High-precision satellite solar irradiance data for the VCOM Cloud
Augsburg/Sydney, December 4, 2019 – meteocontrol GmbH, one of the leading global providers of independent monitoring solutions for PV systems, has partnered with Solcast: The Australian service provider of satellite data delivers high-precision irradiance data for every system location around the world. meteocontrol uses these data to perform yield simulations on its online platform VCOM Cloud.
With the VCOM Cloud, meteocontrol provides system operators with a comprehensive solution for PV portfolios. Its open platform combines professional monitoring, digitalized service management and reliable hosting of all system data. The innovative monitoring solutions include precise and reliable data as well as intelligent target values. Meanwhile, a tried and tested simulation allows meteocontrol to easily evaluate the measured yield of every PV system around the world. Using the digital-twin principle, meteocontrol generates a digital image of the system and incorporates its technical parameters into the simulation. With the help of the evaluations and alarm functions in the VCOM, system operators can easily ensure the optimal performance of their system and, thus, maximum yields.
Pioneer for portal-based yield evaluations
The yield simulations are based on the irradiance levels that exist on site at any time. For PV systems that are not equipped with built-in irradiance sensors, meteocontrol developed a system 20 years ago that is based on satellite data. The company can now offer this successful solution anywhere in the world, either by using local irradiance data or satellite data. Solcast is now providing the location-specific irradiance data to meteocontrol. “We depend on the most precise satellite data possible so that our customers can completely rely on our calculations,” said Robert Pfatischer, the Managing Director of meteocontrol. “As a result, we really need to have a strong partner like Solcast at our side. The company is one of the world’s leading providers, and we are certain that we can optimally work together as a team.”
James Luffman, a co-founder and Managing Director of Solcast, is also excited about the partnership: “meteocontrol and Solcast have a similar mindset which makes the partnership rewarding.” The management of both companies lies in the hands of their respective co-founders. Both have long traditions and are pacesetters in their field of business. “meteocontrol has pulled off the trick of moving from hardware to intelligent analytics as a way of providing its customers with promising, high-performance solutions for growing demands. We take a similar approach at Solcast, too: We have developed our interfaces for applications on a large scale and for global use. This makes Solcast an optimal complement for meteocontrol. Around the world customers with a system capacity of 14 gigawatts are already profiting from our portfolio.”
About Solcast
Solcast is a global solar forecasting and solar irradiance data modelling company, delivering its data products via an Amazon Web Services (AWS) hosted API and online web platform: the Solcast API Toolkit. Solcast’s mission is to deploy the data and tools needed to build a solar powered future, by making it easy for those in the solar industry to access the information they need to get the job done. www.solcast.com
About meteocontrol
meteocontrol is the leading global provider of independent solar monitoring and control systems and currently monitors more than 45,000 PV systems with a total power output of over 14 GWp. For more than 40 years, meteocontrol has developed monitoring software and hardware for solar PV systems. They offer planning and commissioning of monitoring and control systems, as well as yield forecasts, technical due diligence, and energy and weather data analytics. Their independent engineering division has supported projects with a total investment of more than 14 billion euros. meteocontrol is a member of APRD Investment Group (Asia Pacific Resources Development), with headquarters in Augsburg, Germany and Shanghai, as well as subsidiaries in Lyon, Madrid, Milan, Santiago de Chile, Tokyo, Chicago, San Salvador and Melbourne. www.meteocontrol.com
