Soltec is the world’s third-largest manufacturer of solar tracker equipment, with a focus on R&D and in-house development of the full product stack.

In its efforts to optimize the control of large Solar Tracker plants, Soltec adopted Thread as the communication solution for its latest generation of solar tracker control systems.

THE CHALLENGE

With the ever-increasing size of Solar Tracker plants and the growing need for operational control, monitoring, and safety, classic wired solutions contribute significant expense to the installation and maintenance of solar tracker farms.

To address this challenge, Soltec sought out a solution that was flexible and able to offer the customization required for its product development needs. The company designs and manufacturers its solutions in-house which enables the maximum level of integration and efficiency.

THE PROCESS

Soltec started by investigating strategies to transition parts of the communication between components of its Solar Tracker plants to a wireless solution.

Reliability and optimal performance in all weather conditions were critical factors in transitioning to a wireless solution. The system needed to address interference which might limit communication or single points of failure and ultimately impact the entire plant. It was also a requirement that the chosen network technology be secure to adhere to the strictest cyber-safety norms.

After evaluatinga number of possible solutions, Soltec selected Thread with OpenThread as the foundation for its development efforts.

Thread provided a solution that met Soltec’s key requirements, offering all the technical and operational capabilities while being open and fully customizable.

THE SOLUTION

Soltec implemented Thread in the Gateway Control Units that control the power plants. By incorporating three border routers in each gateway, there is no single point of failure. Communications are automatically rerouted should one of the border routers fail.

Furthermore, Thread’s 802.15.4 based wireless mesh system allows for large solar power plants to be controlled by a single integrated networkwithout the need for repeaters or wireless radio amplifiers, cables or other connections.

Security is provided by connecting the plant to a client’s network through a firewall and setting up a logical separation between the control and monitoring systems, all while leveraging Thread’s banking class AES-128 encryption to secure the wireless network.

Competitive  Advantage

Soltec’s Thread-based Full-Wireless Solar Tracker Control System offers a number of advantages:

• Provides secure and wireless communication between thousands of devices in large solar power plants
• Eliminates the need to install and maintain complex wired networks
• Integrates with other commercial IoT systems such as sensors and cameras
• Based on industry standard IP and proven 128-bit encryption methods for optimal security
• Future proof solution is flexible and easy to expand