| Industrie | Renewable Energy (Solar Thermal Power) |
| Anwendung | Heliostat Field Control and Data Acquisition Network for a 700MW CSP Plant |
Einführung
In the vast expanse of a high-insolation desert region, a pioneering renewable energy project has set a new global benchmark. This landmark facility, one of the world’s largest Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) and energy storage plants, integrates multiple energy sources to deliver a staggering 700MW of clean power. At the heart of its operation lies a massive field of thousands of heliostats (mirrors) that must track the sun with pinpoint accuracy. Maisvch was selected to provide the critical industrial communication network, creating a robust and intelligent digital backbone that ensures a stable and efficient energy generation process.
System Requirements: Precision and Scale in a Harsh Environment
The success of a Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plant hinges on its ability to precisely focus sunlight from a vast field of heliostats onto a central receiver tower. For this 700MW giga-project, featuring two massive heliostat fields, the operational challenges were immense:
- Real-time & Precision Control: Each of the thousands of heliostats required constant, real-time commands from the central control system to adjust its angle and track the sun’s path. Any communication latency or data loss would directly result in reduced thermal efficiency and power output. The network also needed to handle control commands for automated cleaning systems.
- Massive Scale & Distributed Architecture: The heliostats, each with multiple control nodes, were spread across an enormous geographical area. The network had to reliably collect small data packets from thousands of endpoints and aggregate them for a unified, centralized management system without bottlenecks.
- Extreme Environmental Conditions: Located in a desert, the networking equipment would be exposed to extreme temperature fluctuations, dust, and sand. The hardware needed to be industrially hardened to guarantee uninterrupted operation 24/7 in this harsh environment.
- High Reliability and Redundancy: A network failure in any part of the heliostat field would mean immediate loss of power generation from that section. The communication infrastructure demanded a highly resilient design with fast-healing redundancy to prevent any single point of failure.
Solution: A Robust Hierarchical Network by Maisvch
To address these complex requirements, Maisvch designed a multi-layered, redundant industrial networking solution that serves as the central nervous system for the entire heliostat field. The architecture was logically divided into four distinct layers: Field Control, Physical Communication, Application, and Management.
The core of the solution involved deploying nearly 300 Maisvch industrial Ethernet switches across 17 robust fiber optic ring networks. This design choice was critical for ensuring maximum uptime and data integrity.
At the heart of the network, Maisvch MISCOM8028GX and MISCOM8036GX Layer 3 10G Industrial Ethernet Switches were deployed. Their high-bandwidth 10G uplinks provided the necessary throughput to aggregate data from all access rings without congestion. The Layer 3 routing capabilities were essential for segmenting the network, managing traffic between the east and west heliostat fields, and ensuring efficient data flow to the central control room.
In the field, Maisvch MISCOM7220 Layer 2 Managed Industrial Ethernet Switches were installed in field control cabinets. These switches connected directly to the heliostat control nodes. They were organized into multiple redundant rings using industry-standard protocols, guaranteeing that if any single link or switch failed, the network would automatically re-route traffic in milliseconds, ensuring continuous operation.
This hierarchical topology successfully integrated the two sprawling heliostat fields, creating a unified, manageable, and highly reliable communication foundation for the entire CSP system.
Empfohlene Produkte
Abschluss
The project stakeholders chose Maisvch for our proven expertise in industrial-grade networking and our products’ ability to deliver uncompromising performance.
- Zuverlässigkeit auf Industrieniveau: All deployed switches feature a fanless design, IP40-rated metal housing, and can operate in a wide temperature range (-40 to 85°C), making them perfectly suited for the harsh desert environment.
- Advanced Network Management & Redundancy: Our switches support advanced Layer 2 and Layer 3 management features, including VLAN, QoS, and fast-healing ring redundancy protocols. This allowed the customer to build a secure, efficient, and self-healing network.
- High-Performance for Real-Time Control: The combination of Gigabit access and 10-Gigabit uplinks ensures that time-sensitive control commands are delivered with minimal latency, maximizing the plant’s operational efficiency.
- Scalable and Future-Proof Solution: The modular and hierarchical design allows for easy expansion as the plant’s needs evolve, providing a long-term, cost-effective solution.
Do you have a similar challenge in the renewable energy, power utility, or industrial automation sector? Contact our experts today to design a communication network that delivers reliability and performance.
