The client is a solar power generation company operating hundreds of plants across the United States.
Key performance indicators for solar plants include power generated and insolation. These metrics are required to calculate plant efficiency, which directly impacts contractual obligations and revenue.
Sensor failures or broken data links prevented accurate efficiency calculations, potentially leading to fines and legal exposure. The existing manual estimation process relied on nearby plant data and monthly reports.
Traditional relational databases could not handle the high-frequency sensor data generated every 15 minutes. As a result, data was aggregated into six-hour summaries, losing critical granularity.
Opallios addressed the challenge through a phased approach. The first step automated detection of broken sensors and failed data links on a daily basis, enabling analysts to identify root causes.
The second step automatically filled data gaps by extrapolating values from nearby solar plants. Once failure patterns were understood, the system integrated with technician scheduling to dispatch repairs automatically.
Hadoop and Hive were selected as the technology foundation, enabling scalable storage and processing while improving downstream business processes dependent on sensor data.
The Hadoop and Hive solution streamlined the analysis of large sensor data volumes and significantly improved operational efficiency.
Raw sensor data collected every 15 minutes was stored in Hadoop HDFS, while financial systems consumed daily summaries and operational systems accessed hourly summaries, improving performance across systems.
Minimal retraining was required for SQL developers, who quickly leveraged Hive to optimize business workflows. Opallios also designed and implemented the initial Hadoop cluster and operational procedures, which are now successfully managed by the client.
Opallios is an innovative technology consulting firm offering expertise in big data, Salesforce, strategy, and product development. The firm partners with organizations across technology, healthcare, financial services, and hospitality industries.