PV & BESS - Control Room Operator

About Nova Source

Nova Source Power Services is the world’s #1-ranked solar operations and maintenance (O&M) provider and insight-driven total asset optimization partner for renewables asset owners ready to fuel smart growth. With over 20 years of operating experience and a presence on 5 continents, Nova Source has the global reach and strategic capabilities to achieve our clients’ renewables goals around the world.

Nova Source’s comprehensive approach to total asset optimization in addition to O&M services includes value engineering, performance analysis, strategic supply chain management, and advanced monitoring systems. The company operates in key global markets managing over 30GW of solar power plants. Nova Source’s expertise extends beyond solar and includes battery energy storage systems (BESS), offering a complete suite of services for the evolving renewable energy landscape.

• Monitors and operates many large and small aggregate generators, familiar with use of multiple monitoring and control platforms.
• Evaluate complicated operating situations against multiple regulatory and contractual obligations: operating contracts (O&M Agreement, Power Purchase Agreement, Interconnect Agreement), Balancing Authority tariffs, business practice manuals, transmission and scheduling entity operating handbooks, O&M operating agreements, and any NERC standards applicable to the generator operator / generator owner.
• For equipment under O&M jurisdiction, during equipment changes, safeguards the Generator Owner by enforcing OM change management policies, protecting Generator Owner compliance.
• For equipment not yet under O&M jurisdiction, provides monitoring to recognize any high priority alarm conditions that may place company at risk under applicable operating contracts and regulations. Provides recommendations to Commissioning for the purpose of mitigating risk, which recommendations from time to time may involve complicated business trade-offs.
• Operate multiple power plant control systems technologies across the fleet, understanding the behavior and capabilities of each technology; predict grid response to any control action; implement voltage schedules according to operating agreements and contracts.
• Initiate and document an appropriate alarm response plan for all trouble indications in accordance with procedure, including documenting low-impact and low-risk trouble indications in CMMS system for planned response; coordinating immediate response for high risk or high impact trouble indications, providing all notifications required by contracts and regulations to the Owner, Transmission Provider, and Scheduling Entity.
• Perform failure analysis using historical data for inverter trips and performance reductions, failures of MV and HV equipment, network equipment, and control systems. Assigns outage classifications to ensure all monthly reporting obligations are met and provide reliability data for Nova Source use in future process development and site development.
• Maximize the fleet’s overall value through interactions with maintenance teams across the fleet; understand contractual dispatch obligations for each resource; understand the energy impact of all outages in the context of effective availability and performance requirements; always challenge the maintenance team to maximize the owner’s revenue and bonus; maximize value when accomplishing required maintenance.
• During a failure of the forecasting system, use a pre-written worksheet and OM procedures to manually generate and deliver all forecasts.
• Maintains the operator log for tracking: capacity offline to ensure accurate up-to-date forecasting; trouble conditions and status for purposes of turnover and customer reporting; change in status of any contract or services; control actions implemented at the site or by Control Room; interactions with external regulatory entities.
• Provides contractually required failure notifications using the operator log.
• For Balancing Authorities that run Capacity Markets, reports capacity in real-time as required by the Market Tariff and Power Purchase Agreement. For Balancing Authorities that run Energy…