Utility Power Plant
O&M Excellence
Run your investment right. We maintain renewables assets to optimize generation and maximize return on investment. With NovaSource, you gain an independent partner that delivers innovative services, actionable insights, safer operations, and data-informed O&M strategies that save operating costs.
How we fuel smart growth…
Technology Innovation
Smart Corrective Maintenance
Predictive Maintenance
Transparent Performance Reporting
Offering Turnkey Services Across Project Lifecycles
Project Development Support
Proforma Opex Budgeting
Equipment Selection
Value Engineering
Electrical Studies
Design Document Analysis
Construction Management Support
Commissioning
Factory and Site Acceptance Testing
Construction Due Diligence
Mechanical and Electrical Testing
System Energization
Project Verification
Performance Optimization
Power Service
Remote Monitoring
Preventive Maintenance
Troubleshooting and Diagnostics
Corrective Maintenance
Module Cleaning
Vegetation Management
BESS
Aerial Inspections
Special Projects
Full System Repowering
Portfolio Component Upgrades
SCADA Upgrades
Restoration After Force Majeure Events
Spare Parts & Inventory Management
Decommissioning
System Decommissioning
Component Recycling
NovaSource Monitoring Solutions
NovaSource Operations Center
SUNSTREAMS
Heliolytics
Increasing Amount of Data Taken and Analyzed
Increasing Time to Issue Identification and Resolution
Layered Digital Tools
End-to-end Site Data
Powered by GlobalFED
236
Site Substations
593
Blocks
14,140
Inverters
115,551
Combiner Boxes
408,779
Trackers
7,712,781
Strings
93,447,438
PV Modules
~467 km2
Landscape Features
Asset counts for Sites in GlobalFED with active contracts as of 2022-04-12.
Land area estimated based on site metadata and Ong, S., Campbell, C., Denholm, P., Margolis, R., and Heath, G. Land-Use Requirements for Solar Power Plants in the United States. United States: N. p., 2013. Web. doi:10.2172/1086349.
NovaSource supports any brand of major equipment
Plant Operations and Monitoring
Remote Operations
The NovaSource Control Room is the only PV-exclusive medium impact operation center in North America. We provide your assets with 24/7/365 monitoring, rapid issue detection, power dispatch/curtailment and grid support, energy forecasting, compliance, and cyber security.
300+
Plants
20+
GWdc
70+
NERC Facilities
650+
MWh Batteries
Key Operations Center Functions
Remote Operations Centers
- Continuous Monitoring of all Site
- Coordination of all Switching Actives
- Alarm Monitoring and Response
- Control of Power Plant Operations
- Economic Dispatch
Support Operations
- Outage Support and Planning
- Procedure Review and Approval
- Corrective Action Coordination
- Customer Notifications and Reporting
- Plant Optimization
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Supervisory Operations
- Maintains Oversight of Operations Actives
- Ensures all Regulatory and Contractual Obligations are met
- Independent Engineering Review of Operations Activities
- Customer Support Liaison to Operations
Hierarchy of Operations Center Priorities
1. Safety
- Lone Worker Program: Audible Alerts
- Night Work: Substation Switching
- Security Company 24×7 Phone Calls
- Source of Power Clearances: Communication with Transmission
2. Compliance
- NERC / CIP Execution
- AVR Reporting (PPC)
- Voltage Out of Band Reporting
- Physical Security of Ops Center
- Medium Impact NERC Facility
- UPS-Battery Backup
- Backup Generator
- Dual ISP’s
- Restricted Physical Access
- Recorded Phone Lines
- Backup Cell Phones
- Backup Ops Center Location
- 24x7x365
3. Grid Regulations & Security
- Curtailments
- Automatic : (ADS – CAISO / ERCOT)
- Backup: Operator
- Grid Events
- Directives from Transmission / Schedulers
- CAISO EDAS Telemetry Exemptions
- Shared Facilities Agreements
- CIP Regulations
- Forecasting
- Outage Planning & Scheduling
4. Site/Substation
- Breaker Trips
- GSU Alarms (Temp / Pressure / Bushing)
- Trackers: Hail/Wind/Flood/Snow Stow
- Block Trips:
- BESS Systems Alarms
5. Inverters
- Inverter Faults
- Inverter Comms
- Inverter Derates
- Inverter Module Offline
- Trackers
- DC Offline
- Overtemperature
- Shading
- Cycling
- String vs. Central Inverters
- Inverter Not Curtailing
- Inverter Not Clipping
ERC Monitoring & Submissions
Monthly Compliance Assessment Reports (MCARs)
NovaSource provides the expertise and stability our GO’s have come to rely on for regular compliance tasks and reporting.
- ERC provides monthly compliance breakdowns
- Includes GO compliance records
GOP Self Certifications & Periodic Data Submittals
GOP Compliance Audits
NERC Alerts & Data Requests
During the event of a NERC Alert or Data Request, NovaSource works hand-in-hand with Owners and their compliance team to ensure one cohesive submission.
