A utility serving one of the nation's largest new solar panel manufacturing facilities used Ubicquia's UbiGrid™ DTM+ solution to quickly identify the root cause of repeated transformer failures threatening production. Real-time power quality and thermal diagnostics provided immediate visibility, enabling rapid corrective action and preventing additional equipment losses. Based on the success of the deployment, the utility is now expanding transformer monitoring across its distribution network.
Solar Manufacturer - Averting Catastrophic Losses - Case Stuy
This case study details a high-stakes crisis at one of the nation's largest solar panel factories, where a series of transformer fires threatened to derail a $5 billion facility and push both the manufacturer and its utility into millions of dollars in losses. It describes how deploying Ubicquia's UbiGrid™ DTM+ monitors across the affected transformers rapidly identified improperly bundled underground conductors as the culprit — compressing what would have been a weeks-long investigation into a matter of hours and preventing further catastrophic failures.
Download PDFThe challenge: repeated transformer failures threaten a major manufacturing investment
In a rapidly growing industrial hub in the southeastern United States, a global solar manufacturer invested $5 billion to build a facility capable of producing approximately 40,000 solar panels per day. To support the increased electrical demand, the serving utility installed eleven new distribution transformers, including three onsite units and eight nearby transformers connected through switch enclosures.
Shortly after the facility was energized, multiple transformers began overheating. Within days, several units caught fire. Four transformers were destroyed, and replacement units also experienced failures. The escalating situation threatened production schedules, increased operational risk, and exposed both the utility and manufacturer to potentially significant financial losses.
Traditional power quality investigations would likely have required weeks of analysis. The utility needed immediate answers before additional failures occurred.
The solution: real-time transformer monitoring and power quality diagnostics
To accelerate root cause identification, the utility deployed Ubicquia's UbiGrid™ DTM+ across all eight external transformers. The solution provided real-time visibility into transformer operating conditions, power quality events, and thermal performance.
The monitoring data quickly revealed the source of the problem: improperly bundled conductors within underground conduit runs. The conductor configuration created excessive heat buildup, placing severe thermal stress on the transformer fleet and causing cascading failures.
What the utility gained from real-time asset intelligence
Faster root cause analysisReal-time diagnostics reduced the investigation timeline from weeks to hours, enabling rapid identification of the underlying issue before additional assets failed.
Prevention of additional equipment damageMonitoring confirmed overheating conditions early enough to prevent further transformer losses and costly replacement cycles.
Improved utility-customer collaborationAccess to shared operational data helped both organizations align around facts, resolve the issue collaboratively, and transform a potentially contentious situation into a productive partnership.
Long-term grid visibility strategyThe success of the deployment demonstrated the value of continuous transformer monitoring for supporting large industrial loads and protecting critical infrastructure.
Looking ahead
Following the project, the utility began expanding real-time transformer monitoring across additional portions of its grid, with particular focus on high-demand customers and rapidly growing rural areas. As new industrial facilities continue to increase electrical demand in historically low-load regions, the utility views proactive power quality monitoring and transformer diagnostics as essential tools for maintaining reliability, supporting economic development, and strengthening grid resilience.
Frequently asked questions
Why were transformers failing at the manufacturing facility?
How did the utility identify the root cause so quickly?
What benefits did real-time transformer monitoring provide?
What role did power quality monitoring play in the investigation?
How is the utility using this technology going forward?
Download the manufacturing facility case study
Learn how real-time transformer monitoring helped identify the root cause of repeated transformer failures, prevent additional equipment losses, and support reliable power delivery to a major solar manufacturing facility.
Download Case StudyConnect with Us
Ready to see what’s possible? Request a demo and we’ll take it from there.
Book a DemoMore case studies
See all case studies
Enterprises
Solving a Medical Facility’s Power Quality Mystery
Major Medical Facility
When power quality issues threatened MRIs and CT scanners, real-time transformer monitoring helped a Texas utility pinpoint the true source inside the facility.
Enterprises
Keeping Harvest Season Safe with Real-Time Monitoring.
South Plains Electric Cooperative (SPEC)
Cotton gin season strains transformers near combustible lint. See how South Plains Electric Cooperative used real-time monitoring to keep crews and harvest safe.
Utilities
How Orlando Utilities Commission Prevents Outages with Real-Time Transformer Monitoring
Orlando Utilities Commission
After three blown transformers at a critical manufacturing customer, Orlando Utilities Commission deployed UbiGrid DTM+ real-time transformer monitoring to catch load spikes before they cause outages — and diagnose faults remotely instead of rolling trucks.