In-depth Application of LTE Modem in Photovoltaic Power Generation: Bridging the Gap from Data Silos to Intelligent Operation and Maintenance
Driven by the "dual carbon" goals, China has led the world in newly installed photovoltaic (PV) capacity for consecutive years, with distributed PV accounting for over 40%. However, the operational challenges of PV power stations persist: a western PV power station suffered a daily power generation loss exceeding 50,000 kWh due to unaddressed inverter failures, while a remote mountainous station required a three-hour drive for maintenance personnel to troubleshoot communication outages. These cases highlight a core pain point: the intelligent transformation of PV power stations urgently requires breaking through the "last mile" of data acquisition and transmission. As the "nerve center" connecting devices to the cloud, LTE modems are reshaping the underlying logic of PV operation and maintenance (O&M) through high-speed, stable data transmission capabilities.
- Three Pain Points in PV O&M and LTE Modem Solutions
1.1 Communication Blind Spots Due to Geographic Dispersion
Distributed PV power stations are often located in remote mountainous areas, industrial park rooftops, or agricultural greenhouses, where traditional wired communication faces high construction costs and maintenance difficulties. For example, in the Shandong Zaozhuang "PV + Energy Storage" tunnel power supply project, 4,600 square meters of PV panels were installed on the north side of the Longmen Tunnel. Using fiber-optic communication would have accounted for 15% of the total project investment in wiring costs alone. In contrast, LTE modems enable "plug-and-play" connectivity via operator networks, reducing communication costs by 70% while supporting seamless switching among China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom networks, ensuring stable operation in extreme temperatures ranging from -40°C to 85°C.
1.2 Data Silos Caused by Device Heterogeneity
PV power stations involve over a dozen types of equipment, including inverters, combiner boxes, and weather stations, with incompatible protocols leading to fragmented data acquisition. A representative case involves an electronics manufacturing enterprise: its surface mount technology (SMT) machines and reflow ovens on the production line used the Modbus RTU protocol, while inspection equipment relied on CAN bus. Traditional gateways required custom protocol conversion module development, with cycles lasting up to six months. LTE modems, equipped with built-in multi-protocol parsing engines, support mainstream industrial protocols such as Modbus TCP/RTU, IEC61850, and DL/T645, enabling "one-click" device data access. For instance, the USR-G786 can simultaneously connect two serial devices and two Ethernet devices, completing protocol conversion via AT command configuration and reducing development cycles from months to hours.
1.3 Conflict Between Real-Time Requirements and Network Latency
Scenarios such as equipment condition monitoring on automated production lines and cargo tracking in intelligent warehouses demand data transmission delays below 100 ms. Test data from an automotive factory revealed a 37% drop in AI system accuracy for detecting machine tool vibration anomalies when network latency exceeded 200 ms. LTE modems optimize TCP/IP protocol stacks and employ hardware acceleration technologies to control end-to-end latency within 50 ms. The USR-G786, featuring a Cat.4 communication module, supports LTE-CAT4 150 Mbps downlink speeds and maintains connections in weak network environments through heartbeat packet mechanisms, ensuring no critical data loss. - Three Core Applications of LTE Modems in PV Scenarios
2.1 Real-Time Data Acquisition and Edge Computing
In the Dezhou substation energy storage project, a 7.3 MWh energy storage cabinet required real-time acquisition of over 200 parameters, including battery pack voltage, temperature, and state of charge (SOC). Traditional solutions uploaded all data to the cloud for processing, resulting in high bandwidth usage and significant response delays. LTE modems leverage edge computing capabilities to perform local data cleaning and preliminary analysis: the USR-G786, with its built-in Cortex-M4 core and Python scripting support, enables threshold judgment and anomaly detection on acquired data. For example, when battery temperature exceeds 45°C, the LTE modem immediately triggers local alarms and uploads anomaly codes instead of transmitting all raw data, reducing network bandwidth demand by 80%.
2.2 Remote Device Management and Firmware Upgrades
PV power station equipment such as inverters and tracking brackets often require remote parameter adjustments or firmware updates. A wind farm's practice demonstrated that traditional manual on-site upgrades took two hours per device, while LTE modem-based OTA (Over-the-Air) functionality enabled batch upgrades for 100 devices in just 10 minutes. The USR-G786 supports differential upgrade technology, transmitting only firmware differences to reduce package size by 60%, while employing AES-256 encryption to ensure secure transmission. One PV power station shortened its inverter MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) algorithm update cycle from quarterly to monthly using this feature, boosting power generation efficiency by 2.3%.
