Specifications for photovoltaic panel grounding design

What is a solar substation grounding guide?

Abstract: This guide is primarily concerned with the grounding system design for photovoltaic solar power plants that are utility owned and/or utility scale (5 MW or greater). The focus of the guide is on differences in practices from substation grounding as provided in IEEE Std 80.

What is the purpose of the grounding system design guide?

Scope: This guide is primarily concerned with the grounding system design for ground-mount photovoltaic (PV) solar power plants (SPPs) that are utility owned and/or utility scale (5 MW or greater). The focus of the guide is on differences in practices from substation grounding as provided in IEEE Std 80.

Can a 3 MWp photovoltaic power station be grounded according to IEEE Std 80-2000?

A safe and cost-efficient grounding system design of a 3 MWp photovoltaic power station according to IEEE Std 80-2000 is presented. Grounding analysis is performed by considering the metal parts of the photovoltaic panel arrays foundations as auxiliary ground electrodes.

Do photovoltaic panels need horizontal ground conductors?

Utilizing also horizontal ground conductors, required solely for the interconnections of the metal support structures of the photovoltaic panel arrays, both safety and cost-efficiency in grounding system design have been achieved.

Do PV power stations need fence grounding?

According to common practice, surface material in large scale PV power stations is used only in certain areas to achieve safety. Hence, the allowable touch and step voltage limits without surface The grounding analysis conducted in for the PV power station did not consider fence grounding.

What is utility-scale spp grounding design?

While SPP grounding design is similar to both traditional power plants and substations, it's much larger scale allows and requires design optimization for an economical approach. This paper highlights items unique to utility-scale SPP and provides guidance and recommendations for realistic design approaches.