ENcome Energy Performance – Your reliable partner even in case of solar eclipse

 

Klagenfurt am Wörthersee (23.03.2015): As multiply reported, Italy surprisingly announced that PV installations have to be shut down on the day of solar eclipse (20th March). The grid operator TERNA expected a collapse of the power grid in case of a short-term simultaneous production drops of all photovoltaic installations. A non-compliance of this duty was threatened by “criminal prosecution”.

 

In an official mail dated March 14th 2015 TERNA informed all owners of installations with a minimum installed capacity of 100kWp to completely shut down their plants on the day of solar eclipse (20th March 2015) in the time from 00:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. The organisational challenge here was to disconnect plants after sunset on the previous day and re-connect them to the grid before sunrise on the following day to avoid unnecessary yield losses for investors. In addition to that there was some confusion as not all affected plant owners received the official notification from TERNA. Furthermore TERNA changed the procedure on short notice 2 days before the solar eclipse (on March 3rd 2015) and withdrawed the shutdown for a number of plants, for others TERNA limited the time line from 07:00 a.m. to 02:00 p.m. Thanks to a flexible and professional organisation ENcome managed the administrative as well as technical part of the shutdown for its clients without problems. Every single plant has been disconnected from the grid in time and re-connected to grid. Therefore all affected plants could take up electricity production to their full extend already on the weekend.

The legal basis for such a nationwide shutdown of photovoltaic installations was created by a change of Annex A72 of the TERNA network code (Resolution 421/2014/R/EEL). By June 30th 2015 all photovoltaic installations with an installed minimum capacity of 100kWp need to be retrofitted in such a way that the grid operator can independently disconnect them from the grid. ENcome offers its customers the full technical adaption to the legal requirements for remote shutdown as well as support in handling the process for reimbursement with the relevant authorities.

The ENcome group is a pan-European leading and independent provider for the operation of photovoltaic power plants with focus on technical Operation and Maintenance (O&M), technical Asset Management (TAM) and the compilation of technical expertise. At present ENcome operates power plants with a nominal capacity of several hundred megawatts in different countries. Well skilled engineers ensure the best yield for every renewable energy park in any grid environment. Furthermore ENcome offers other services along the asset lifecycle of photovoltaic installations partnering amongst others with renown law firms, tax advisers and security centers.