Inverter Repowering: Fundamentals and Showcases O&M and Asset Management Conference 2018

6th December, 2018

we service | new energy

we service | new energy Dec-18 2

Agenda

Introduction to greentech

Introduction to inverter repowering

Case study

Summary

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greentech is an independent service provider for PV assets Our Company in a Nutshell

Dec-18 3

Specialist for PV Operation: O&M and Asset Management

One of the biggest ISP (Independent Service Provider) for

PV O&M and asset management *

600 MW / 200 projects under management

Experienced management and a qualified team of more than

50 employees

Modular and comprehensive service portfolio

High degree of innovation, process and IT-driven business

Active in 12 countries

Hamburg Milton

Keynes

Leipzig

* GTM Research, 2017: “Global Solar PV O&M 2017-2022” Memberships & certification:

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greentech covers all Responsibilities for managing PV assets Three columns of services

Dez-18 4

Full Service Provider

Monitoring

Reporting

Incident Management

Inspection

Maintenance

Testing

Controlling & Reporting

Corrective Maintenance

Module Cleaning

Landscape Management

General Management

Administration

Financial Accounting

Contract Management

Claim Management

Insurance Management

Asset Management Operation & Maintenance

Commercial Advisory

Business Consultancy

Repowering & Optimisation

Service Solutions

Technical Advisory

Component Solutions

Today‘s Focus

we service | new energy Dec-18 5

Component

Solutions

Business

Consultancy

Technical

Advisory

Repowering &

Optimisation

Helping PV companies

and asset owners to

improve their operations

Providing specific and

reliable PV components

for new-build or retrofit

Applying our technical

knowledge to increase

safety and performance

Delivering proven

concepts for increasing

yields and lifetime

Profitable PV projects with the support of an experienced Partner greentech Service Solutions

Increasing service

quality and optimising

the costs-benefit ratio

Commercial

Advisory

Today‘s Focus

we service | new energy Dec-18 6

Agenda

Case study

Summary

Introduction to greentech

Introduction to inverter repowering

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Significant amount of ageing inverters from installed PV Capacity Annual installations

Dec-18 7

Evolution of global annual PV capacity installed between 2000 & 2016

Source: SolarPower Europe: Global Market Outlook

Many inverters installed

Increasing failure rates

Introduction to inverter repowering

Expiring warranties

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Some Manufacturers have left the PV market leaving customers exposed Press clippings

Dec-18 8

Introduction to inverter repowering

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Increasing efficiency of inverters offers potentially higher yields Efficiency and technical development

Dec-18 9

Efficiency Increase

Improved Availability

Introduction to inverter repowering

Development of module & inverter efficiency from 1990 until today

Higher Design Flexibility

Advanced Features

Less Maintenance

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020

efficiency of inverters efficiency of polychrystalline silicon modules

Own graphical creation / Data source: SMA 2018: SMA Academy Presentation; Fraunhofer Institute 2018: Photovoltaics report

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Inverters show a significant price decrease Price of development and outlook

Dec-18 10

Adaptation of: http://www.irena.org/DocumentDownloads/Publications/IRENA_Power_to_Change_2016.pdf

Global weighted average total system costs breakdown of utility

scale solar PV-systems: 2009 - 2025

Continuous competition

and price pressure

Falling inverter prices

Introduction to inverter repowering

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Agenda

Case study

Summary

Introduction to greentech

Introduction to inverter repowering

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Annually 120,000 kWh yield loss due to inverter failures Introduction to site

Dec-18 12

Plant Data

Total capacity 7 MWp

CoD 2012

Feed-in Tarif €0.2207/kWh

Plant type Ground mount

Module type Thin film 77.5Wp & 82.5Wp

Inverter type 424 string inverters 13kW – 20 kW

Specific yield / year 973kWh/kWp

Case study

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How to deal with systematic inverter failure? Three technical concepts

Dec-18 13

Repair:

Existing inverters

Partial Revamping:

Similar inverters

Partial Repowering:

New generation

inverters

Three technical concepts

Frequent inverter outages due to internal insulation defect

Yield loss & decrease of technical availability

Ca. 1.76 % yield loss per year (€26,400 - p.a.)

Ca. €43.000,- repair and corrective maintenance (28 inverters p.a.)

