and if it is to reach its full potential, lifecycle management solutions must be designed into a system from site conception, to drive financial success and reduce risk. We look forward to the continuing expansion of our Lifecycle Management family of services – our technology can help achieve the goal of making renewable energy in the world.”
“Complexities are inherent in every stage of the solar portfolio life‐cycle planning, design, deployment, and day-to-day operations,” explained Ned Chaney, Business Director of American Capitol Energy. “An optimised management platform is essential for driving down costs and remaining competitive. Fat Spaniel Lifecycle Management services give us the efficiencies of SaaS and the benefits of Fat Spaniel’s relationships with device manufacturers. The end-to-end solution overcomes the challenges of integration and management, and allows us to focus on our business goals.”
“Until recently, the primary focus of the renewable energy industry has been on improving and augmenting generation to drive costs down to accelerate the rate of adoption,” said Al Velosa, Research Director at Gartner. “However, many are only now beginning to realise that efficient lifecycle and performance management is essential in achieving these goals, leading to increased asset value and reduced risk. As we work to create a low carbon economy, the use of IT marks the next benchmark for solar. In fact, the use of IT will be essential to facilitate the solar industry's business model.”
Solar Plant Vision: Portfolio and Plant Management for Distributed Solar Sites
Solar Plant Vision services deliver high accuracy, predictive capabilities that address complete lifecycle management. Tailored to operations and maintenance (O&M) teams and project managers, the solutions help optimise solar plant production and overall portfolio performance. Complete operational and diagnostic data is collected continually; environmental data can be gathered from plant locations or downloaded from satellite services. Breakthrough capabilities are focused in three areas:
- Plant Management: A full range of device monitoring, troubleshooting, and performance tracking maximizes production while minimsing costs
- Revenue Management: Billing and reporting features simplify financial and compliance management efforts
- Marketing and Education: Real‐time portfolio status can be displayed on Internet-connected PCs to educate energy consumers, or displayed in kiosks located in lobbies, retail stores, and other public places where clean energy can be promoted and marketed
Solar Plant Vision can help operators increase plant uptime, meet or exceed Power Purchase Agreement terms, and drive down total maintenance costs by up to 30%.
Solar Operation Services (SOS): A Team of Management Experts
SOS combines Fat Spaniel’s Lifecycle Management platform with an experienced staff that delivers plant management based on customer‐defined service level agreements. Portfolio managers gain increased energy output, maximum system uptime, and cost-efficient, predictable costs. To accommodate future in-sourcing, a build-operate-transfer (BOT) option can be included. Both short and long-term SOS contracts give customers complete flexibility, and make it easy to adjust for business and operations dynamics.
Solar Plant Vision Base and Premium Editions and Solar Operations Services will be available starting in October 2009, while the 500+ solar plant operators who depend on Insight Manager, Fat Spaniel’s legacy solar plant management offering, will be given an automatic upgrade to Solar Plant Vision on release.
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