WiNRG solar park
WILKA secures solar parks in Portugal
The German government has announced its intention for the country to become as climate neutral as possible by 2045. In accordance with the Green Deal – a concept for reducing greenhouse gas emissions announced by the European Commission at the end of 2019 –Europe also wants to reduce net C0<sup>2</sup> emissions to zero by 2050.
In this context, the advance of global climate change and political events in particular are clearly driving the transformation of German and European energy supply away from gas, nuclear power, coal and oil and towards renewable energies.
The energy transition in Germany and the rest of Europe, heralded at the beginning of the year 2000, is now gaining momentum. Companies helping to shape this energy transition have transformed from visionaries into key players.
Among them is WiNRG from Hamburg. Since 2017, the full-service provider has supervised and realised ground-mounted solar panel installations across the globe. As part of this process, the company assumes responsibility for locating a suitable investor, awarding contracts for EPC services and coordinating the development and subsequent operation of the solar park.
WiNRG is also active in this capacity in Portugal. In 2018, WiNRG was commissioned with the construction management and operational management of six solar parks in Amareleja, Moura, Ferreira do Alentejo, Santarém, Cartaxo and Lagos.
"When we entered into contracts to manage the operations of the solar parks for a period of five years, we not only had to ensure that the facilities were secured against unauthorised access, but also that they remained accessible to all parties involved in their operation at the same time," explains Moritz Riekert, Project Manager at WiNRG in Hamburg. The fundamental idea of enabling and tracking access to the gates and doors with varying levels of authorisation via remote control was born, for example for external subcontractors or shepherds, but also for the company's own personnel.
At each location, from the main gate up to the Operation and Management (O&M) buildings, there were 38 entry points, each fitted with an electronic cylinder and online wall reader. "We procured the cylinders and wall readers through the WILKA specialist dealer Gronemeyer from Norderstedt," explains Vitor Fernandes, Technical Asset Manager at WiNRG Portugal. "We then installed the solution together with our alarm system service provider."
Partially networked and always up to date
In consultation with WILKA project managers, a WILKA easy solution with a Gateway connection was chosen as the management software. "The easy solution has the advantage that, with little installation work and partial networking, a locking system with electronic locking cylinders, door fittings and readers can come close to fulfilling the functionality of a networked system," explains Sebastian Wiemer, Head of Service and Support at WILKA.
The idea of the solution is based on the ability to write individual data to the identification media of users and to input a range of information, which the user collects during access, into the system. This takes place upon entry into the building. In addition, online readers are installed at central points (e.g. staff entrances). It is from here that users collect their authorisation for the doors and entry points. Authorisation changes can be executed directly in the software at any time and from anywhere and transmitted to all online readers in real time. The user receives the updated authorisation data when they use an online reader. With this information on their identification media, they in turn update the electronic locking cylinders and door fittings. This does away with the need to update each door individually (e.g. in the event that identification media are lost). With the Gateway licence, online readers in remote locations can be directly connected to the main office. Consequently, transponders at remote locations or branches can be updated with the latest information from the software without the need to reprogramme components on site.
"In comparison to other solutions on the market, we liked the technical design of the easy solution. This also enables access during a system failure, for example in the event that there is no power or internet connection," explains Vitor Fernandes. "One aspect of this is remote control via software that is operated from a distant location, in our case an office in Hamburg."
Controlled access
A total of 29 people with various authorisations currently have access to the six solar parks in Portugal. The easy management software enables the flexible allocation of access authorisations on an individual or group basis. It can manage up to 64,000 cylinders and users per facility. Time-based authorisation, which takes into account individual calendars, including holidays and daylight saving time, is also possible and used by WiNRG. In addition, reports allow a targeted evaluation of all events occurring in the system.