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Streamlined Expansion into Utility-Scale Solar with a 27 MW Project in New York

Many developers and EPCs are expanding their business from only C&I to serve the fast-growing utility segment. With a longer development timeline and need to meet stringent and challenging grid requirements, this is no small undertaking; however, companies have proven the expansion into the utility segment is a catalyst for growth. The first project was part of a package of eight solar projects awarded by NYSERDA, totaling 216 MWs. These projects were part of NYSERDA’s renewable energy standard request for proposals and were developed in close coordination with the local community and regional stakeholders in 2017 and 2018.

For AlsoEnergy, a Stem company, the first project slated for completion was a 27 MW solar site that would become one of the largest solar projects in upstate New York. The project owner was already using PowerTrack, AlsoEnergy’s asset performance management (APM) application, to manage 964 existing sites totaling 1.75 GWs which enabled a seamless transition once the project transferred to its owner.

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Challenge

As developers and EPCs transition into the utility segment, many deal with longer development timelines and stringent grid requirements.

This case study focuses on a 27 MW utility-scale solar project in upstate New York, part of a larger 216 MW package awarded by NYSERDA. The challenge was to successfully navigate the complexities of the utility segment, meet demanding interconnection and power purchase agreement (PPA) requirements, and seamlessly integrate the project into the owner's existing portfolio.

Solution

AlsoEnergy’s utility solution played a pivotal role in addressing these challenges. It provided supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) capabilities for real-time monitoring, analysis, and control of all power plant equipment and sensors at the edge and in the cloud -- this ensured compliance with the project’s Interconnection Agreement and PPA. Integrating AlsoEnergy’s utility solution with PowerTrack, the cloud-based monitoring application, streamlined the onboarding process. Technical engineers from AlsoEnergy supported the construction team with onsite commissioning of SCADA, power plant controller, MET stations, and networking hardware.

PowerTrack, with its secure and reliable data, maximized economic and environmental returns by simplifying clean energy management. It provided real-time monitoring and controls, meeting the specific requirements of utility projects. Even with complex data from various devices and weather stations, PowerTrack’s modeling seamlessly aggregates the data, making it manageable and meaningful. Custom charting and reporting in PowerTrack met the accuracy standards of NYGATS, ensuring compliance with New York’s energy tracking system.

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Results

The successful implementation of AlsoEnergy’s solutions resulted in several positive outcomes:

  1. Standardized Edge Solutions: Adopting AlsoEnergy’s edge solutions ensured the project met complex SCADA needs. This standardization enabled the replication of the entire engineering, procurement, and construction process, ensuring the project stayed on time, on budget, and in compliance.
  2. Streamlined Monitoring and Optimization: The project benefited from a monitoring and optimization application that could handle increased throughput, more users, data computations, and asset hardware analysis without compromising performance -- this was crucial for the project’s success.
  3. Seamless Integration: The familiarity with AlsoEnergy’s edge solutions and PowerTrack made integrating the utility-scale project into the owner’s existing portfolio a natural progression.

“With the 27 MW project being only the first within a package of seven more utility sites being developed, it was crucial that we standardized on edge solutions that could meet the complex SCADA needs. This enabled us to replicate the entire engineering, procurement, and construction process – ensuring that we stayed on time, on budget, and in compliance for the project delivery of all assets. Since we were already familiar with AlsoEnergy’s edge solutions and PowerTrack, it was a natural progression for us to partner with the company for this utility project.”

Director of Engineering, Project Developer

“Having a monitoring and optimization application that can handle the increased throughput of more users, more data computations, and more asset hardware being analyzed while still delivering the same performance and end user experience of a smaller portfolio was critical for this project. And being able to do this on the same application that we were already using for the rest of our portfolio is an added bonus.”

Project Owner

Gustavo Monteiro

Chief Executive Officer, EDPR NA DG

“This solar + storage project is a prime example of how MEC - and cooperatives in general - have the power to provide equitable access to clean energy for its members and communities all while providing the framework for a more resilient grid. EDPR NA DG’s collaboration with Stem assured the energy storage system would be optimally configured to supply an end-to-end solution to MEC in our first project together.”

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