Internal Compliance Investigations & Reviews
Standards Development
Industry Forums & Events
Power Plant Maintenance
Preventing & Solving Problems for Maximum Performance
Maintenance Activities
Core Maintenance Services
Our core maintenance services are tailored to help clients get the best performance from renewables investments over the long haul. They include:
- End-to-end power plant maintenance (DC and AC)
- Spare parts, inventory, and supply chain management
- Maintenance scheduling with utility/grid operator
- Development of plant-specific operating and safety procedures
- Night-time maintenance
- 24/7 on-call engineer for site support
- Warranty repair performance for OEMs
CMMS Automation Benefits
Faster and more reliable response to issues
Work prioritized by energy/revenue loss
Optimized staff utilization and service routes
Assurance that technicians carry the right parts and tools
In-depth maintenance activity reporting
Aerial Imaging
Market Leader & Largest Global Provider of PV Services
Heliolytics is the North American market leader and largest global provider of fully-integrated lifecycle photovoltaic (PV) services.
100+ GW
Aerial inspections performed globally
That’s more than our top competitors combined.
8,500+
Individual sites inspected globally
$62M+
Average recoverable energy loss detected per year
Supply Chain Solutions
NovaSource offers this differentiated service and continues to invest and build an industry- leading supply chain function to help drive this methodology throughout the market.
Management
Quarterly cycle counts at sites and with consigned inventory
Dedicated warehouse pallet space
Tracking
Implementing NSPS part numbers across the fleet. Each Work Order will consume out parts so we can track consumption data.
Evaluation
Evaluation of fleet assets and spare part recommendations
Replenishment
Replenishment with minimum on hand and reorder points
Communication
Communication with customers, suppliers and technicians
Vegetation Management
Vegetation Management is critical to operating a safe and successful plant.
Safety
Full Reduction
Tripping Hazard
Dangerous Wildlife
Productivity
Bi-facial performance
Weed shading
Maintenance access
Pest reduction
Legal Requirements
Noxious weed abatement
NovaSource team manages:
Mowing/Trimming
Herbicide application
Grazing
NovaSource increasingly self-performs:
Bi-facial performance
Weed shading
Maintenance access
Pest reduction
Vegetation Management in O&M base scope
- Typically includes: one annual spray of pre-emergent under panels and around sensitive equipment, and 2-4 mows per year to keep vegetation at a safe height.
- Lower cost per application/mow
- Staff dedicated to site or small region and able to support PM activities in the non-cutting season
Vegetation Management can cost more than the O&M – let us help you keep costs down!
Enhanced Cleaning Solutions
NovaSource SMART Cleaning™
Effective module washing plans take into account geography and climate of each region
With 10+ years of module washing, NovaSource tailors a plan for each location
BESS Services
Customers benefit from early mover, lessons learned, and aggregate run time hours
Constantly refining prescriptive intel on alarms, faults, battery performance KPIs
0.24 GWh
under contract in 2019
4.6 GWh
under contract in 2022
>12 GWh
expected to be under contract in 2026
Pre-COD Services
Ensuring System Integrity, Safety and Performance
Commissioning
Commissioning is the final verification process used to compare and confirm an installed project to its designed plans and engineering. NovaSource’s team has commissioned over 1GW of PV installations. We help our clients lower the economic risk of their projects by identifying quality of workmanship, materials used and ensure system integrity for the lifespan of the system.
Our experience in risk evaluation, factory inspections and failure analysis of the key components (PV Modules, Inverters, Switchgears, Transformers) and high-quality customer communication, help to bridge the gap between EPC and O&M group, whether that is NovaSource or an alternative provider.
Hail Stow Services
Single stow tracker command functionality is critical.
Hail damage is a serious risk to solar plants in many parts of the US. NovaSource pre-emptively stows plant trackers to reduce risk of hail damage.
This critical service is executed by the world class NovaSource Operations Center with 24/7 manned operations.
Pre-emptive stow dramatically reduces the risk of hail damage by moving the vulnerable module surface to a high stow angle.
NovaSource monitors severe weather threats using a third-party forecasting partner and pre-emptively stows plant trackers in a favorable orientation to reduce risk of hail damage
Forecasting Service Capabilities
- NSPS partners with a tier 1 commercial forecasting service
- Partner provides severe weather alerts (lightning, tornadoes, hail, etc) to companies, government institutions
- Severe weather alerts are issued by meteorologists from 24/7 forecasting center
- Positive communication maintained with follow-up phone call if NSCR does not acknowledge alert
Solar Industry’s First DC Health Guarantee
0.6%
Typical Energy Yield Improvement
DC Health yields revenue equivalent to $0.33-$1.32/KWDC*
25% of sites will experience 0.8% improvement or greater – equivalent to $0.44-$1.76/KWDC
Improved DC health through reduced detection and repair times.
Utilization of SunStreams for combiner box health monitoring and automated work order creation
Measure DC health availability through twice annual IR Flyovers (string-level resolution)
Guarantee DC health availability 99% (LD below 99% Bonus above 99%)
Long-Term Service Agreement
We provide the UPP partners with tiered service categories that are designed to meet the unique needs of the industry:
