Structural stability against wind is a key technical challenge in the management of photovoltaic plants. As these installations grow in capacity and complexity, ensuring their structural integrity and performance becomes essential. In this context, SUNNER introduces the solution to optimize the structural integrity of solar power plants: TRUE WIND, a technology that integrates GAU data to effectively anticipates critical phenomena such as galloping and other aeroelastic instabilities, optimizing plant operational strategies and alarm management.

The Galloping Avoidance Unit (GAU). GAU is the physical device that is placed in the beam that combines multiple signals within an efficient electronic design to accurately characterize the torsional behavior of each solar tracker. Using advanced model-based filtering methods, TRUE WIND decomposes the tracker’s torsional response in real-time into its various vibration modes. Additionally, it implements computationally efficient techniques to rapidly estimate the impulse response of each mode, identifying key dynamic parameters, such as natural frequencies and damping ratios under specific operational conditions.

Integrable into both existing photovoltaic plants and new tracker designs, TRUE WIND adds immediate value by correlating actual operational conditions with the original design parameters of the tracker. This approach effectively prevents structural damage, significantly extends equipment lifespan, and reduces operational maintenance costs. Furthermore, it enhances plant energy production by minimizing unnecessary misalignments due to adverse wind conditions.