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Challenge

Build a Solar PV Tracker Wind and Heat Safety Dispatcher

Evaluate utility-scale solar tracker stow angles against high wind gusts and extreme ambient heat telemetry. Formulate proactive tracker positioning plans to prevent mechanical aero-elastic flutter and inverter thermal clipping.

EngineeringHosted by Vera
Challenge brief

What you are building

The core problem, expected build, and operating context for this challenge.

Evaluate utility-scale solar tracker stow angles against high wind gusts and extreme ambient heat telemetry. Formulate proactive tracker positioning plans to prevent mechanical aero-elastic flutter and inverter thermal clipping.

Solar plant operations engineer

Ingest anemometer wind gust telemetry, ambient air temperatures, and pyranometer solar irradiance.

Calculate single-axis tracker sun angles and thermal clipping penalties using pvlib solar position routines.

Identify high-wind gusts triggering defensive stowing versus midday heat requiring module tilt offsets.

Generate a tracker command schedule and plant dispatch log for field control center review.

Plant weather and tracker status console highlighting wind threshold exceedances and stow triggers.

Synthetic weather sensor records formatted according to pvlib solar position and tracking model parameters. Starter examples below are synthetic. They are not downloaded records.

PVLib solar modeling Leverages pvlib solar position calculations and single-axis tracking algorithms to model panel orientation and power output.

dspy, pvlib, pydantic. Optimizes prompt strategies for synthesizing multi-sensor anomaly descriptions into concise operational dispatches. Local or hosted LLM with standard inference latency for compiling operational event logs.

Submit runnable source, pinned dependencies, setup commands, a working interface, example outputs, and a recorded end-to-end demo. Include tests and an action log.

Uses pvlib tracking functions to verify nominal solar tracker tilt angles.

Automatically commands defensive stow mode when wind gust forecasts exceed 18 m/s.

Assembles an operational dispatcher log requiring plant engineer sign-off before transmission.

```json [ { "input": { "tracker_block_id": "BLOCK-E-03", "wind_gust_ms": 21.4, "wind_sustained_ms": 14.2, "ambient_temp_c": 44, "nominal_tilt_deg": 35, "solar_zenith_deg": 22 }, "expected_output": { "action": "DEFENSIVE_STOW", "commanded_tilt_deg": 0, "reason": "WIND_GUST_EXCEEDS_18_MS", "projected_power_curtailment_pct": 24.5, "dispatch_clearance_required": true } }, { "input": { "tracker_block_id": "BLOCK-W-01", "wind_gust_ms": 8.1, "wind_sustained_ms": 5, "ambient_temp_c": 46.5, "nominal_tilt_deg": 15, "solar_zenith_deg": 18 }, "expected_output": { "action": "CONTINUE_TRACKING", "commanded_tilt_deg": 15, "reason": "NOMINAL_TRACKING_UNDER_THERMAL_SURVEILLANCE", "projected_power_curtailment_pct": 3.2, "dispatch_clearance_required": false } } ] ```

All tracker commands are simulated recommendations and do not bypass local PLC emergency wind trip relays. Use mock external writes. Require human review before any real deployment.

Rules

Participation guide

All tracker commands are simulated recommendations and do not bypass local PLC emergency wind trip relays. Use mock external writes and human review.

Delivery guide

How work is evaluated

Evaluation

Uses pvlib tracking functions to verify nominal solar tracker tilt angles. Automatically commands defensive stow mode when wind gust forecasts exceed 18 m/s. Assembles an operational dispatcher log requiring plant engineer sign-off before transmission.

Submission format

Runnable source, pinned dependencies, setup commands, working interface, example outputs, recorded demo, tests, and action logs.

Datasets

Challenge datasets

Public datasets, plus the private datasets you have access to.

Evaluation rubric

How submissions are scored

These dimensions define what the evaluator checks and which criteria separate a passable run from a strong one.

Dimensions
4 scoring checks
Binary
1 pass or fail dimensions
Ordinal
3 scaled dimensions
Dimension 1

Complete workflow

Ingest anemometer wind gust telemetry, ambient air temperatures, and pyranometer solar irradiance. Calculate single-axis tracker sun angles and thermal clipping penalties using pvlib solar position routines. Identify high-wind gusts triggering defensive stowing versus midday heat requiring module tilt offsets. Generate a tracker command schedule and plant dispatch log for field control center review.

Score scale
012
Score 0

Missing or incorrect.

Score 1

Partly complete, with documented gaps.

Score 2

Complete, with reproducible evidence.

Dimension 2

Correctness and evidence

Uses pvlib tracking functions to verify nominal solar tracker tilt angles. Automatically commands defensive stow mode when wind gust forecasts exceed 18 m/s. Assembles an operational dispatcher log requiring plant engineer sign-off before transmission.

Score scale
012
Score 0

Missing or incorrect.

Score 1

Partly complete, with documented gaps.

Score 2

Complete, with reproducible evidence.

Dimension 3

Review interface

Plant weather and tracker status console highlighting wind threshold exceedances and stow triggers.

Score scale
012
Score 0

Missing or incorrect.

Score 1

Partly complete, with documented gaps.

Score 2

Complete, with reproducible evidence.

Dimension 4

Safe execution

All tracker commands are simulated recommendations and do not bypass local PLC emergency wind trip relays.

Binary check

This dimension contributes its full weight only when the submission satisfies the requirement. Partial credit is not awarded.

Learning goals

What you should walk away with

  • Ingest anemometer wind gust telemetry, ambient air temperatures, and pyranometer solar irradiance.

  • Calculate single-axis tracker sun angles and thermal clipping penalties using pvlib solar position routines.

  • Identify high-wind gusts triggering defensive stowing versus midday heat requiring module tilt offsets.

  • Generate a tracker command schedule and plant dispatch log for field control center review.

Resources and assets

Reference links and supporting material

Dataset notes

Synthetic weather sensor records formatted according to pvlib solar position and tracking model parameters. Supplied starter examples are synthetic, not source extracts.

Challenge setup

Configuration summary for this challenge.

Challenge input

Input details are not configured.

DSPy

Prompt and LM program optimization framework.

Evaluated output

No output checks are configured.

Evaluation checks
  • Ingest anemometer wind gust telemetry, ambient air temperatures, and pyranometer solar irradiance. Calculat...
  • Uses pvlib tracking functions to verify nominal solar tracker tilt angles. Automatically commands defensive...
  • Plant weather and tracker status console highlighting wind threshold exceedances and stow triggers.
Configured evaluation evidence
  • 2 public reference cases
Configured runtime
  • 3 configured tools

Summary shows the first task, up to three tools, and up to three evidence items. Open the technical recipe to view all configured items.

View technical recipe

Configured tools

Action Space
  • DSPy · Optional
Training Infra
  • DSPy · Optional
Orchestration
  • DSPy · Optional

Evaluation contract

  • Complete workflow · Weight 40
  • Correctness and evidence · Weight 30
  • Review interface · Weight 20
  • Safe execution · Weight 10

Reference cases

  • 2 public reference cases

Workflow tasks

No workflow tasks are configured.

Recipe freeze marker

No recipe freeze time is recorded.

Frequently Asked Questions about Build a Solar PV Tracker Wind and Heat Safety Dispatcher