Key challenges
Operating across a globally diverse portfolio (2 GW solar + 550 MWh energy storage), Equans encountered increasing operational complexity in markets where curtailment is driven by regulatory and market constraints, particularly in the Australian National Electricity Market (NEM). Key challenges included:
Invisible curtailment events
Traditional SCADA and OEM tools lacked the granularity to distinguish between operational underperformance and externally-imposed curtailment, particularly in NEM-governed sites.
Underreported performance impacts
Without proper isolation of curtailment losses, energy yield shortfalls appeared as performance degradation, threatening contractual guarantees and bonus calculations.
Time-intensive analysis
Manual post-event analysis to assess curtailment losses consumed valuable engineering time and delayed corrective action.
The solution
To address these gaps, Equans deployed SynaptiQ’s Curtailment Analytics and Digital Twin technology to pinpoint the direct impact of curtailment on plant performance. Key components included:
Model-based energy baselines
SynaptiQ’s digital twin continuously simulates the theoretical (unconstrained) energy yield, enabling real-time benchmarking against actual performance.
Integration with NEM dispatch signals
A tailored data pipeline ingests and decods AEMO dispatch instructions, allowing for precise detection and timestamping of curtailment intervals.
Automated loss attribution
Curtailment-related energy losses are automatically isolated and quantified, enabling plant teams to distinguish between internal inefficiencies and external constraints.
Performance KPI adjustment
Curtailment-adjusted KPIs allow for more accurate performance tracking, contract compliance and incentive validation.
About Equans
With over 10 years' experience, Equans Solar & Storage is the one-stop partner for integrated, high-performance, large-scale solutions for solar and storage projects.Their mission: to serve the energy transition and a low-carbon world by promoting the deployment and integration of solar and energy storage solutions. They provide solutions for solar photovoltaic and hybrid power plants, energy storage and innovative projects. Present in 14 countries, with a team of 1,500 experts dedicated to solar and high voltage, Equans Solar & Storage has installed 6.5 GW of capacity in solar power and 2 GW in operation & maintenance, and has a portfolio of 2.5 GWh in battery storage (of which 600 MWh in installed capacity + 1.9 GWh under construction).
