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      Updates June 2022

      AC-coupled BESS, SolarAnywhere integration, improved meteorological data sources

      pvDesign - backend v6.1.25, frontend v2.2.0

      In June, the engineering scope of pvDesign was expanded with the addition of a new feature which allows users to design a battery system coupled to the PV plant. Storage systems are one of the key technologies which will enable the transition to renewable energy

      Additionally, we also made changes to the meteorological sources available in pvDesign. Better sources allow users to run a more comprehensive plant performance analysis.

      New Features

      The following new features were added in June:

      • AC-coupled BESS: It is now possible to design a PV plant with storage in pvDesign. The BESS will be coupled to the AC system of the plant. To add storage to a PV plant, create a polygon in the KML file and name it "BA". pvDesign will locate the battery containers and power conversion systems inside the BA polygon. To calculate the number of containers and PCS, the user has two options. The system can be sized either by hours of operation, or by number of PCS and hours of operation. The cables and trenches in the BESS will also be sized. Finally, two new documents will be produced, the BESS Design Report and the BESS General Layout. More information here.
      • SolarAnywhere integration: pvDesign can now automatically download meteorological data from the SolarAnywhere API. To use the feature, head over to the Integrations tab in the My Company page, and add an API key. Be sure to read the knowledge base article explaining how to use the feature!
      • NASA POWER integration updated: The meteorological data from the NASA POWER API is available again. We updated to the latest version of the API, and now the temporal coverage is from 2001 to 2020. Additionally, now there is a new albedo data source, generated using the all sky surface albedo product from NASA POWER.
      • PVGIS updated to version 5.2: pvDesign now uses the latest PVGIS version available. For more information about the changes in PVGIS, please visit this page. The API now provides worldwide coverage, so designs in countries such as Chile or Australia will now benefit from having additional meteorological data.

      Bug fixes and improvements

      These bug fixes and improvements were released in June:

      • Fixed an issue with the password strength meter.
      • We improved the design of the scroll bars in all pages.
      • Fixed some translation errors.
      • Reordered some inputs in the design process, like the setbacks section and the modules per string slider.
      • Changed the size of the create albedo modal.
      • Increased the maximum road width to 20 meters.
      • Fixed issues with the page showing the company license.
      • Fixed a bug which caused the update company information request to fail.
      • Fixed an issue which caused polygons with inner rings not to be displayed correctly in the Layout 3D.
      • Fixed a bug which caused simulations in sites with very high temperature to fail.
      • Fixed a bug which caused simulations using regular blocks to get stuck and never finish.
      • Add the MV cable length between the MV cubicles and the power transformer in the interconnection facility BOQ.
      • Fixed some bugs which caused simulation failures due to geometric problems.
      • Improved the CSV file reader to better handle empty columns, and to accept files with UTF8 BOM encoding.
      • Fixed some issues which caused KML files to fail to load with unknown error.
      • Fixed an issue which could cause simulations with CdTe modules to fail.
      • Improved the DC harness description in the design and energy reports.
      • Improved the design of the fence and perimeter roads in the case where the distance from the structure to the fence is large.
      • Fixed an issue which could cause unnecessary roads to appear in the layout when using road shortcuts.
      • Removed design process recalculations when the site is changed.
      • Fixed a bug which caused the horizon profile not to show when German was selected as the interface language.
      • Fixed a bug in the fuse calculation for the DC bus electrical configuration.
      • Fixed some issues which occurred with very small areas.
      • Fixed an issue in the calculation of medium voltage lines which occurred when there were narrow spaces between restricted areas.
      • Fixes a simulation failure which occurred due to an inability to connect the roads to the access.