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>ProperOperationandMaintenanceMaximizesPVSystemsMargin:AnInterviewwithEnergy
Guard

ProperOperationandMaintenanceMaximizes
PVSystemsMargin:AnInterviewwithEnergy
Guard
Byrheatsao
Created2015040813:31
2015040813:31rheatsao
DependableoperationisessentialtotheprofitabilityofaPVsystem.WhenaPVsystemismuddiedor
damaged,itsreturnoninvestment(ROI)ratewouldbecutdownbyeitherlowerpoweroutputor
equipmentreplacement.Therefore,bestapproachtomaintainastablepoweroutputistohave
professionalmanagementofthePVsystemandregularchecksonthesystemshealth.Theseoperation
andmaintenance(O&M)servicesareexactlywhatEnergyGuardofferstoitscustomers.
EnergyGuardsA.V.P.JustinLanandDirectorChamberPangaveEnergyTrendacomprehensivelook
ofthecompanysO&Mservicesinanexclusiveinterview.Clientsneedtoknowallthepossible
irregularitiesthatcouldhappenduringtheoperationoftheirPVplants,Lansaid,andproper
maintenanceiscrucialtohavinglongtermandstablepowergeneration.

Preventionisbetterthancure:O&MserviceskeepPVsystemshealthy
APVpowerplantsvalueisdeterminedbyitsoperationreliably.Normally,EPCsuppliersoffera
limitedwarrantyfortheirPVsystems.Afterthewarrantyperiod,PVplantownerswouldturntoO&M
serviceproviderstoensuretheirplantsmaintainstablepoweroutputandhighROIratesduringtheir20
yearoperationspan.
O&MservicescanberegardedasthehealthcheckupsforPVsystemsandtheyencompassmonitoring,
cleaning,andrepairing.O&Mservicesdiscoverproblemsthatmayariseandfixthemearlyon.
PreventivemaintenanceisthekeyconceptbehindO&Mservices,saidPan,sinceitcostsalotmorein
timeandmoneytorepairaPVsystemaftersomethinghasgonewrong.InearlyApril,EnergyGuard
willhostaworkshopinTaiwansKaoshiungCitytoraisePVsystemownersawarenessofthenecessity
ofO&Mservices.

AccordingtoLan,EngergyGuardsmaincustomersarelocalmidandlargescalePVpowerplants
rangingfrom100kWtoMWsize.Theseplantsareownedbylargecompaniesandpaygreaterattention
tothequalityofO&M,Lannoted.EnergyGuardhasthestrongfoundationandthesufficientcapitalto
providetheseprofessionalservices.
Intheinterview,Lanspecificallypointedtohowelectronicequipmentsuchasinverterisimportanttothe
operationofaPVsystem.InadditiontocleaningPVmodules,EnergyGuardO&Mservicesinclude
checkingandcleaningDCcombinerboxesaninspectionoftheACordistributionendandan
inspectionofhighvoltageequipment.EnergyGuardthuscoversallaspectsofmonitoringand
maintenance.
PVpowerplantsinTaiwanusuallydonotgobeyond10MWinscale,sothisraisesquestionofwhether
theyaresimplertomaintainandoperate.Pansaidtherealityisexactlytheopposite.Heexplainedsince
theislandissmallanddenselypopulated,Taiwansinstallationlocationsareverydiversefrom
skyscrapersrooftops,coastalareas,andtoagriculturalfacilitieslikepigfarmsandgreenhouses.Thus,
themaintenanceneedsofPVsystemsontheislandvarygreatly.Forexamples,PVsystemsonfarm
buildingsareexposedtohydrogensulfide(thatiscorrosive)andalsosusceptibletoratinfestations
whereasthoseinstalledalongthecoastarethreatenedbysaltsprays.EverykindofPVsystemsrequiresa
specificandcomprehensiveserviceplaninordertoachievethebestprofit.
MonitoringistheeyeofO&M
EnergyGuardrecognizesthataneffectivemonitoringsystemisthefoundationofaprofessionalO&M
plan.Besidesonsiteinspectionsbyengineers,EnergyGuardalsomonitorsitsclientPVinstallations
throughacloudbasedmonitoringsystem,whichhasthreemainfeatures:
1. Themonitorprogramisinternallydevelopedbythecompany,whichhasthebestunderstandingof
thesystemandisabletocustomizeitperclientsrequestsorthestateofthepowerplant.
2. Themonitoringprogramispricedcompetitivelyforplantsrangedfrom500kWtoMWscale.

