Performance and Availability Test

definition
The Contractor is bound to offer a Minimum Performance and Availability Guarantee. The Performance and
Availability Test methodology will be discussed in this section.

1.1 Performance ratio algorithms

The performance ratio (PR) is defined according to the standard CEI EN 61724 (CEI 82-15) as:

Yf
PR=
Yr (1)
Yf is the final PV system yield, that is the net AC energy output divided by the nominal DC power of the
installed PV System. It represents the number of hours that the PV System would need to operate at its rated
power to produce that amount of energy. The value for Yf is calculated by equation 2:

E
Yf=
Pn [kWh / kWp] (2)
where:

Yf = final PV System yield

E = System net AC energy output in kWh as indicated by the calibrated meter(s) at the grid connection point(s)

Pn = System nominal power in kWp

Yr is the reference yield that is the total in-plane irradiance H divided by the PV’s reference irradiance G. It
represents the equivalent number of hours necessary for the array to receive the reference irradiance. If G equals
1 kW/m2 , then Yr is the number of peak sun-hours. The Yr defines the solar radiation resource for the PV system.
It is in function of the location, orientation of the PV array, and month-to-month and year-to-year weather
variability. The value for Yr is calculated by equation 3:

H
Y r=
G [(kWh/m2) / (kW/m2)] (3)
where:

Yr = reference yield

H = total in-plane irradiance in kWh/m2

G = reference irradiance (usually 1 kW/m2)

The performance ratio (PR) calculated by the equation (1) is Yf divided by Yr. By normalizing with respect to
irradiance, it quantifies the overall effect of losses on the rated output due to inverter efficiency and wiring
mismatch, and other losses when converting from DC to AC power; PV module temperature; incomplete use of
irradiance by reflection from the module front surface; soiling or snow; system down-time and component failure.

1.2 Availability algorithms

Availability will be measured at the output terminals of the direct current connection boxes upstream of the
inverters, on the basis that the presence of voltage in output terminals of the connection box means that the
aforesaid connection box is available.

Availability will only be measured over the period of time when the average irradiation exceeds the minimum
inverter irradiation threshold of 30 W/m², and it will be determined for each of the inverters. Once the minimum
threshold is exceeded, the availability will be measured in fifteen minutes reference periods. The inverter
availability is calculated for each of the inverters; the plant annual availability is calculated from the individual
inverter availability calculation for all inverters in the solar power plant.

The production data of the inverters output terminal data will be continuously monitored for each inverter and the
data will be stored in paper and in electronic version. This information will be used for the calculation of the
annual availability and any clarifications or dispute that may arise later.

The following equations will be used to calculate the inverter availability and the plant annual availability:

Inverter Availability (%) =

∑ OT + ∑ TnAC ∗ 100
TOT
Where:

TOT Total Theoretical Operating Time. [Min]. It accounts the Total amount of time in which

an inverter i exceeds the minimum irradiation threshold of 30 W/m²

OT Operating time. [Min]

TnAC [Min] Time of non-availability with causes not Attributable to the Contractor. During these periods, all
inverters are considered as available. In this case, the operator must provide satisfactory evidence.

The Operating Time is calculated as the time when each inverter was considered as available. The criteria is that
there is voltage in output terminals of the connection box and the ratio of the actual production Pi,ind divided by
the average Production PAV of all inverters exceeds 0.85.

This criteria is applied with the granularity of 15 min periods. For such period of computation:

 if Pi,ind/PAV > 0.85, the inverter i is considered as available,

 if Pi,ind/PAV < 0.85, the inverter i is considered as not available,

Pi,ind actual production of the inverter i in fifteen minutes period

PAV average production of all inverters in fifteen minutes period.

1.3 Definition of Guaranteed and Effective Performance Ratio and Availability
In order to evaluate the compliance with the minimum performance and availability guarantees, the minimum
values guaranteed for both parameters are compared, and must be lower than, the effective performance ratio
(PReff) and annual effective availability (Aeff). These concepts are introduced in order to correct for the module
degradation and to exclude the stopping periods as discussed in next sections.

The Contractor should propose a Minimum Guaranteed Performance Ratio of XX (TBF) and a Minimum
Guaranteed Availability of YY (TBF). The absolute MGA is 98%. Contractors will be evaluated based on their
proposal for this value.

MGPR = XX

MGA = YY

The effective values are calculated as follows:

PReff = Eeff * G / Pn * f * H

Where:

Eeff : is the production of electric energy (in kWh) measured at the point established by grid operator at high
voltage

G: is the standard irradiance value, meaning the value representing the instantaneous power of the solar
radiation which hits a orthogonal plane surface in standard conditions, equal to 1000 W/ m2

Pn : is the nominal peak power (in kW) of the System in standard conditions STC

f: is a correction factor due to the panel's performance degradation and modules technology

H: is the value of the irradiation in (kWh/m2) measured in the plane of array under the measurement using
the sensor device with the highest value on-site. The Employer reserves the right to use data from a nearby
meteorological institute in case of doubt of the correctness of the irradiation data.

On the base of the above assumptions, the annual effective availability (Aeff)) for the system is calculated as
follows:
Total Inverters
∑ Inverter Availability (%)
i=1
Aeff =
Total Inverters

1.3.1.1.1 Exclusion periods

In the calculation of the PReff and/or Aeff, several exclusion periods are considered. These include:

stopping periods due to theft, vandalism, Force Majeure events, power outage of the national electricity grid for
reasons not attributable to the Contractor, or in case of willful misconduct or gross negligence of the Grid
operator; a maximum limited to 48 hours per year corresponding to scheduled maintenance activities carried out
pursuant to the O&M Contract.