Renewable Data Transfer (RENEWXfer)

RENEWXfer is an EPRI-developed Python application that enables secure, standardized extraction, staging, and transfer of renewable energy system data to EPRI via SFTP.

The application supports three EPRI renewable benchmarking platforms:

• SUPER® – Solar Performance and Reliability Benchmarking
• LEAP® – Wind Performance Benchmarking
• BEST® – BESS Benchmarking

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Purpose and Scope

RENEWXfer provides a controlled and standardized mechanism for transferring renewable operational data. It is designed to support EPRI data collection, integration, and governance objectives through:

• Secure, auditable delivery of time-series data
• Configurable support for multiple renewable platforms (SUPER®, LEAP®, BEST®)
• Standardized workflows for data extraction and transfer
• Support for multiple data historian sources (OSIsoft PI, Canary)
• Alignment with EPRI cybersecurity and data governance practices

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Key Capabilities

• Secure SFTP transfer using SSH key- or password-based authentication
• Configurable execution across SUPER®, LEAP®, and BEST® platforms
• Support for OSIsoft PI Historian and Canary data sources
• Channel list–driven data extraction and tag mapping
• Automatic catch-up for new tags added to an existing plant
• Time- and size-based partitioning of output data files
• Checkpoint-based resumption — re-runs safely pick up where they left off
• Automated compression and SFTP transfer of execution logs
• Validation scripts for verifying PI and Canary tag connectivity

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Repository Structure

RENEWXfer/
├── Main.py                         Primary execution entry point
├── validate_LEAP.py                LEAP PI tag validation script
├── validate_SUPER.py               SUPER PI tag validation script
├── requirements.txt                Python dependency definitions
├── pyproject.toml                  PEP 517 build and dependency manifest
├── constants.env                   Environment configuration (NOT for source control)
├── Channel_List/                   Channel lists and tag mapping files
│   ├── Tag_mapping_list_SUPER.csv
│   ├── Tag_mapping_list_LEAP.csv
│   └── Tag_mapping_list_BEST.csv
├── Functions/                      Core functional modules
│   ├── upload_log_files.py         Log archive and SFTP upload utility
│   ├── PI/                         OSIsoft PI Historian modules
│   ├── Canary/                     Canary Historian modules
│   ├── Archive/                    Legacy modules (not used in production)
│   └── Test/                       Development test scripts (not for production use)
├── Log_Files/                      Execution and transfer logs (runtime-generated)
│   ├── SUPER/
│   │   └── Trackers/
│   ├── LEAP/
│   └── BEST/
├── File_Staging/                   Staged output data files (runtime-generated)
│   ├── SUPER/
│   │   └── Trackers/
│   ├── LEAP/
│   └── BEST/
└── SSH_KEYS/                       SSH private key storage (NOT for source control)

Note

constants.env and the SSH_KEYS/ directory contain sensitive credentials. Add both to .gitignore before committing to any repository.

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System Requirements

• Python 3.11 or later
• Network access to the configured data historian (PI Server or Canary API)
• Network access to the EPRI SFTP endpoint (if SFTP transfer is enabled)
• SFTP credentials or SSH private key provided by EPRI

Install dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.txt

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Configuration

All behavior is controlled by the constants.env file in the project root. Copy and fill in this file before running the tool. Do not commit it to source control.

Data Historian

DATA_HISTORIAN

Set to PI for OSIsoft PI Historian or Canary for Canary Historian. This determines which module set under Functions/ is loaded at runtime.

For Canary: also set the API server hostname and API token directly in Functions/Canary/CanaryAPI.py (self.server and self.apiToken).

Platform Toggles

SUPER, LEAP, BEST

Set to 1 to enable, 0 to disable. Multiple platforms can run in a single execution.

SFTP Settings

SFTP_ENABLED

Set to 1 to transfer files over SFTP, 0 to stage files locally without uploading. When disabled, checkpoints are not advanced and staged archives are retained.

USE_PASSWORD / USE_SSHKEY

Set exactly one to 1 to select the authentication method.

