Will solar panels help when the power goes out? : planning for PV resilience / Scott Belding, Andy Walker, and Andrea Watson.

Format:

Book

Government document

Author/Creator:

Belding, Scott, author.

Contributor:

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (U.S.), issuing body.

Series:

NREL/TP ; 7A40-75704.

NREL/TP ; 7A40-75704

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Electric power systems--Natural disaster effects.

Electric power systems.

Solar panels.

Electric power failures.

solar panels.

Genre:

technical reports.

Technical reports.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (10 pages) : mostly color illustrations.

Place of Publication:

Golden, CO : National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 2020.

Summary:

PV systems, like all energy systems, must chart a difficult course in order to improve resilience. They need to simultaneously withstand extreme conditions that cause grid power disruptions, be configured in a way that allows electricity to be delivered to meet the PV user's needs, and overcome disruptions arising from solar resource intermittency. Certain considerations reveal themselves as key to a PV system's resilience benefits. Choice of hardware is critical, as is site selection for the PV array. Voluminous evidence in a hurricane context demonstrates that durable hardware, properly maintained and sited, leads to PV systems surviving extreme weather with their functionality intact. Structurally weak or poorly maintained PV equipment, on the other hand, has demonstrated failures during extreme weather events. PV system stakeholders should ensure that best practices are followed for hardware procurement and siting. It is also important to understand that PV systems are not one-size-fits-all. While incorporating islanding capabilities and energy storage into the system's electrical topology will typically enhance resilience, the user's needs will determine the optimally resilient conformation of any given system. These factors - appropriate hardware, siting, maintenance, and system design - are the primary drivers of PV resilience. PV systems possess high potential for resilient energy generation due to their distributed, abundant, and free fuel supply, but the technology itself does not inherently lead to resilient outcomes. Realizing PV's potential for resilience requires consideration of these determinative factors.

Contents:

Introduction

Hardware

Siting

System design

Resilience by consumer class

Conclusions

References.

Notes:

"March 2020."

Includes bibliographical references (pages 8-10).

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (NREL, viewed on Nov. 17, 2020).

OCLC:

1221006157

Publisher Number:

1606153 OSTI ID

Access Restriction:

Publicly released