Planning SCADA and controls for renewable grid connection

For an EPC, developer or asset owner, a renewable project can have suitable generation equipment and still face delays when control interfaces, telemetry or test responsibilities are unclear. ACEems CONNECT provides a seven-stage approach to organising the SCADA, control systems and communications work for solar, wind and battery energy storage projects.

In the accompanying video, Jordan Zhao introduces the framework. The practical checklist below shows how to turn those stages into an agreed engineering scope. Deliverables depend on the project and contract; network requirements and acceptance criteria should be confirmed before implementation.

The CONNECT process: inputs, outputs and checks

1. Consult early — establish requirements and responsibilities

Bring: the connection requirements available to the project, single-line diagrams, equipment schedules, programme and key contacts. Identify the relevant network operator and market arrangements for the site.

Agree: a requirements register, interface responsibilities and an assumptions list. Record who owns each controller, protection interface, communications link and approval submission. Unresolved requirements should have an owner and a due date.

2. Optimise design — define the complete interface

Translate requirements into a control and communications architecture, signal list, control philosophy and alarm approach. Define command authority, operating modes, time synchronisation and the response to lost communications. Review interfaces with the EPC, equipment suppliers and responsible network representatives before configuration begins.

3. Network develop — configure against an agreed baseline

Develop PLC, RTU, SCADA and protocol configuration against approved design documents. Track software versions, signal naming and configuration changes so the tested system can be reproduced. Confirm access arrangements and backup responsibilities with the asset owner.

4. Network integrate — prove that equipment exchanges the right information

Check end-to-end signal mapping, engineering units, scaling, timestamps, data quality and command acknowledgements. Establish how the SCADA, plant controller, inverters, meters and other systems interact within the agreed scope. Record interface discrepancies rather than leaving them for site commissioning.

5. Evaluate and verify — build a traceable test record

Prepare a factory acceptance test plan linking each test to an agreed requirement. Depending on the design, example checks include:

  • Telemetry values, status changes, timestamps and quality flags.
  • Command permissions, acknowledgements and operating limits.
  • Communications failure, recovery and redundancy behaviour.
  • Alarm presentation, event records and operator actions.
  • Configuration versions, defects, corrective actions and retests.

Agree the expected result and witness requirements before testing. Keep completed records and an open-item register for handover to the commissioning team.

6. Commission — confirm behaviour on the installed plant

Use an agreed site acceptance plan to check the installed communications, point-to-point telemetry and permitted control functions. Coordinate tests with the EPC, asset owner and relevant network parties. Record results, outstanding items and the configuration actually commissioned. Energisation and connection approvals remain subject to the responsible parties’ processes.

7. Transfer and train — make the system supportable

Agree the handover package: as-built drawings, configuration backups, software versions, test evidence, operating guidance and training. Identify who maintains each system and how future changes will be reviewed and retested.

Where ACE’s scope ends and project approvals begin

SCADA and control integration supports a grid-connection project; it does not by itself establish compliance of the whole plant. Protection design, power-system studies, equipment certification and network or market approvals must be allocated to the appropriate responsible parties. Independent protection and approved operating limits remain part of the plant design.

The applicable process varies by network, jurisdiction and connection type. Confirm requirements for the actual site rather than assuming a process used on another project applies unchanged.

Prepare for an engineering discussion

Share your project location, generation and storage equipment, connection stage, target dates, available drawings and known interface problems. ACE can then discuss the SCADA and communications scope, information gaps and next engineering steps.

Explore our clean-energy SCADA services and project case studies, or contact ACE about your project.