Best Practice Checklist fr EPC / A Definitins, interpretatin Technical aspect & what t lk fr in the EPC cntract 1. Is there a set f definitins f imprtant terms prvided and are thse clear and understd by all stakehlders? B Cntractual cmmitments 2. EPC cntractr qualificatin 3. Respnsibility and accuntability 4. Date f wnership and risk transfer are defined and acceptable 5. Cnstructin start date and end date are defined and acceptable 6. Plant Cmmercial Operatin Date (COD) is defined and in line with FiT r PPA cmmencement dates 7. The EPC wrks shuld be carried in cmpliance with (nn-exhaustive list) Grid cde cmpliance: plant cntrls (e.g. ability fr emergency shut-dwns r curtailment accrding t grid regulatins) PPA cmpliance Building permits (if applicable) Envirnmental permits Specific regulatin fr the site (e.g. vegetatin management, dispsal f green waste) C Scpe f wrks engineering 8. Overall the scpe f wrks fr the EPC shuld be clearly defined. Which activities are included in the EPC services (is it a turnkey EPC)? Are they clearly defined? 9. The EPC shuld include Technical Specificatins cnsisting f [Best practice] The perating envirnment is defined fr: Minimum and maximum ambient temperature Maximum relative humidity Maximum altitude Lcal climate Lcal cnditins (e.g., snwy, sandy, near sea/chemical surce/crrsive/agricultural activity/purpse f building usage/etc.) Detail plant descriptin n all majr cmpnents including MV/HV equipment, mnitring, mete statins, security and surveillance Plant implantatin schematic including nt nly the majr cmpnents but als auxiliaries (electrical cabinet, substatins etc.) and facilities (strage, ffice, guard huse, fences, rad access etc.) Single wire diagram Bill f materials f the majr cmpnents Recmmended minimum spare part lists (draft versin f this infrmatin during EPC negtiatin shuld be updated t the final versin when the plant is cmpleted and handed ver)
[Best practice] List f all applicable technical standards fr majr cmpnents (panels, inverters, electrical equipment) (nn-exhaustive list) CE Cmpliance Panel: IEC61215, IEC61730, IEC61701, IEC62716, IEC62804, IEC62108 (CPV) IR/EL: IEC60904-12 & 13 Inverter: IEC62109 Electrical equipment: IEC61000 Tracker: IEC62817, IEC62727 Design and installatin: IEC TS 62548 Cmmissining: IEC62446 Perfrmance mnitring: IEC61724 10. Wh is respnsible fr grid cnnectin and the infrastructure t cnnect the PV plant t the grid (transfrmer, exprt lines, substatin) is clearly defined 11. Site suitability (grund installatin) Getechnical and sil study Any fld risk Other cnstraints (chemical in the air, crrsive air, etc.) Site suitability (rftp installatin) Rf stability study Structural requirements f rf and munting structure (bth static/snw lad and dynamic/wind lad Lightning prtectin requirement Fire prtectin (PV system shuld nt be built acrss fire prtectin walls); design shuld be in cmpliance with the building fire prtectin cdes D Requirement fr weathering prtectin (lifetime f rfing film) 12. If the site study has been dne and the results have been shared with the wner and the EPC, the EPC cntract shuld clearly acknwledge that the cntractr has reviewed the results f the study and has designed the PV system taking int accunt the site cnditins and cnstraints 13. Fr rftp system, the rf shuld be weatherprf thrughut peratins f PV plant withut majr verhaul f rf laminate layer 14. Estimatin f plant yield/prductin shuld fllw best practice guidelines (see Best Practice Checklist fr Lng-Term Yield Assessment ) 15. The plant design and estimated yield/prductin shuld be validated by third party Scpe f wrks prcurement 16. All majr cmpnents shuld be visually inspected at delivery 17. All mdules shuld be tested fr STC perfrmance accrding t the IEC60904 standards at the factry and the test data shuld be submitted t the EPC cntractr fr verificatin [Best practice] All mdules shuld be inspected with electrluminescence imaging camera at the factry and the test data shuld be submitted t the EPC cntractr fr verificatin 18. PV mdules shuld be sampled and tested after delivery and befre acceptance List f test (and criteria) shuld be included in the EPC cntract Tests are t be dne by an accredited independent test labratry
E F G H 19. [Best practice] Transprtatin and handling requirements n cmpnents shuld be specified 20. [Best practice] EPC cntractr is required t perfrm factry inspectin n the mdule factry 21. [Best practice] Negtiatin f technical requirement in supply agreement (i.e. mdule) and warranty terms and cnditins shuld invlve inputs frm technical advisrs Scpe f wrks cnstructin 22. The EPC shuld include cmprehensive prtcl and training t its field wrkers n hw t unpackage and handle cmpnents prperly 23. The installatin f cmpnents shuld adhere the manufacturer s guidelines when applicable 24. Regular cnstructin mnitring by the wner (assisted by technical advisr) shuld be perfrmed t check cnstructin prgress and quality (and fr milestne payments) 25. Reprting f cnstructin prgress shuld be included in the cntract 26. Health and safety, husekeeping and site security are defined as the respnsibilities f the cntractr during cnstructin Scpe f wrks administrative and thers 27. Respnsible party fr securing the site use is clearly defined: Fr grund-munted utility systems: land lease, land purchase, and land access Fr cmmercial rftp systems: rf lease, rf access 28. Respnsible party t btain permits and authrizatins t develp PV plant is clearly defined 29. Any supprt required frm the EPC cntractrs in permitting, grid cnnectin etc. shuld be clearly defined 30. Is the cntractr respnsible t carry ut r nly supprt warranty and insurance claims management during the EPC perid? Manufacturer warranties 31. The terms and cnditins f majr cmpnents manufacturer warranties are clearly defined Effective start and end date Definitin f defects Claim prcedure The cmpensatins prpsed are reasnable and lgical Exclusins Prvisin t allw fr the invlvement f third party expert during technical dispute Transferability 32. The warranty timelines shuld be in line with the EPC warranty timelines 33. Check if the jurisdictin f the warranty allws it t be legally enfrceable 34. [Best practice] Are there additinal insurances (transprtatin damages, e.g.) frm either the EPC cntractr r cmpnent manufacturer? EPC warranty and Defect Liability Perid (DLP) 35. Prvide warranty f Gd Executin f Wrks 36. The EPC cntract shall prvide at minimum 2-year EPC warranty frm the date f plant take-ver 37. The DLP duratin cincides with the EPC and cmpnent manufacturer warranty duratin
