Single-Mode Fibre Splicing, Testing & Certification for a 49 MW Solar Farm
Omni3 was engaged as a specialist subcontractor to complete fibre communications termination, fusion splicing, testing and certification on a 49 MW utility-scale solar farm in Essex — approximately 220 single-mode fibre connections forming the communications backbone between distributed BESS equipment, SCADA systems and the central operations environment.
49 MW
Utility-scale solar farm, Essex
~220
Single-mode fibre connections
Fusion spliced & certified
OTDR and optical loss tested
BESS / SCADA
Communications backbone completed
Project context
Omni3 was engaged as a specialist subcontractor to complete fibre communications termination, fusion splicing, testing and certification on a 49 MW utility-scale solar farm in Essex. The project was delivered for a major engineering and energy contractor acting as principal contractor on the site.
A utility-scale solar farm of this scale requires reliable communications infrastructure to connect distributed equipment — battery energy storage systems, inverters, protection devices and monitoring systems — back to a central control and operations environment. The quality and integrity of the fibre communications links are critical to the operation and monitoring of the site.
The single-mode fibre cable had already been installed across the site before Omni3's involvement. Omni3's role was to complete the fibre connections: fusion splicing, termination, testing and certification across approximately 220 connections distributed throughout the site infrastructure.
Communications architecture — copper and fibre
The site used a combination of copper and fibre communications, with each medium used where it was appropriate to the application and distance.
Copper communications were used between the inverter and BESS equipment — the short-range, equipment-level communications between adjacent components within each installation. Single-mode fibre formed the longer-distance communications backbone, linking the distributed BESS areas and wider site infrastructure back to the central O&M building and SCADA environment.
The fibre network provided the communications path needed to connect distributed equipment across the utility-scale site back to the operational control environment — carrying the data from battery storage units and site infrastructure through to the SCADA systems and the central operations room.
Fusion splicing and termination — approximately 220 connections
With the fibre cable already installed across the site, Omni3's scope was to complete the fibre fusion splicing and certification — producing working, tested and certified fibre communications links from the pre-installed cable runs.
Approximately 220 single-mode fibre connections were completed. The method of termination varied by equipment location: fibres were terminated into patch panels where the equipment configuration required it, or fusion-spliced at dedicated splice points directly within the equipment. Both approaches were used across the site, depending on the specific requirements of each connection point.
The work required consistent fibre preparation, splicing and termination quality across distributed equipment locations throughout the site — working within BESS units, communications infrastructure, DNO connection equipment and SCADA racks, as well as the runs back to the O&M building and operations room.
Testing and certification
Once the fibre connections were terminated and spliced, the completed links were tested and certified before handover. Testing included optical power and loss measurement and OTDR (Optical Time Domain Reflectometer) testing on the completed fibre runs.
Optical loss testing was used to measure the performance of each completed fibre connection and verify the quality of the splice and termination work. OTDR testing allowed the fibre link to be characterised along its length — identifying the position and magnitude of any reflective or loss events within the cable run, providing a trace record of each completed connection.
Certification of the completed fibre connections provided the principal contractor and the project with documented evidence of the fibre communications infrastructure — a record of what had been installed and tested, rather than an assumed assumption of performance.
The outcome
- Approximately 220 single-mode fibre connections completed across the 49 MW solar farm site.
- Fusion splicing completed by Omni3 across distributed equipment locations throughout the site.
- Fibre terminations into patch panels and directly within equipment, depending on the requirements of each connection point.
- All completed fibre links OTDR tested and optical loss tested.
- Certified fibre communications infrastructure provided to the principal contractor on completion.
- Communications backbone completed between distributed BESS and site equipment and the central O&M and operations environment.
- Specialist fibre work delivered within a utility-scale 49 MW renewable-energy project in Essex.
Related services
Fibre Network Installation
Pulled fibre, fusion splicing, single-mode and multimode — tested and certified
Data Cabling
Structured copper cabling for commercial and industrial premises
Connectivity & Communications
The full range of Omni3 data, network and communications services
Commercial Solar
Commercial solar installation — Omni3's solar PV service
Note: Omni3's scope on this project was fibre communications termination, fusion splicing, testing and certification. The 49 MW solar PV installation, BESS units, inverters and SCADA systems were the responsibility of the principal contractor and other specialists.
Fibre termination, splicing and certification
Omni3 carries out fibre fusion splicing, termination, OTDR testing and certification on commercial and industrial projects — from inter-building links to utility-scale infrastructure. If you need a specialist subcontractor for fibre communications work, get in touch.