SFTP_HOST, SFTP_USERNAME, SFTP_PASSWORD

EPRI-provided SFTP connection details.

SFTP_PRIVATE_KEY

Filename of the SSH private key placed in the SSH_KEYS/ directory.

SFTP_PRIVATE_KEY_PASS

Passphrase for the SSH private key, if applicable.

SLEEP_TIME, MAX_COUNT

Retry wait time (seconds) and maximum retry attempts for failed uploads.

Platform-Specific Parameters

For each platform (SUPER, LEAP, BEST):

CHANNEL_LIST_<PLATFORM>

Filename of the Excel channel list in Channel_List/.

DATA_FILE_MAX_LENGTH_<PLATFORM>

Maximum span of one output file in days.

RAW_DATA_INTERVAL_<PLATFORM>

Data extraction interval in minutes.

REMOTE_UPLOAD_FOLDER_<PLATFORM>

Remote SFTP directory provided by EPRI.

SUPER®-only parameters:

PERFORMANCE_ONLY

Set to 1 to run performance data only (no tracker data).

CHANNEL_LIST_VERSION_FLAG_SUPER

Set to 0 for the current channel list format.

DATA_FILE_MAX_LENGTH_TRACKERS, RAW_DATA_INTERVAL_TRACKERS

File length and interval settings for SUPER tracker data.

REMOTE_UPLOAD_FOLDER_TRACKERS

Remote SFTP directory for SUPER tracker files.

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Execution

Run the application from the project root:

python Main.py

For each enabled platform, RENEWXfer will:

1. Load the channel list from Channel_List/
2. Read the last checkpoint from Log_Files/<platform>/<plant>_log.csv
3. Extract time-series data from the configured data historian
4. Stage compressed output files in File_Staging/<platform>/
5. Transfer files to the EPRI SFTP endpoint (if SFTP_ENABLED=1)
6. Update the checkpoint log only on confirmed successful upload
7. Compress and transfer all execution logs at the end of the run

Checkpoint behavior

RENEWXfer tracks the last successfully uploaded timestamp per tag in a per-plant CSV log. On re-run it resumes from where the previous run succeeded. If a transfer fails, the checkpoint is not advanced so data is re-attempted on the next run. New tags added to a channel list are automatically caught up from the plant's commissioning date before regular processing continues.

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Tag Validation

Before running production transfers, validate that all tags in a channel list are accessible:

For PI:

python validate_LEAP.py
python validate_SUPER.py

These scripts attempt to read each tag from the PI server and report any tags that are unreachable or return no data.

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Logging and Audit

Logs are organized by platform under Log_Files/:

• Log_Files/SUPER/SFTP_Logs.log – SUPER® SFTP transfer audit trail
• Log_Files/SUPER/Trackers/SFTP_Logs.log – SUPER® Tracker SFTP audit trail
• Log_Files/LEAP/SFTP_Logs.log – LEAP® SFTP transfer audit trail
• Log_Files/BEST/SFTP_Logs.log – BEST® SFTP transfer audit trail
• Log_Files/<platform>/<plant>_log.csv – Per-plant upload checkpoint log

At the end of each run, the entire Log_Files/ directory is compressed and transferred to the SFTP endpoint via Functions/upload_log_files.py.

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Security Considerations

• constants.env contains SFTP credentials and must not be committed to source control. Add it to .gitignore.
• SSH_KEYS/ contains private key material and must not be committed to source control. Add it to .gitignore.
• SFTP host key verification is currently disabled (cnopts.hostkeys = None). For production environments, configure known-host verification by populating cnopts.hostkeys with the EPRI server's host key.
• The Canary API communicates over HTTPS with certificate verification disabled for self-signed certificates. Verify the server certificate independently if operating in a strict security environment.

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Disclaimer

Copyright © Electric Power Research Institute, Inc. (EPRI). All rights reserved.

This software is provided for authorized use under applicable EPRI agreements. Use, modification, and distribution are subject to EPRI policies and contractual terms. EPRI makes no warranties, express or implied, regarding fitness for a particular purpose or the accuracy of results produced by this software.