The control system of ENEL´s 3.3 MWp PV plant

The paper describes the control system of ENEL´s first PV plant for bulk power production, consisting of ten subfields of 330 kWp each, built at Serre (Salerno). Each subfield is provided with an autonomous line-commutated and high efficiency DC/AC converter having an innovative control system, based on microprocessor technology and touch-screen monitor, which operates by a real-time MPPT control function. The regulators of the converters also accomplish the task of peripheral interfaces for the centralized command and supervisory system, which collects data and sends commands by means of fiber optic radial LAN. The centralized management system has a wealth of functions for the detailed display of the plant´s operational state, the computing and monitoring of plant performances, the historical data collection, and for a wide range of other services. Through it is also possible to control the plant remotely using concise commands and signals, and the full remote monitoring via modem of the plant current state and acquired data. The paper goes into detail on the innovative control functions of the peripherical regulators, on the centralized control system, and on the overall system field test results