RFID for Energy
 Benefits over the entire life cycle
Renewable energy is typically generated using many assets outside the boundaries of a conventional power generation
plant, and this presents a real challenge to keep track of these assets, their origin, configuration
and maintenance history.
By applying Tego high memory tags to components in solar-farms and wind-turbines, it is possible to derive benefits throughout the entire life of the components, by having immediate access to not only part identity but to all the information needed at the “point of use”. For example:
- The manufacturer can record internal manufacturing data on the component, including source, batch data, and performance data needed for process control and optimization;
- The installation organization can record where components were installed, both for traceability purposes and also to gather valuable predictive information related to the performance and failure modes of installed equipment;
- The operating organization can have instant access to accurate configuration data and maintenance history, plus valuable performance data.
Unique survivability in the environment
Because of the nature of the environment, tags must survive and perform reliably over periods of decades, even when exposed to harsh environments. However, most chips used in passive tags are targeted at applications like the retail supply chain, which does not have the same longevity or environmental demands. The memory in such tags is typically held as a small charge, which is easily disrupted by radiation in the environment, and which dissipates over time, causing corruption of the data stored in the chip. This process is accelerated by heat, and for example in one chip process, the dissipation effect can occur 110x as fast at 100 degrees C as is the case at 25 degrees C. In operational terms, as the charge on the tags dissipates, the operators risk having a major field recall and data recovery campaign on an ongoing basis.
In contrast, TegoChip technology was designed specifically to survive in such environments, being used not only in renewable energy use cases world-wide, but also in applications like aircraft jet engines, and in nuclear applications, which face similar and even harsher challenges. With industry leading memory capacity and memory retention, tags based on TegoChip technology are clearly prime candidates for use in renewable energy applications, and Tego works with tag vendors to give customers a wide range of form-factors for their installations.
Standards and regulatory compliance
Tags based on the TegoChip are fully compliant with the Gen 2 UHF standard being adopted globally in most industrial applications, and meet rigorous specifications for use in harsh environments.
A variety of memory capacities are available from 2kbit to 8kByte and higher. All configurations are fully compatible with the requirements issued by the government of India, via the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), in its mandate to tag solar panel (PV) photovoltaic modules.
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