ONESOLAR
The customer and the challenge
Pioneers of green power
OneSolar International is a full-service provider in the field of renewable energy and solar power solutions in Germany and around the globe. They’ve a vast experience in planning, deploying and maintaining photovoltaic systems of all sizes for corporate customers, public clients and community energy projects. They were involved in installing a photovoltaic system on the roof of the Bavarian Parliament and they operate several public and private solar parks in Bavaria and other regions. Their solar plants saved around 46.9 million kilograms of CO2 in 2022 and they keep promoting the transition to green energy to create a better future for all of us.
Keeping a close eye on individual plants
The company knew that digitalisation would be indispensable to operate solar plants and keep up with the challenges arising from the energy transition. They were looking for a flexible and reliable solution to connect their ground-mounted solar systems and handle decentralised energy generation in an agile way. They needed help to gain real-time insights into their plants’ operation and monitor their systems remotely. For example, they wanted to keep track of the amount of electricity their plants generate to provide energy supply companies with data essential for grid control.
Taking the matter into remote hands
OneSolar was aware that monitoring their systems in real time would be the first step to deal with unexpected issues immediately. It was essential for them to get a notification as soon as a fault is detected and intervene remotely if a problem can be fixed without a technician visiting the site. The company was planning to introduce predictive maintenance to detect the components likely to fail and repair them before they could lead to further disruptions. OneSolar was looking for a trusted partner who could integrate proven solutions with the company’s processes and continuously support them in optimising their digital operations.
How we helped them
Producing green energy with IoT
As we have a long-lasting partnership with OneSolar and also helped them develop an inventory management system, they decided to use Vodafone Business Managed IoT Connectivity to connect their 51 solar parks. “What we most appreciate about our partnership is smooth cooperation combined with a high level of competence. At Vodafone, extensive expertise is paired with tailor-made services to address their customers’ specific needs," says Christoph Haas, Head of Service, Maintenance and Operations at OneSolar. We provided the company with intelligent and versatile plug-and-play IoT connectivity, industrial SIM cards suitable for extreme conditions and a Managed SIM platform to keep an eye on their assets and processes.
A new level of flexibility
Thanks to our Managed SIM platform and reliable network connectivity, OneSolar can benefit from the easy-to-use interfaces and the simple configuration of their IoT SIM cards. Their employees can add or remove the SIMs to manage and provision their own IoT infrastructure based on their needs. What’s more, we offer a flexible and transparent tariff system which can be applied throughout Europe. They can consult our dashboard any time to access a complete overview of their consumption and keep track of their costs.
Always on top of business operations
OneSolar has also obtained remote access to their components to take control over their processes. The SIM cards detect malfunctions and send alarms immediately. In many cases, OneSolar can restart the system remotely which enables the company to save 8 to10% on technician visits and reduce their CO2 emissions by 0.9 to 1.1 tons annually. Continuous monitoring helps them foresee if a component is about to fail, enabling them to fix the issue and minimise maintenance costs. Connecting OneSolar’s power plants also provides energy supply companies with the visibility they need to better control the power grid. OneSolar is continuously expanding, and they’ll keep relying on Vodafone Business Managed IoT Connectivity to connect their new solar parks and monitor their assets.
