PVplanet, a software designed by Siemens Energy, is a clever tool that helps solar facility owners and future ones, to plan the most cost-effective layout for their solar parks.
This genius technology provides hundreds of potential arrangements of solar panels, and displays all parameters, so that the owner could assess them and make the best selection depending on his needs. And the best part is, the software is finally made available to the general public.
Although the software was developed already in 2012 by Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics (ITWM) and Siemens Corporate Technology, Siemens Energy were the only ones with access to it. In a way, this was a very good move. It gave them a chance to test and perfect all specifications and functions of the program, until they were finally ready to present it to all interested photovoltaic facility companies.
Using the software is made very simple. It is essentially a scenario-simulating tool, which should be fed with various data on location of the facility, the weather in the region, costs of construction, distance between panels, among others. As a result, PVplanet generates alternatives for alignment of the panels so that the owner could assess and decide on the scenario, which gives him the most optimal estimates. Having such a tool at hand, planners and engineers not only cut down on time, but also they can boost the efficiency of the facility and minimize the risk with only a few simple clicks of the mouse.
According to the makers, the software is not only suitable for planning of large projects. Even owners of facilities that generate as little as a few megawatts can benefit from it. The makers claim that anyone who uses it could boost the energy production of the facility by as much as 350 megawatt hours per year.
Probably this is what solar facility owners have been missing all this time. Let’s hope Siemens manages to provide them all with the ultimate tool that can help turning solar into the most desired alternative to fossils.
Image (c) Siemens
