Italia

Beyond the numbers: optimising the production of a ground-mounted photovoltaic plant

In 2025, our 4.617 MWp photovoltaic plant in Ardea (Lazio), connected to the grid in March 2025, produced a total of 6,638.907 MWh of electricity.

This figure is in line with the forecasts made during the design phase - but what does this amount of energy really represent?

To give an order of magnitude, 6,638.907 MWh is equivalent to:

• the average annual energy needs of approximately 2,460 Italian households, based on ARERA data;

• the energy needed for a medium-power electric car to travel almost 49.2 million kilometres, or the entire length of Italy from north to south once a day for almost a century.

These comparisons are useful for understanding how much a utility-scale photovoltaic plant can really contribute to the sustainability of the energy system. But there is one fundamental aspect that the numbers alone do not show: how do you arrive at that figure? In other words, how do you ensure that a plant generates an amount of energy in line with forecasts, or even better?

After connection: production as a process

Connecting a solar park to the grid is only the beginning of its operational life. In fact, it is in the subsequent phases that the plant's ability to generate energy and economic value over time is truly fine-tuned, maximising the results of the investment made.

Every MWh produced is the result of dozens of technical, operational and managerial choices based on data, research and experience. Even a few percentage points of improvement on large-scale plants can translate into hundreds of MWh per year. This is why the phase following connection is decisive.

But what are the main steps to be taken? Let's take a look.

Electrical and control fine-tuning: recovering ‘hidden’ energy

One of the first activities after connection involves fine-tuning the electrical and control systems. Often, electrical and control parameters are initially set conservatively in order to pass connection tests and avoid creating problems for the grid. The fine-tuning phase serves precisely to recover energy that the system could produce but is not currently producing due to sub-optimal settings.

In this phase, we mainly work on three aspects:

• optimising the parameters of the inverters and MPPTs: this allows the system to always operate at maximum efficiency and maximum power, reaching its peak production capacity at all times;

• checking and adjusting grid setpoints (voltage, frequency, power factor) to ensure that the system operates in perfect synchronisation with the national grid, avoiding overvoltage and supporting the local grid;

• management of power limitations and curtailment imposed by the grid operator: it is particularly important to optimise control logic to comply with the limits required by the grid operator without reducing energy input more than necessary.

These adjustments, invisible from the outside, can reduce structural losses and significantly improve the net production fed into the grid.

Advanced monitoring: transforming data into decisions

A utility-scale plant generates a large amount of data every day. Knowing how to read and interpret this data is key to harmonising the operation of the entire plant.

In this context, the SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) system plays a leading role. This system, which acts as a sort of control centre for the plant, allows for the continuous monitoring of a series of fundamental parameters and indicators, including:

• electrical parameters (string and grid voltage, current generated and fed into the grid, power input to the inverter and reactive power, etc.) and data on electricity production (active power, energy produced and production per inverter/string/section. ..)

• grid connection status and power limitations and curtailment: connection point status, active power setpoint, difference between available and delivered power, etc.

• Performance indicators, primarily the performance ratio (PR), the technical and commercial availability of the system and losses (e.g. due to temperature, mismatch, inefficient conversion).

• Meteorological data, such as irradiation, module and ambient temperatures, wind speed and direction.

It is important that the SCADA system adopted is advanced: constant and accurate performance analysis allows underperformance and anomalies to be identified at an early stage, before they turn into failures or structural production losses, with significant savings in terms of long-term operation and maintenance (O&M).

Land and vegetation management: a factor that is anything but secondary

A ground-mounted photovoltaic system is a comprehensive system, consisting not only of electrical and mechanical components, but also of the land on which it is located, its vegetation and atmospheric agents. For this reason, site management is an integral part of energy performance.

Regular vegetation mowing, seasonal shading control and module cleaning (when economically justified) reduce losses from soiling (panel contamination) and shading, preserving the efficiency of the system and the safety of the infrastructure over time.

Preventive and predictive maintenance: maximising availability

Alongside corrective maintenance, preventive and predictive approaches are becoming increasingly important, aimed at preventing breakdowns and avoiding energy losses in the system without the manufacturer noticing. While preventive maintenance is based on time, predictive maintenance is based on data, such as thermography to identify hotspots on modules and analysis of operating trends.

The goal of this approach is clear: to maximise plant availability by minimising downtime and unplanned production losses.

Production as the result of a strategy

The production of a utility-scale photovoltaic plant is never random. It is the result of an integrated strategy that combines quality design, post-connection optimisation, continuous monitoring and careful site and maintenance management. In short: production is the result of a continuous process of care and attention to the entire system.