Title :
DC Arc flash calculations for solar farms
Author :
Enrique, Eduardo H. ; Haub, Peter N. ; Bailey, Timothy P.
Author_Institution :
Stantec Consulting Ltd., Kitchener, ON, Canada
Abstract :
The NFPA 70E standard - 2012 edition and the CSA Z462-12 standard describe the calculations required to determine the approximated incident energy in a DC arc flash. These calculations assume that the power source for the DC system is linear. This paper describes the calculations required to estimate the incident energy in a DC arc flash for solar farms, where the power source is highly nonlinear. The equations required for the calculation are derived from fundamentals and compared to the equations provided by the above standards. The incident energy levels found in a typical solar farm are presented in an example, where the results obtained by the application of the standards and the proposed method are compared. Recommendations to include in the standards the provisions for the calculation of DC arc flash in solar farms are given in this paper.
Keywords :
arcs (electric); solar power; solar power stations; standards; CSA Z462-12 standard; DC arc flash calculations; NFPA 70E standard; energy levels; power source; solar farms; Arc discharges; Circuit faults; Fault currents; Photovoltaic systems; Short-circuit currents; Standards; arc discharges; current-voltage characteristics; energy; fault currents; photovoltaic cells; photovoltaic systems; renewable energy sources; short-circuit currents; solar power generation; standards;
Conference_Titel :
Technologies for Sustainability (SusTech), 2013 1st IEEE Conference on
Conference_Location :
Portland, OR
DOI :
10.1109/SusTech.2013.6617304
