Community solar independent power producer Encore Renewable Energy has selected Wattch as its data acquisition and control backbone for Encore’s projects in the Northeast.

The growing fleet of projects stretches across community solar, solar plus storage, and standalone battery sites, Encore officials say. As part of the agreement, Encore has already transitioned 31.5 MWdc of solar and 7MWac / 28MWh of “existing operating assets” to the Wattch platform.

Encore representatives say that transition will continue soon, as the company plans to incorporate an addition sixteen assets onto the platform.

“Encore has been a thoughtful partner from our very first conversations, and their input has directly shaped the capabilities we’re delivering today,” says Wattch co-founder and CEO Alex Nussey. “As they scale as a leading community solar IPP, having clear visibility into where energy and revenue are being lost is essential. We’re proud to give their team the tools to turn operational data into faster, smarter asset management decisions across their entire fleet.”

Once complete, the fully transitioned portfolio will include 110.9 MW of solar assets under the Wattch umbrella, as well as 5 MW / 20 MWh of battery storage.

Working toward solar efficiency

Encore’s selection of the Wattch platform “followed extended discussions” by the two firms, where Wattch was able to gather valuable data on Encore’s existing project portfolio.

“Wattch took the time to understand how we operate and what our engineering team actually needs in the field,” says Doug MacDonald, Encore’s VP of engineering. “Having a platform that supports all our assets means we can bring new projects online with confidence that our monitoring and controls will scale with us.”

Now, the corporate duo will work to support remote diagnostics across the whole of Encore’s project platform, focusing on pinpointing sources of operational loss and using that data to prioritize O&M solutions.

Encore’s existing sites have already converted from another monitoring platform, and retrofitted to Wattch’s platform. The data firm is able to support solar, storage, and standalone battery projects on a single digital access point, which Encore officials say played a key factor in the decision.

— Solar Builder magazine