2.3 Multi-System Collaboration and Intelligent Scheduling
In the Anhui Tongling Deyi Energy 7.12 MW PV + 6 MW/22.87 MWh energy storage project, LTE modems served as "data hubs" connecting PV, energy storage, charging stations, and grid dispatch systems. Through customizable registration packet functionality, LTE modems transmitted differentiated data to various platforms: power generation and electricity consumption data to energy management systems, green certificate application information to power trading platforms, and equipment fault codes to O&M platforms. The USR-G786 supports two independent Socket connections, establishing secure channels with both Trina Solar's smart cloud platform and virtual power plant dispatch systems for minute-level coordinated control of source-load-storage resources. Project data showed a 25% increase in PV consumption rate and annual electricity cost savings of RMB 4 million through intelligent scheduling. - Typical Case Study: Innovative Practice of USR-G786 in PV O&M
Case 1: Intelligent O&M Revolution at Jinan PV Poverty Alleviation Power Stations
Jinan's 2017 village-level PV poverty alleviation project faced challenges of "decentralized power stations and delayed O&M." Hongdian Corporation adopted an "LTE modem + Wedora cloud platform" solution, deploying USR-G786 across over 2,000 power stations to achieve three breakthroughs:
Accelerated Fault Response: By collecting real-time data on inverter power and electricity generation, the system located faulty equipment within five minutes. Maintenance personnel remotely restarted devices via LTE modems before arriving on-site, reducing fault recovery time from four hours to 30 minutes.
Reduced O&M Costs: Traditional solutions required dedicated inspection personnel, while LTE modems enabled a single technician to manage 50 power stations, cutting labor costs by 75%.
Optimized Power Generation Efficiency: Analyzing historical data revealed a 15% power generation decline in certain areas due to dust accumulation. The system automatically generated cleaning tasks and pushed them to the O&M app, resulting in a 12% rebound in power generation after cleaning.
Case 2: "Zero-Fault" Operation at Fujian Huayu Weaving's 5,200 kW Rooftop PV System
Jinjiang Simai Photovoltaic Co., Ltd. implemented a fully encrypted communication system using USR-G786 in the Huayu Weaving project:
Enhanced Data Security: LTE modems supported SSL/TLS 1.3 encrypted transmission and customizable registration packets to prevent data tampering during transmission. A network attack test successfully blocked 99.97% of malicious requests.
Resilient Data Transmission: During network outages, LTE modems stored data locally with timestamps and prioritized uploading interrupted data upon reconnection, ensuring 99.99% data integrity on monitoring platforms.
Intelligent Diagnostic System: By analyzing parameters such as current harmonics and voltage fluctuations, LTE modems predicted inverter IGBT module failures three days in advance, avoiding unplanned downtime and daily losses exceeding RMB 20,000. - Future Trends: Deep Integration of LTE Modems with the PV Ecosystem
As 5G, AI, and digital twin technologies mature, LTE modems are evolving from "data transmission tools" to "intelligent O&M gateways":
5G + 4G Hybrid Networking: In large-scale ground-mounted PV power stations, 5G LTE modems handle high-bandwidth tasks like video surveillance and drone inspections, while LTE modems manage low-latency operations such as equipment control and condition monitoring, forming dual-link redundancy.
AI-Driven Predictive Maintenance: The USR-G786 now supports edge-side AI model deployment, enabling fault prediction based on vibration and temperature data. A pilot project demonstrated a 30% extension in equipment lifespan and a 40% reduction in maintenance costs using this functionality.
Digital Twin O&M Platform: LTE modems transmit real-time equipment data to construct digital twins of PV power stations, allowing maintenance personnel to simulate fault scenarios and optimize operation strategies in virtual environments. A virtual power plant project test showed a 60% improvement in dispatch decision-making efficiency using digital twin technology.
From Connecting Devices to Empowering Industries
The application of LTE modems in the PV sector has evolved from simple data transmission to a core engine for intelligent O&M. From cost reduction and efficiency gains at Jinan's PV poverty alleviation project to "zero-fault" operation at Fujian Huayu Weaving and source-load coordination at Tongling Deyi Energy, LTE modems are redefining the boundaries of PV O&M through technological innovation. As the "dual carbon" goals advance, deeper integration between LTE modems and the PV industry will provide robust support for building a clean, low-carbon, safe, and efficient energy system. As one energy enterprise CIO put it: "LTE modems are not just cold hardware; they serve as the 'digital nervous system' of PV power stations, transforming every ray of sunlight into traceable, optimizable, and tradable green assets."
