Meteocontrol: Power generation profiles for PPA projects

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Power supply contracts between system operators and power buyers – power purchase agreements, or PPAs – are becoming increasingly important in the trading of solar power. PPA contracts represent an important power marketing concept for project developers, investors and system operators outside the traditional feed-in tariff framework. Power supply contracts enable major commercial and industrial consumers to hedge against rising power prices and benefit from clean power as a marketing tool.

Power generation to match load profile

Ideally matching the generation profile of a PV system with the load profile of a company is a prerequisite for buyers, or ‘off-takers’, when buying solar power directly. Meteocontrol is able to deliver proof of this; as one of the first PV service providers, the company supplies power generation profiles specific to each system and for every hour of the year. The company’s 8,760-hour profiles are the result of yield simulations based on historical irradiation data. Meteocontrol is pioneering the monitoring and analysis of photovoltaic systems, with a database of more than 48,000 PV systems. The company also has the necessary experience, acquired from more than 15 years of technical consulting and more than 2,300 yield reports.

Independent expert in PPA tenders

Producing yield simulations is not new for the Augsburg-based PV service provider.

“They provide the basis for bankable yield reports that we have been producing for project developers, investors and system operators as part of our technical consulting services for many years,” said Matthias Hadamscheck, head of technical consulting at meteocontrol.

Christopher Meyer-Friedrich, technical Cconsulting sales engineer, said: “The requirements of the market are now changing. Off-takers are now demanding specific hour-based power generation profiles in PPA tenders or tender processes. We can quickly and easily supply them at the request of project developers and system operators. We also support the latter as an independent expert in the ongoing process, whether with construction supervision or technical inspection for commissioning.”