SOLARIS project funded by the EU Commission
In order to foster the development and integration of PV systems in Europe and beyond, more efficient, reliable and profitable operation and maintenance strategies need to be found. SOLARIS gathers 15 partners for 48 months to develop and demonstrate a complete set of physical and digital tools for improved forecasting, operational performance and maintenance.
SOLARIS aims to achieve a high performance index (90%) and availability (more than 98%) of PV plants, while decreasing the levelised cost of energy by 10%.
SOLARIS will provide operators with reliable forecasting (short and long-term weather and power production); accurate monitoring and inspection techniques through novel wind, dust and impedance sensing, as well as automated multi-spectral PV inspection using drones; early fault detection including preventive maintenance; improved lifetime of strategic components through adapted responses; and energy trading via an AI-based tool.
Demonstration data will be gathered in an IoT platform, feeding one of the main tools proposed to PV operators — the PV asset management software. All developments will be demonstrated and assessed in 8 use-cases (utility- and small-scale ground-mounted, rooftop, floating, agriPV) across Europe.
The uptake of SOLARIS developments will be enhanced by the wide dissemination of demonstration and assessment results to relevant stakeholders — PV systems owners, O&M firms, and technology providers — facilitated by the creation of a Stakeholder Forum accompanying all developments towards commercialisation.
Launch of SOLARIS project
Together with our partners, the SOLARIS project was formally started at Danish Technical University in Roskilde, Denmark. SOLARIS aims at boosting Europe’s photovoltaic future by developing efficient, reliable, and profitable solar operations and maintenance strategies.
SOLARIS includes development, testing, and demonstration of:
- Comprehensive forecasting tool and AI-based energy trading tool (by UBIMET Group and Tekniker)
- Solutions against soiling (by Tekniker)
- Wind load sensing, novel impedance sensing, and design for power electronics (by Tekniker, emazys ApS and Aalborg Universitet)
- Autonomous drone inspection (by DTU, AIR6 SYSTEMS and Università degli Studi di Genova)
- Online IoT platform (by Elliot Cloud)
- PV asset management software (by Heliocity, with add-ons from DTU and Aalborg Universitet)
Four demo sites representing various use-cases — ground-mounted, rooftop, agriPV, and floating PVs — spread across different climates in Denmark (DTU), Austria (Wirtschaftsagentur Burgenland), Israel (Eilat-Eilot Environmental Unit), and Greece (PPC S.A.).
The Energy Systems Analysis Unit (Ana Rosa Gamarra Rodríguez, Yolanda Lechón, Daniel Garraín) will be responsible for the sustainability assessment once the developed solutions are demonstrated.
We would like to thank our Project Officer Pablo Vicente Laiglesia from CINEA — European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency — for his support in the start of this project.
The project has been funded under Horizon Europe of the European Commission.