Solar power is the fastest-growing source of new energy generation in the world today. Due to the rapidly increasing share of electricity being generated by solar projects, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) has mandated Generating Availability Data System (GADS) performance and event reporting to address the impact that solar energy production has on the overall energy grid. Beginning this year, GADS reporting is required for solar and solar + storage sites with a total capacity of 100 MW or greater. In 2025, the reporting threshold will extend to sites with a capacity of 20 MW or more.

The required content of a solar GADS report is extensive. Without an automated, AI-enabled system for collecting data and performing calculations, the GADS reporting process is extremely time-consuming and prone to error, even for those currently familiar with GADS reporting for wind projects. Reporting formats for conventional, wind and solar projects are similar, but solar GADS report creation is far more challenging. Solar report contents are multifaceted. They must include information on the configuration of the facility, so the plant design, equipment and location must be outlined. Guidelines also call for information on monthly performance, which includes reliability, and availability related to the inverter and energy storage groups, as well as information on specific events affecting plant performance. The vast amounts of data are collected from device analog data, device and event logs, met station data, substation and meter data and inverter/converter manuals. To further complicate reporting, there is little to no standardization of event data amongst the dozens of solar inverter manufacturers, and there are additional reporting requirements if the project also has BESS.

New AI-powered asset performance management platform can help project owners navigate these new requirements. These platforms offer a single solution that brings all the data and more into a centralized location under a unified model for operations and asset management teams. They can collect time series data, such as sensor, SCADA, meter and alarm data, failure and maintenance logs, weather, and market data, as well as services, warranty, off-taker contract languages, user edits, approvals and notes. These platforms can then process the inputs and perform calculations and transformations on the raw data and event data, including specific inputs such as daytime and nighttime separation. AI can then run data quality, completeness and plausibility analyses, validation and additional sanity checks. For GADS reporting, AI platforms can format the resulting data per NERC requirements and provide a downloadable report that is ready to upload to NERC.

There are challenges, solutions and best practices of NERC compliance, and the last thing solar operators want is another quarterly report. A solid, reliable AI-enabled asset performance management platform can put solar operators in the perfect position for managing the flow of data in their operation so tasks like NERC compliance reporting are readily and easily achieved quarterly.

NERC’s mission is to provide a reliable grid, and GADS is a valuable source of information on reliability, availability and maintainability — key components to achieving that mission. Solar GADS reporting is extensive but meaningful. Without an automated, AI-enabled system for collecting the data and performing the calculations, the process is extremely time-consuming and prone to error.