1 2 3

Yie

ld in M

Wh

Comparison actual yield and expected yield

Actual

yield

Expected

yield PR

Situation

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(€50,000)

(€40,000)

(€30,000)

(€20,000)

(€10,000)

€0

Costs Yield loss

Dec-18 14

Concept 1: Continuous Repair of existing Inverters Current repair approach without repowering interventions

Costs and yield loss weaken the business case

Unforeseeable downtimes of inverters

Yield loss due to downtimes and repair times

No repowering potential

No future proofing for post subsidy operation

Approx. €606,496 - for residual operational time

Annual expenditures for inverter repairs

Technical concept & economics Consequences

Continuous field operations and repair costs

No review of system or components required

Reactive repair and maintenance interventions

Approx. two weeks downtime / repair time

Case study

€43,321- p.a.

2019 2032

Continue with current repair process

through manufacturer

Limited spare inverters due to availability

Linear costs and yield losses

Repeat annually

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-200,000 €

-150,000 €

-100,000 €

-50,000 €

- €

Costs Yield loss

Dec-18 15

Concept 2: Revamping with technically similar inverters Replacement with new similar inverters

No economic advantage compared to as-is-situation

No increase of efficiency

Slightly less yield losses

No future proofing for post subsidy operation

Approx. €935.184,- for residual operational time

Annual expenditures for inverter exchange

Consequences

Easy replacement without complex considerations

Implementation in existing communication & control system

No new plant certificate required

No mechanical & electrical alterations required

Case study

€168,878,- in year 1

€10,088,- in year 2 & 3

Exchange of old 84 inverters with new

technically identical inverters

Storage of old devices as spare parts

Same revamping every approx. 3 years

2019 2032

Technical concept & economics

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-120000

-100000

-80000

-60000

-40000

-20000

0

20000

Costs Yield increase

Dec-18 16

Concept 3: Repowering with larger new generation inverters Replacement with new inverters

Similar costs but significant yield increase!

Approx. €608,334 - costs for residual operational time

Yield increase of ca. 1% over time (increasing number of

more efficient inverters) -> €210,446 - revenue increase

Future proofing for post subsidy operation (+10 years)

Consequences

Case study

€10,088 - in year 2 & 3

€104,948 - € in year 1

Increasingly more yield

Exchange of old 84 inverters with new

larger inverters

Storage of old devices as spare parts

Same Repowering after approx. 3 years

More complex but more efficient too

Mechanical, electrical and communication alterations

required

New plant certificate may be required for each repowering

period Yearly expenditures & revenues

2019 2032

Technical concept & economics

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Choose wisely! 1% more Yield with the same Investment Economic differences between concepts

Dec-18 17

Repair:

Existing inverters

Partial Revamping:

Similar inverters

Partial Repowering:

New generation inverters

Approx. €606.496

Expected yield for residual operation

Approx. €935.184

Expected yield for residual operation

Approx. €608.334

Expected yield for residual operation

2019 2032

we service | new energy Dec-18 18

Agenda

Case study

Summary

Introduction to greentech

Introduction to inverter repowering

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Inverter 1 Inveter 2 Inverter 3

When is inverter repowering advisable? Key considerations

Dec-18

Indications for the consideration for inverter repowering

19

Decreasing overall performance of inverters

Certain inverters lag performance in comparison to

others

Warranty expired or claims not successful

Required parts are not available or too expensive

Alternative repair measures not feasible

Regulatory changes (e.g. active power management)

Optimizing a PV-plant for post feed-in tariff

Example Inverter: Performance Deviation & Outages

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Yield assessment & identification of

performance issues

Determination of optimization areas

What to take into account for an inverter repowering project? Technical and regulatory aspects

Dec-18 20

Assessment of different technical solutions Schematic repowering project

Technical aspects

Inverter compatibility

DC and AC design

Mechanical design

Data communication

Power management

Regulatory aspects

DNO requirements

FIT requirements

Technical Conformity Review Technical & economic evaluation

Implementation

Project management

Execution of repowering measures

Constant quality control

Solution Design

Technical & legal analysis

Specific repowering concept

Potential

Analysis

Technical feasibility study

Commercial analysis

Risk assessment

Performance

Assessment

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What to take into account for an inverter repowering project? Commercial assessment

21

Assessment of profitability

Input Parameters greentech Repowering Tool

Assessment of additional yield:

Comparison of As–is and To-be scenarios

Re-Investment Case: Calculation of

economic KPIs, such as IRR, net present

value and break even time

Sensitivity Check:

Analysis of interdependencies of most

relevant parameters

Yield in kWh

Yield without repowering

Additional yield

Year

Additional profit CAPEX Cumulated cash value

Plant data

Technical data

Cost structure

Financial data

we service | new energy Dec-18 22

£ ?

Why would you pass on +1 % yield increase? Outlook

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