Sunshine Coast solar farm SCADA upgrade
Client: Sunshine Coast Council
Location: Sunshine Coast / Queensland
Date: August 2023 - February 2024
Helping keep a solar farm's SCADA system reliable and cyber secure
Background
Sunshine Coast Council is the first local government in Australia to build, own and operate its own solar farm. Completed and commissioned in 2017, the Sunshine Coast solar farm generates 15 MW of renewable solar energy, offsetting the council’s entire electricity consumption.
The 15 MW fixed tilt solar farm has 57, 960 Trina solar PV panels, which generate electricity that feeds into six power conversion units and a control room. The power plant control room is home to a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system, which monitors and controls the flow of electricity into the grid.
After seven years of operation, the Sunshine Coast Council required an upgrade to the ageing site servers and SCADA software to ensure increased reliability and bolster the system’s cyber security.
Solution
Entura was engaged by the Sunshine Coast Council to assess the existing system, provide advice on planning the SCADA upgrade and propose the complete solution.
Entura’s role consisted of auditing the current SCADA system installation by carrying out a site inspection and updating the design drawings and documentation to accurately detail the system. This ensured the client had accurate reference information for system maintenance and future expansion.
Entura also carried out the replacement of end-of-life SCADA servers onsite, which involved server configuration, data transfer, site installing and testing.
In addition to the server replacement, Entura planned and implemented the SCADA software upgrades carefully across multiple SCADA servers for these clients and servers dispersed across different geographical areas, without impacting generation.
Services provided
- SCADA system design
- SCADA compliance testing
Outcome
Entura was able to deliver a high-quality design and testing service to meet the client’s project schedule, while maintaining close communications with the client’s project team.
We provided SCADA advice, liaised with key stakeholders, and carried out compliance testing of the SCADA system without causing any disruptions to the solar farm operations during the upgrades. This has ensured the longevity of the solar farm for coming years, bolstering its cyber security through maintaining latest software with improved security and supporting the Sunshine Coast Council to continue offsetting their electricity generation.
