Overview
Los Cuervos is a 234 MW utility-scale solar facility in Mexico. The plant integrates multi-megawatt central inverter stations delivering power into the national grid.
As Field Service & Commissioning Engineer, I led on-site inverter commissioning, parameter validation, and technical support during site acceptance testing alongside EPC contractors and utility inspectors.
Technical Scope
- Commissioning & SAT: Step-by-step verification from cold mechanical and electrical checks through hot energization.
- Protection & Parameter Settings: Parameterizing inverter control units for voltage ride-through, frequency response, and grid-code compliance.
- SCADA & Control Interface: Testing communication loops and operational command handling between inverter stations and site plant controllers.
- Operational Handover: Validating performance ratio (PR) and uptime criteria for final technical acceptance.
Field Lessons
- Validate Communication Under Electrical Load: Communication interfaces that test cleanly in standby must always be re-verified when power electronics are switching under load.
- Standardized Field Checklists: Systematic pre-energization verification avoids repeated downtime cycles during critical utility inspection windows.
Note: Detailed single-line schematics and proprietary firmware settings are intentionally omitted.