Maximizing Solar Efficiency for Flintshire County Council

• Client: Flintshire County Council

• Partner: System Group MEP

• Asset Portfolio: 38 Sites (5.28 Megawatt peak total capacity)

• Services Provided: 7 Months of Continuous Weekly Remote Monitoring & 3 Years of Annual Servicing

Executive Summary

System Group MEP provides a comprehensive, dual-layered asset management strategy for Flintshire County Council’s solar renewable portfolio. By combining advanced proprietary software for weekly monitoring with a long-term annual servicing framework, we ensure maximum asset uptime, minimized generation loss, and optimized financial returns for the local authority.

Key Solutions Implemented

1. Predictive Remote Monitoring (7-Month Tracking)

For the past 7 months, our engineering team has remotely logged into all 38 sites across the county every single week to deeply analyze performance data.

• The Process: Using our proprietary software, we calculate predicted solar generation and compare it directly against the actual generation from the previous day.

• The Impact: This highly accurate baseline allows us to rapidly detect, isolate, and rectify drops in performance caused by faults, soiled panels, or failed components before they impact the client’s energy yields.

Proven ROI Case-in-Point: The Cost of Inaction

During the contract, an outage occurred at the council’s largest solar farm. Because of our weekly tracking, the drop in performance was rapidly detected, reported, and rectified.

Had this major asset been down for just 2 days without detection, the value of the lost generation would have exceeded the cost of the entire annual monitoring and servicing contract combined. This dual contract effectively paid for itself in a single event.

2. Next-Generation Asset Management (SolarEdge)

For newer sites equipped with SolarEdge technology, our capabilities extend straight to the individual module level. From our head office, we can:

• Review active fault codes instantly.

• Deploy over-the-air firmware updates.

• Monitor per-panel performance in real-time.

Client Benefit: What used to require a physical site deployment now takes mere minutes, providing the council with total peace of mind that their flagship assets are harvesting every ounce of sunlight possible.

3. Established Annual Servicing (3-Year Contract)

Now successfully procured for the third year running, our physical servicing contract ensures the long-term health of the infrastructure. Every site is visited annually by our engineers to conduct:

• Rigorous visual structural inspections.

• Comprehensive electrical safety and integrity testing.

• System optimization and compliance checks.

The Results

Our strategy—combining continuous 7-month digital oversight with 3 years of trusted physical servicing—has delivered measurable success:

The Bottom Line: By securing and maximizing their solar income, Flintshire County Council retains the highest possible budget to reinvest directly back into further community renewable energy initiatives.