Protection & Control Systems of Solar Power Plants: (Small, Medium & Large): Solar Energy, Solar Power Plants, Protection and Control Systems, Guidelines/Standards, PV systems fault finding

A reliable and secure protection and control system is a paramount requirement for any electrical network. This book discusses protection and control schemes of various parts of Solar Power Plants (SPP) namely solar generator, inverter, and SPP network connected to the grid. For this purpose small, medium, and large size of solar power energy sources have been considered. This includes residential, commercial buildings and large power plants.There is significant literature about solar energy, modeling, and different aspects of integration of SPP to grids. But there is no book to directly address the setting/design of protection and control schemes, testing techniques, and fault findings of solar generators and their networks.The topology and characteristics of solar generators and their networks are different from conventional ones. This has caused the following issues:Conventional protection & control scheme may fail to detect different type of faults which may occur on solar cells/panels/arrays, DC cables, and inverters. This necessitated the requirement of special schemes for the detection of faults in blind spots,Fault findings required tests, and testing equipment for solar generators are different from conventional ones,The fault current contribution from solar generators is low (1.1-1.2 pu) as compared to conventional ones.The above problems have caused significant challenges for appropriate setting and design of the protection & control scheme of SPP network, which has resulted in several major plants shut down, safety risks, and fire incidents.This book discusses the above challenges and proposes mitigation techniques to rectify the deficiencies of existing industry practice for the protection and control systems of solar generators.Main Objectives of the BookThe main objectives of the book are:To familiarize engineers, technical officers, testers, and project managers with the required power system protection and control schemes of solar power plants (SPP). To provide a guideline for preparation of standards, technical specification, business case, functional scope, test, and commissioning plan as applicable to the installation of new SPP;To provide adequate information to electricity companies, consultants, contractors, relay manufacturers,s and SPP owners about the requirement of protection and control systems of SPP.AcknowledgmentThe author wishes to acknowledge that the contents of this book are based on utilizing the following resources:Extensive research of the author for design, specifications, and commissioning of SPPsExperiences of other individuals, electricity companies, and consultantsDisclaimerThe author is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, up-to-dateness or quality of the information provided. The author is therefore not liable for any claims regarding damage caused by the use of any information provided. The information in the book should only be used as a guideline and may not be suitable for a specific case.CopyrightThe material made available is intended for the customer’s personal use only. Author reserves all rights to the book. Therefore the book can not be reproduced or replicated or processed or distributed without the author’s written permission. Read more