Interference analysis from medium-voltage cables of photovoltaic plants to metallic pipelines

The recent advancement of renewable energy sources and specifically photovoltaic (PV) units has resulted in outdoor installations of large power stations. This brought up cases where such power stations, in the MWp level and typically connected to the medium voltage level through underground cables, are located in the vicinity of buried metallic pipelines, used by various utilities. Under certain conditions, these cases may result in induced voltages and currents on the pipelines that can pose threats to operating personnel and ac corrosion to the pipeline. This work presents an analysis of the electromagnetic interference in a real case study of a gas pipeline crossing the installation area of a large PV power station. The calculation methodology is based on a hybrid method, in order to balance between desired accuracy and reduced computational time. Voltage profiles across the pipeline are obtained for different cases of normal operating conditions and faults in the power station, leading to remarks that may be useful to engineers.