I J 38. During this DLP, the EPC cntractr is respnsible t repair faults r defect at its wn cst, r an arrangement has been made with the O&M cntractr t execute this. Fr the latter, clear scpe f wrk wnerships must be aligned t prevent avidance f respnsibilities 39. The party respnsible t maintain the PV plant after take-ver and befre the end f DLP is clearly defined Key perfrmance indicatrs (KPIs) and guarantees 40. The EPC cntract shuld have key perfrmance indicatrs fr tw aspects Cmpletin timeline: guaranteed cmpletin date System perfrmance and quality: guaranteed perfrmance rati (PR) r guaranteed utput 41. The guaranteed PR r utput shuld be calculated in a lng-term yield estimatin exercise using crrect technical assumptins, i.e. all relevant lsses and uncertainties 42. Liquidated damages (LD) r penalties shuld be assigned in the cntract in case the guaranteed KPIs are nt met 43. Cmpletin delay LDs shuld be in line with the prject revenue lss due t lateness in prject entering peratin. The LD is cmmnly a % f EPC price fr each day f delay 44. Perfrmance LDs shuld be in line with the prject revenue lss when the system is nt meeting the guaranteed perfrmance level. The LD is cmmnly a % f EPC price fr each pint f PR r utput belw the guaranteed value 45. Maximum amunt f LD (LD cap) t limit cntractr s liability is usually included in the EPC cntract. E.g., delay LD and perfrmance LD culd each be capped at 20% f the EPC cntract price and the cmbined cap is 30% f the EPC cntract price Cmmissining and acceptance 46. The EPC cntract shuld include plant prvisinal and final cmmissining 47. Shrt term perfrmance test shuld be carried ut after the PV system cmpletes the cnstructin phase 48. Prvisinal test set-up shuld include apprpriate: Duratin f the test Irradiance threshld Mnitring system, including measurement sampling rate and averaging methd 49. The calculatin methd fr the key perfrmance indicatr fr prvisinal acceptance shuld accunt fr shrt-term effect n temperature and irradiance 50. Final acceptance plant perfrmance shuld be carried ut after the plant has been in peratin fr a representative perid f time (2 years after prvisinal acceptance) 51. Final perfrmance test set-up shuld include apprpriate Irradiance threshld Mnitring system, including measurement sampling rate and averaging methd 52. The calculatin methd fr the key perfrmance indicatr fr final acceptance shuld accunt fr: Annual degradatin Plant availability 53. Measurement f irradiance t assess plant perfrmance Irradiance measurements Measurement in the POA accrding t the Secndary Standard r First Class quality classificatin (ISO9060:1990)
Minimum requirement: ne measurement device (pyranmeter f high quality) [Best practice] At least 2 pyranmeters If different array rientatins, ne pyranmeter per rientatin careful assignment fr prper calculatin f PR and yield Sensrs placed at the least shaded lcatin Sensrs installed accrding t manufacturer s guidelines Preventative maintenance and calibratin accrding t manufacturer s guidelines Set irradiance t be recrded with averages f 15 min (minimum requirement) r 1 min and less (best practice) High quality satellite-based data t cmplement terrestrial measurements [best practice] mainly fr mnthly and annual values and nt daily since the RMSE is high (8-14%) Minimum requirements fr satellite data: hurly granularity r 15 min. Set data t be retrieved nce per day at least 54. Measurement f irradiance t assess plant perfrmance Temperature sensr prperly installed accrding t manufacturer s guidelines Use f stable thermally cnductive glue t the middle f the backside f the mdule in the middle f the array, in the center f the cell away frm junctin bx Accuracy shuld be <±1 C including signal cnditining Fr large systems, different representative psitins fr installing the sensr shuld be cnsidered: mdule at the center f the array and at the edge f this mdule where temperature variatins are expected 55. Inverter measurement t assess plant perfrmance AC level: energy and pwer data shuld be cllected Energy data shuld be cumulative values ver the lifetime f the inverter Cllect all inverter alarms imprtant t plan yur maintenance activities (crrective and preventative) Mnitr and manage cntrl settings at the inverter level and the grid injectin level DC input measurements <1s sampling and <1min averaging DC vltage t be measured and stred separately fr allwing MPP-tracking and array perfrmance prblems [Best practice] measure all parameter frm the inverters including internal temperature, islatin level etc. 56. Energy meter Cllectin f energy meter data by the mnitring system in daily basis and with 15 min granularity High accuracy energy meter is required uncertainty f ±0.5% fr plants >100 kwp The abve pint can be cnsidered as best practice fr plants smaller than 100 kwp 57. Plant visual inspectin shuld be carried ut during acceptance test [Best practice] The visual inspectin uses advanced tls such as IR camera 58. As part f the plant hand-ver prcess, the EPC cntractr must prvide (nn-exhaustive list) A cmplete set f as-build dcumentatin (IEC62446, see Best Practice Checklist fr As-Build Dcuments Type and Details fr cmplete set) Recmmended minimum spare parts list