Complex network analysis of photovoltaic plant operations and failure modes

This paper presents a novel data-driven approach, based on sensor network analysis in Photovoltaic (PV) power plants, to unveil hidden precursors in failure modes. The method is based on the analysis of signals from PV plant monitoring, and advocates the use of graph modeling techniques to reconstruct and investigate the connectivity among PV field sensors, as is customary for Complex Network Analysis (CNA) approaches. Five month operation data are used in the present study. The results showed that the proposed methodology is able to discover specific hidden dynamics, also referred to as emerging properties in a Complexity Science perspective, which are not visible in the observation of individual sensor signal but are closely linked to the relationships occurring at the system level. The application of exploratory data analysis techniques on those properties demonstrated, for the specific plant under scrutiny, potential for early fault detection.