3. ItiscompletelyontheCloud.Insteadofspendingresourcesonmaintainingitsownservers,Energy
GuardrentsstorageandplatformfromreputablecloudserviceenterprisessuchasMicrosoftand
Google.Thecollecteddataarewellencryptedandcanbelaterusedtoadjustandbalancepower
distributionfromregionalgrids.
EnergyGuardsmonitorsystemcollectsdatafrominvertersandstorestheminatemporarydatacollector
beforeuploadingthemtothecloud(inverterdatacollectorcloud).Thedatacollectorletsengineers
viewinformationoffline,sotheycanimmediatelydiagnoseandfixproblemsonsite.Moreimportantly,
EnergyGuardsproprietarymonitorsystemiscompatiblewithallbrandsofinvertersthatareonthe
market.OtherO&Mprovidersdonothavethisadvantage.

EnergyGuardletsclientschoosetoeithergetjustthemonitoringserviceorthemonitoringplus
managementpackage.Thefirstplanallowsclientstomonitortheirpowerplantsviacloud,andifthey
needO&MservicestheycancontactEnergyGuard.ThesecondplanletsEnergyGuardwatchand
managethepowerplantsonbehalfoftheirclients.Managemententailsengineersactivelycheckingthe
stateofpowerplantsprovidecleaningandmaintenancewhenneeded.Panrecommendsclientschoose
thesecondplan.AsEnergyGuardsO&Mservicesinvolveconductingroutineinspectionsand
providingreviewreports,Panexplained,itisevenmoretimeandcosteffectiveifourengineersare
alreadyauthorizedbyclientstomanagetheirplants.
WhenitcomestoO&M,EnergyGuardhastherighttoolstogetthejobdone.Inadditiontoinfrared
thermography,ohmmeter,andpowerqualityanalyzer,Lanstatedthatthecompanyisplanningtoprocure
moretestinginstruments.Moreover,EnergyGuardsprofessionalandexperiencedengineerscanidentify
potentialtroublesandimmediatelyprovidesolutionstooptimizeaplantspowergeneration.
AleaderinTaiwansO&Mservicesincapitalandtechnology
CleaningisanotherimportantpartofO&MservicesforPVsystems.Besideshavingaqualifiedcleaning
teamwithpropertools,EnergyGuardispresentlyassessingthepossibilityofprocuringrobotsfor

cleaningPVmodules.
EnergyGuardhasthecapitaltogetmoreadvancedequipmentandwehavemadethiskindof
investmentsveryearlyon,saidLan.Alsowithanexcellentteamofengineers,ourcompanyaimsto
becomethepioneeringbrandinTaiwansO&Mservices.
Lanadded,Throughtheworkshopwehaveorganized,wewishtoremindpeopleofthenecessityof
professionalO&MservicestoaPVpowerplant.Forplantowners,adequateinvestmentinO&M
servicesiscosteffectiveinthelongrunsincemaintenancereducesthechancesofstopsinoperationand
relatedlossesinROIrates.

Lookingforwardtothefuture,EnergyGuardsmaingoalforshortandmediumtermistodeveloplocal
servicesinTaiwan.AccordingtoTaiwanPowerCompanysstatistics,PVinstallationontheentireisland
willreach600MWbytheendof2015.EnergyGuardprojectstosecureO&Mcontractsforabout60MW
equivalentofPVsystems.Moreover,thecompanywillintroduceitscompleteO&Mservicepackageto
itsclientswhoseinvertersarenolongerunderwarranty.Insum,EnergyGuardsinitialtargetforO&M
marketsharegainis20%,oraround120MW.
Atthesametime,EnergyGuardwillalsocontinuetodevelopandimproveitssoftwareandhardware.
PanrevealedthatthecompanyiscurrentlydoingR&Donsynchronizingdatabetweencloudand
mobiles.Thisprogramwouldhelptheengineeringteamtohaveinstantcommunicationamongteam
membersandallowsforrapidresponseduringmaintenanceandmanagementoperation.Theseactivities
showthatEnergyGuardisalwayspreparingforthefutureandreflectsthecompanysattitudeofstriving
forexcellence.
:
Interview
EnergyGuard
Taiwan

operationsandmaintenance(O&M)services
O&M
PVSystems