As the prevalence of renewable energy systems increases, so does the requirement for reliable electrical protection within them. Whether we’re talking about a solar photovoltaic (PV) system or a wind turbine or energy storage, dependable protection is essential for the system to be able to operate optimally and without fault. In this article we look at why electrical protection is necessary in renewable energy systems and how it can help prevent systems from failing and make them less time-consuming to bring back online if they do, preventing potential damage to both machines and people.
Renewable Energy Systems are Growing
We are witnessing a transition to renewable energy in the world. Just look for words like security of energy, sustainability, and other words like that that appeal to our concern for our planet’s resources in everything. Solar and wind energy technology isn’t new, but the systems these kinds of sources are part of are becoming larger and tremendous investments, and the more complex the system, the more assured we need to be that it’s well protected and safe from going offline unexpectedly. Natural factors like weather and geology of the region can pose unique dangers to renewable energy systems that are not as typical in other systems we protect.Wind turbines in variable winds may one moment see a rush of wind while the next sees the wind drop suddenly. Solar panels may see shadows or clouds pass over their light and also a large variation in potential wattage output. Sudden changes in load may cause stress and damage to high-power systems.
Electrical Protection and the Renewable Energy System
Electrical protection is a device designed to detect and act on faults in the system, keeping those faults taking machinery with them when they do. Aspect of protection of equipment in application of renewable energy are:
Fuses and Circuit Breakers: Equipment designed to stop the flow of electricity under fault conditions, minimizing the risk to damage of that equipment. Fuses are one use only, circuit breakers can be reset.
Surge Protectors: Systems of renewable energy can be threatened by surges of higher voltage, including lightning strikes. Surge protectors reduce the damage to sensitive electronic components.
Relays: Devices that track electrical parameters, that can initiate a protection mechanism where a fault is detected. In systems of renewable energy it may be necessary to trip at conditions of overvoltage, undervoltage or overload.
Grounding Systems: All electric requires an earth connection, however in systems of renewable energy it is necessary to lay down the path by of safest flow of electricity.
Preventing Failures with Electrical Protection
Even small electrical failures can have catastrophic consequences in their wake for a renewable energy system, possibly leading to outages, reduced production of energy: repairs.The essence of electrical protection is detecting the fault, usually in its very infancy, and removing the faulty part of the system from the circuit to prevent more of the parts suffering a catastrophic failure. A good example of this concept as it applies to a renewable energy environment is a solar energy system in which a wire is damaged giving rise to a short condition. Without proper protection, we could have a potential fire hazard, and we need to disconnect the circuit immediately to prevent an escalation of the problem. Physiologically the same principle is at work in the wind turbines electrical components on a lightning strike or high voltage surge leading to expensive damage in the power electronics, with surge protection components diverting that potentially harmful high voltage from perhaps destroying anything of value.
Reducing Downtime and Maintenance Costs
An attractive aspect of electrical protection systems in renewable energy systems is reduced downtime of the renewable energy system and reduced “downtime” costs of troubleshooting to find if a component or part of the system fails, and repair of the faulty components.However, with good protection systems, fault in the system can be isolated from the rest of it and trouble shortened to a more minimal time inconvenience taking the system out of service just for repair. A good example of this would be in an energy storage system perhaps where the failure mode could be traced to faulty charging perhaps an overcharging or deep discharging of batteries.
Just as with regenerative braking, there all the additional electrical protection safeguards that closely regulate battery charge, things like overcharge protection and voltage regulators that keep the batteries from being overcharged and undercharged, which if done properly increases their operational life & reduces the need for an expensive replacement.
Improving the Safety of System Personnel.
Electrical protection provides personal protection for the personnel who maintain and operate the large renewable energy systems we are discussing. The high-voltage electrical equipment in these large renewable energy systems creates unique hazards that electrical protection can help mitigate for the personnel who must work on or near them.
Preventing very quickly dangerous situations for technicians and others close to these systems by the isolation of electrical faults becomes the job of devices like fuses and circuit breakers. Putting other safety mechanisms like earthing and surge protection in place diminishes the risk of accidents like disrespectably high electric shocks and fire & their unfortunate consequences for the unfortunate technicians that must work on and operate them.
Compliance with Regulations.
Most places have various pertinent regulations and standards for the installation of renewable energy systems. Quite-fairly stringent safety, dependability, and operating specifications require an appropriate electrical protection devices in many countries.
The NEC or national electrical code for example contains particulars about such devices as directly pertaining to solar and wind energy systems in the US. Protection devices detailed before are similarly important in terms of compliance with respect to operating to code and avoiding fines, penalties and accident generally.
Conclusion & recap.
Depending on the specific system and application, there various justifications that protection equipment at least provides renewable energy systems. From preventing damage to equipment, through to increase of availability, through to ensuring safety and truly, more compliance, protection is part of reliability and quality with such large utility systems–and is therefore all the more interesting to us in a growing renewable energy market.