The transition towards a more sustainable energy future involves the integration and asset management of renewable energies. In this context, the calculation of contractual availabilities emerges as a crucial aspect for the operation and financing of solar and wind energy projects. These availabilities, which define the percentage of time in which a facility must be operational and generating energy as stipulated in the different contracts (plant owners, maintainer, asset manager, etc.), are essential to ensure the flow of income, the sustainability of investments and compliance with clean energy production commitments.
Importance of contractual availabilities
Accurate calculation of contractual availabilities is essential for the renewable energy sector for several reasons. First, it lays the foundation for revenue reliability and predictability, vital elements for the financial viability of any project. Second, it reflects the operational efficiency of the facilities, indicating the level of optimization achieved in the management of energy assets. Additionally, contractual availabilities play a decisive role in risk mitigation, providing a clear framework for managing expectations between energy producers and marketers.
Given the importance of this indicator, together with the important bonuses and compensations that the deviation from the agreed values entails, potentially leading to the unilateral cancellation of this contract, it is essential that the owner of the plant contrasts the value provided by the maintainer with a calculation carried out by the asset manager, who will be in charge of contrasting the calculations provided by the maintainer and confronting the discrepancies with the maintainer.
Challenges in calculating contractual availabilities for solar and wind
The calculation of contractual availabilities faces a number of challenges in the field of solar and wind energy, mainly due to the variable nature of these energy sources.
Regarding photovoltaic plants, factors such as climate variability, solar panel maintenance, and system degradation and efficiency can significantly affect availability.
In the case of wind energy, wind variability, turbine maintenance and component degradation complicate accurate calculations.
Additionally, the optimization of the electrical network in terms of generation management is another aspect that affects the calculation of availability.
Furthermore, the diversity of existing contracts in the market, such as Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), operation and maintenance contracts, and other financial agreements, introduce additional complexities. Each type of contract can define availability differently, based on different parameters and measurement criteria, requiring a customized approach for each case.
Time management in contractual calculations
A particularly challenging task for plant managers is the efficient management of time spent calculating contractual availabilities. This time-intensive work often leads managers to rely on estimates provided by maintainers.
Therefore, agility in these calculations is vital to avoid delays in double certification and potential problems in the plants, situations that would complicate the transition to a new maintainer.
Strategies to improve the calculation of contractual availabilities
To address these difficulties, it is essential to adopt strategies and tools that allow efficient management and calculation of contractual availabilities. These strategies include the implementation of advanced monitoring and data analysis technologies, which facilitate the early detection and classification of possible failures and the optimization of facility performance. Likewise, the development of predictive models that incorporate meteorological and operational variables can improve the precision in estimating availability.
Conclusion
The calculation of contractual availabilities is a critical component in the management of solar and wind energy projects, directly impacting financial viability, operational efficiency and compliance with sustainability objectives. Despite the difficulties inherent in this process, the adoption of appropriate strategies and the use of digital technologies offer promising paths to overcome these challenges. By ensuring accurate and reliable calculations of availabilities, the renewable energy sector can continue to move towards a more sustainable energy future.
Faced with the proposed challenges, the NUO platform emerges as an innovative tool that offers a series of features designed to simplify and automate the process of calculating contractual availabilities:
- Automatic initial classification of events, based on the alarms and taxonomies provided by the manufacturer, facilitating quick and simple management of availability, even in exceptional circumstances.
- Automatic detection of curtailments (plant service restrictions), through the analysis of the data provided by the plant controller.
- Application of a multilayer system on the original events, including curtailments and force majeure events that allow precise calculations in accordance with the contractual terms and ensure detailed and adapted management of the different situations that may affect the availability of the plant.
- Simple configuration of contractual availability models and provision of calculation authorship that allows the indicator to be contrasted with the maintainer in an agile manner, reducing the manual workload and increasing the efficiency of asset managers.
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