Impact of Photovoltaic-Oriented DC Stray Current Corrosion on Large-Scale Solar Farms´ Grounding and Third-Party Infrastructure: Modeling and Assessment

This paper discusses the impact of photovoltaic (PV)-oriented dc stray current corrosion on large-scale solar farms´ grounding and third-party infrastructure. The dc stray current may result from a fault or may be facilitated by buried cables´ condition that allows dc leakage to flow into the earth. In particular, such abnormal conditions can impact the grounding electrodes of the PV plants as well as third-party metallic infrastructures (e.g., natural gas pipelines) that are laid in the nearby vicinity of a solar plant. This paper unfolds by thoroughly addressing three specific objectives: 1) defining the origin of the problem; 2) modeling the problem in commercially available software; and 3) discussing the arising implications.