PVFARM has commercially launched RE PILOT, a software platform designed to help utility-scale solar and battery storage developers compare project configurations before moving into detailed engineering.
The platform is intended for developers, EPC contractors and storage specialists working on standalone solar or colocated solar-plus-storage projects. It can evaluate multiple combinations of site layout, battery sizing and placement, energy production and project economics within a single workflow.
PVFARM says RE PILOT can assess thousands of configurations, allowing project teams to examine how changes in system design affect factors including energy yield, costs and grid constraints. The tool also incorporates analysis of the point of interconnection, an increasingly important consideration for large solar and storage developments.
The launch expands PVFARM’s existing software portfolio, which includes PVFARM for detailed renewable energy engineering and RE STACK for renewable energy design and analysis.
According to the company, development of RE PILOT included more than 150 hours of discussions with specialists from more than 60 organisations. Beta testing of the wider software suite involved more than 80 companies, with feedback used to shape the platform’s design and functionality.
Cam Connolly, design manager at McCarthy Building Companies, said the software could help project teams assess alternatives earlier in the development process.
“Using RE PILOT, we are able to rapidly evaluate this wide range of alternatives and identify promising concepts aligned with the client’s priorities,” Connolly said.
He added that the resulting concepts could then be taken into PVFARM for more detailed engineering and validation.
PVFARM co-founder and chief technology officer Maksim Markevich said solar, storage and grid decisions are often interconnected but assessed using separate tools.
“With RE PILOT, we’re giving developers and EPCs one workflow to answer the questions that used to take weeks,” Markevich said, including the optimal solar and storage configuration, layout and battery size.
The launch comes as co-located solar and battery projects become more common, increasing the number of technical and commercial variables developers need to assess before committing to detailed design.
