Via EUREC Members, EURAC Research

It is in this sector that Eurac Research’s renewable energy experts are working together with a team of Italian companies. The objective is to study how industry 4.0 logics – that means using new information technologies to optimize production, data acquisition and data analysis – could help to manage photovoltaic systems in a much more efficient way.
“Imagine during a field service an O&M operator enters all the collected information in a digital platform via a tablet,” says David Moser, expert in photovoltaic systems at Eurac Research and coordinator of the project “this valuable data can be put into the platform along with other important information: when the components were purchased, their performance and any previous problems”.
Thanks to these IT tools, O&M operators could easily check the health status of their PV systems, monitor them and detect any problems – all in one place. The platform, by analyzing the data collected using big data analytics, could also provide useful advices on best actions either in the control room or in the field and how to best manage the solar plant and improve its performance.
The IT platform will be developed by Saidea, an ICT service provider based in Trento, in collaboration with researchers from the Institute for Renewable Energy of Eurac Research. Huawei and a group of companies that offer maintenance services for photovoltaic systems “” OET, Elpo, PVEnergy, BayWa r.e. Operation Service, VIRIDIS Energia “” are also involved in the activities. These companies will be able to test the product in advance and express feedback and advice in order to optimise the final product.
The PV 4.0 project is financed by the ERDF Programme of the Autonomous Province of Bolzano-Alto Adige.