Fundamentals of Solar Power Plant Design

Learn the design fundamentals of photovoltaic projects. Gain knowledge and skills from engineers with real-life experience in solar energy and electrical delivery fields. You will also understand solar plant components and PV modules; DC system and AC collector design; civil and geotechnical issues; and interconnection to distribution and the bulk power grid.

Who should attend?

People new to the field of solar energy and those in need of a refresher will benefit by attending this course, including:

• Renewable energy developers
• Electric utility design or planning engineers
• Power system dispatchers
• Consulting engineers
• Project managers
• Managers of design departments
• Engineering technicians

Energy from the Sun

• Solar irradiance principles
• Measure of merit for incident solar
• What makes a location good?
• Factors affecting incident energy
• Diurnal/seasonal pattern of incident energy

Solar Power Assessment

• Solar insolation mapping
• Standards
• Uncertainty and “bankability”
• Data collection and analysis
• Reports and graphs

Electric Power Generation and Delivery Fundamentals

• Power system fundamentals
• Conversion of DC to AC
• Power flow analysis example
• Real and reactive power
• Power system operation, control and protection

Photovoltaic Basics

• Semiconductors and the photovoltaic effect
• A brief history of the development of PV cells
• Cell materials: mono- and poly-crystalline silicon, cadmium telluride,

CIGS

• Makeup of solar panels from solar cells
• Conversion efficiency

Solar Plant Components and Overview

• Plant design and optimization
• Solar panels and racks
• DC electrical connections
• Inverter block with step-up transformer
• AC collection
• Power plant controls and grid integration features

Solar Cells and Modules

• Current-irradiance and voltage-temperature relationships
• Power-current relationship and maximum power point
• Incidence angle
• Electrical effect of shading
• Hot spots and by-pass diodes
• Reliability, testing, and spectral response

DC System Design

• Panel sizing for site conditions
• Connecting panels as a string
• String planning and layout
• String DC combination levels
• DC cabling to inverter
• DC system protection
• Losses within strings

Inverter and Power Control

• The inverter as the heart of the power block
• Inverter equipment and modules
• DC connections from re-combiner
• Maximizing energy harvest through DC voltage control
• AC current regulation for real and reactive power

AC Collector System

• Collector system overview and single-line
• Collector layout and installation
• Load flow modeling and sizing of conductors
• Inverters and step-up transformers
• System grounding considerations
• Reactive power and harmonic filters

Civil and Geotechnical Issues

• Geotechnical investigations: site preparation and earthworks, foundation considerations
• Ground-mount foundation solutions, rammed posts, helicals, or ground screws; ballast systems
• Design loads: dead loads; wind, snow, and seismic zones; adfreeze considerations
• Racking assembly
• Panel installation, connections, and wiring
• Measurement of soil thermal resistivity

Interconnection of Renewable Energy Plants with the Electric Grid

• Interconnection agreements and studies
• Grid codes
• Disturbance ride-through
• Post-fault recovery
• Solar plant modeling in power system analyses
• Cloud transients, ramp rates, and the case for energy storage

Connection of Distributed PV Solar Units

• Market drivers of rooftop PV units
• Impacts of rooftop PV units on a distribution feeder: voltage considerations, harmonics, feeder ampacity limits
• Distribution feeder PV “hosting” limits

Bulk Power System Considerations

• IEEE 1547 and “Smart Inverters”
• Emerging needs for low voltage ride through: emerging needs for voltage / power factor control, status and changes in the standard
• Changing load curves due to solar variability

By participating in this course you will earn:

Learn more about CEU, PDH, LU, LU/HSW, GBCI CE and state licensing boards