Creating new projects in Evaluate

How to create an Evaluate project

You must complete several steps to create a project and get its feasibility data:

1. Create a new project - create a new one or import from the Prospect application.

2. Activate the project - use your subscription and SGU to activate the project based on your requirements.

3. Add energy system - use an auto-generated GTI system or create your PV energy system in the energy system designer.

4. Run the simulation - generate energy system-specific project data to evaluate its feasibility.

Creating a new project in Evaluate

Importing existing projects from Prospect

If you wish to continue a project in the Prospect application, you can import it into Evaluate. The process of how to do it is outlined here.

Starting a new project

Tip: Before creating a project, ensure you have selected the correct company profile (customer). This will determine the availability of existing projects and purchased subscriptions which you will need for project activations and simulations. New projects are always created under the currently selectred company.

To create a new Evaluate project, click the “New project” button and follow these steps:

1. Click on the map to drop the pin or enter the coordinates/address into the location search bar. The blue circle indicates the area where you will be able to place arrays.

2. If required, change the default project name given by the system.

3. You can assign labels upon creation, or you can add them later.

4. Click the “Create” button to create the project.

Tip: Your new project will be added to the Evalute projects list. Proceed with the next steps to activate it, create energy system, and simulate it.  

Activating the project

Note: You will not be able to select datasets and simulate energy systems without activating the project. However, you can still create your GTI or PV energy systems.

Your project does not contain any data unless it is activated. After activation, the location’s solar resource data will be calculated based on the selected activation stage (Early or Full evaluation). Additionally, you will be able to create your own energy systems and simulate them to generate their feasibility data. You will purchase the activation with your SGU.  

To activate the project:

1. Click the “Activate project” in the notification prompt.

2. Select one of the available stages. The features of each stage and SGU cost are listed.
   The Early-stage activation offers TMY P50 data (yearly, monthly, and hourly statistics based on 15-minute data) only, and Full evaluation provides additional access to the full Solargis Time Series dataset containing detailed location data with the highest granularity (up to 15 minutes of data).

3. Click the “Activate” button to finish. SGU will be deducted from your balance, and the project will be activated using the selected dataset.

Tip: If you chose an Early evaluation and want to update it to a Full evaluation, you can do it using the project’s options menu while on the project list page.

Project data

Once you activate the project, the location's solar resources and meteorological/environmental data will start to generate in the background. The system always uses the newest version of the Solargis Time Series data in the calculations.

Selecting your energy system

After the data is generated, the system will select the default time series format in the energy system selector, and related data will become available in the Analysis section. The default calculation uses Solargis horizon shading.

You can create your own energy system with specific parameters, size, or components in the energy system designer, and then select it in the energy system selector. Simulating your own energy systems will give you invaluable insights into their feasibility and prospective energy production yield.

Simulating your energy system

Once you create an energy system, you must simulate it to obtain the system-specific analysis data. The simulation utilizes our progressive PV Simulator to give you the most accurate results on the market. The dataset that will be used in the simulation is selected upon the simulation execution. Our complete simulation chain is described here.

1. Navigate to the project’s Energy system page.

2. Locate the energy system you want to simulate.

3. Open the simulation wizard using the simulation button (play icon).

4. Select the dataset you wish to use in the simulation.

5. The installed capacity and cost in SGU are displayed in the dialog. More details about SGU pricing are explained here.

6. Click the “Run simulation” button to execute the simulation. The SGU will be deducted from your account and the simulation will start.

Important: Please be aware the simulation takes time, depending on the size and location of your energy system. The progress is indicated in the Status column.

Once the simulation is complete, you can examine the project data in the Analysis section. If required, you can generate reports or download the project data in various formats for further processing. You can create and simulate multiple energy systems and compare their results.

Creating and assigning labels to projects

If you want to organize your projects beyond the standard filters, you can create labels to attach to projects. With labels, you can filter your projects based on your personal categorization.

To create and assign labels to a project:

1. Click the “+” button in the labels category under the filters and proceed with the on-screen process to create a new label.

2. To assign a label to a project, open its options menu.

3. Select “Assign labels”, select the labels you want to assign to the project, and  click “OK” to confirm. Selected labels will be assigned to the project.

Tip: You can now use the labels to filter your projects. Labels are available under the filters to the left.