Month: March 2024

KNESS experts took part in the Solarplaza Summit Baltics to discuss new opportunities for the solar energy sector development in the Baltic States. The event became a platform for fruitful networking and brought together solar energy experts, leading market players, developers, equipment manufacturers, investors, etc. Tetiana Petrovska, Head of Marketing at KNESS, and Andrii Kalinovskyi, Director of KNESS Baltic, joined the discussion.

Implementing a large-scale energy market reform to synchronise the grid with mainland Europe entails new challenges, such as limited grid capacity and land suitable for solar power plants. That’s why the main discussion panels at Solarplaza Summit Baltics were dedicated to innovative technologies and finding solutions for large-scale projects.

“The dynamic development of solar energy in the Baltic States is attracting more and more stakeholders, including KNESS Group. KNESS Baltic already has experience in the turnkey implementation and maintenance of solar projects in Latvia with a total capacity of 20.5 MW. At the same time, we rely on 15 years of experience, which includes, among other things, design, construction and maintenance of solar power plants with a total capacity of more than 1.4 GW, the largest of which are 63 MW and 90 MW. In addition, we are familiar with advanced technologies in the energy sector thanks to the KNESS RnD Centre and have a successful experience of cooperation with international financial institutions. Therefore, we are enthusiastic about sharing our experience with colleagues to further develop the industry.” – said Andrii Kalinovskyi, Director of KNESS Baltic.

KNESS Baltic is actively developing the Operation & Maintenance direction of industrial solar power plants. Thus, in addition to implementing industrial solar power plants as a general contractor, the company also provides comprehensive operational, technical and dispatch management of the facilities. Currently, the total capacity of the stations under regular maintenance by KNESS Baltic is 20.5 MW and the company continues to develop a new direction and deepen its experience and expertise in a fairly narrow market segment.

“European quality standards, innovative approach, technology, expertise, extensive experience, and specialised team qualifications have allowed us to gradually develop in the market for the construction and comprehensive maintenance of industrial solar power plants. We have implemented an integrated management system (IMS) and have been certified for compliance with international ISO standards. We are reinforced by the KNESS centralised dispatch centre, which, thanks to the PV.SCADA software solution developed by our own RnD, remotely monitors the operation of SPPs around the clock, promptly responds to deviations and prevents generation losses. What’s more, PV.SCADA uses artificial intelligence to automate the process of analysing equipment operation at a solar power plant. This is about an individual approach to each facility and providing a comprehensive service. And we are always looking for new solutions, using new technologies, investing resources in improvement, modernisation, and enhancement, strengthening our reputation as a reliable partner,” said Andrii Kalinovsky, Director of KNESS Baltic. 

KNESS has enabled the PV.SCADA software package to interact with the pan-European international energy platform Nord Pool AS to operate in the Latvian market with reference to the current hourly electricity price. This allows to improve the financial model of generation facilities. The team also enabled the distribution system operator “Sadales tikls”, which is responsible for the Latvian power system operation, to manage the level of SPP generation through the PV.SCADA.

As of the beginning of 2024, the total portfolio of facilities operated by KNESS comprises 134 industrial solar power plants with a total capacity of 1.48 GW. The largest solar power plants include facilities with a peak capacity of 63 MW and 91 MW, each covering more than 100 hectares.

The solar power plant “Ludza” with a peak capacity of 5 MW, which is located in the city of Ludza, has started generating energy. The facility was implemented by SIA KNESS Baltic under an EPC contract (general contract, which provides for turnkey construction of the solar plant).

The newly constructed station is:

•  5,085,696 kWh of clean energy per year. This amount could potentially be enough to provide clean energy to approximately 2,400 households.
•  7,616 qualitatively installed photovoltaic modules.
•  efficient utilization of 7.4 hectares of land unsuitable for agricultural purposes.
•  4,996 tons less CO2 emissions per year into the atmosphere.

Team of SIA KNESS Baltic completed the entire range of design, construction, installation and commissioning works in just 3 months. The process of commissioning and obtaining all necessary documentation for electricity supply took about 2 months. This is already the third project in Latvia, successfully implemented by SIA KNESS Baltic. The first two projects were built in the cities of Valdemārpils and Auce. The investor of the solar plant is Volterra Energy Group, a company engaged in renewable energy development and investment management. The group focuses on solar energy, wind energy, small hydropower, energy storage technologies and waste-to-energy technologies. The total installed capacity of all Volterra Energy Group projects exceeds 200 MW.

“Each megawatt installed is a significant step towards the development of solar energy in the country. Together with Volterra Energy Group we help to bring the energy transition closer and continue to develop renewable energy,” said Andrii Kalinovskyi, CEO of SIA KNESS Baltic.

Efficient operation of the power plant will be ensured by continuous monitoring of the main equipment’s condition, which will be performed round-the-clock by the service team of SIA KNESS Baltic.

At this point, the total portfolio of KNESS projects in Latvia amounts to about 50 MW, 20,5 MW of which have already been implemented. The other projects are in different implementation phases. They are planned to be put into operation in the first quarter of 2024. The total portfolio of implemented renewable energy projects by KNESS amounts to more than 1.2 GW in Ukraine and 79 MW under implementation in Poland.