Coronal Mass Ejection Effect on PV Solar System

I wonder why?

If your going to use acronyms state them in the first instance.

Sorry guest. I spelled CME out in the title but I should have repeated it in the message.

Don

As far as I understand, a CME's (Coronal Mass Ejection) effect on the grid is entirely because the grid is so large. The fields from a CME are powerful but are spread over a wide area.

The power grid in the US is set up so that the power generation tries to keep the voltage at any given point at a constant voltage. When the load downstream from that point increases, the utility increases generation to accommodate. Usually loads don't change instantaneously, so it's also easy for them to respond.

The utilities measure the voltage at the point of generation. When a CME hits the grid, it may affect the voltage at a given point. It almost undoubtedly will affect the voltage at the point of generation differently (this could be hundreds of miles apart). The utility will increase or decrease generation because of the voltage it sees at the point of generation, but due to the CME this may be a false reading. Downstream, the load may see increased voltage when there is no real increase in load. Of course this can be devastating to equipment in the home.

Your PV array may be affected by surges or brown outs from this effect. No more so than any electronics or appliances in your home.

For a PV array the effects coming directly from a CME will be small, mainly because from the panels to the farthest reaches of your power in your home the distance is too small to create a big voltage disparity.

Disclaimer: I'm not a Power EE. So if anyone wants to correct me, by all means you are invited to do so. My info comes from my own reading and from a technician who has worked at power companies.

Lo_Volt, thanks for the reply. Lots of good info. If a CME is forecasted, will it help to simply disconnect my main breaker which would disconnect my system from the grid? I think I would probably do it just to play it safe anyway.

It sure would be comforting to know that our utility companies are planning on CME contingencies. I wouldn't want to see a repeat of what happened in 1989 when millions of people lost power for over 9 hours in the freezing cold.

Don

Hi Don,

The more I read the more I learn. It is a workout trying to weed out the wackos predicting the end of the world from the real info. Here are two good links that I found:

http://www.zurich.com/NR/rdonlyres/E7A8BC6C-86D9-4C1A-ABFC-F6213EB23D73/0/SolarStorms.pdf

http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/Services/SWstorms_assessment.pdf

As far as disconnecting from the grid, I think they'd have to be forecasting something really big for me to worry about doing so.

You might want to read up on the Solar Storm of 1859, something like this could perhaps fry your system. Check out Wiki for this as some references to this solar storm will take you to 2012 end of world sites. Also, as an amateur radio operator I have read several articles from the ARRL (American Radio Relay League) about protecting from electromagnetic pulse generation from high altitude nuclear detonations. Some of this information may prove useful.

I know there are a lot of people out that are predicting end-of-the-world scenarios. However, CME's are not, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), just wacko nightmarish ideas. In 1989, as I previously mentioned, millions of people, in the dead of winter, were left without electricity because of a large CME. NOAA has determined that we are actually entering the next 11 year high risk period for CME's. I'm not saying that we should all go out and build CME "bomb shelters", but that we should determine, and get the information out to the public, what we can and should do if we are about to be hit with a CME. Again, according to NOAA, we can now detect CME's and predict their approximate arrival time. I don't have the knowledge to say exactly what proactive steps should be taken but we should explore possibilities.

Thanks again,

Don

...waitasecond. ...when did the Mayan calendar say life on Earth was going to end?

:)

Ronando, thanks for your response. I'm really not being rude but, what is your point? As I have previously stated, I'm not worried about the "global killer". However, I am concerned about the CME that will possibly knock out elements of our infrastructure for extended periods. Yea, I can kick my legs up on the back porch with a glass of wine and wait it out but my grandkids and 85 year old mother are not as flexible and survivable.

Thanks again. Don

What is my point Don? I don't think I've offered one. I'm more interested in learning than anything else. I found Lo_Volt's links to be quite educational and I have a growing concern for CMEs ant potential catastrophic events.

My point? ... I probably don't understand the question. Again, I don't have one. I've written a letter today to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) hoping to get a better understanding of what current response is out there, maybe that's my point. Below is the letter. So, I hope that answers your question, since, it sounds like we have similar concerns.

Hello

I am a concerned citizen who has recently learned about Coronal Mass Ejections and their potential harm to our electrical grid. From my understanding the sun is periodically blowing off electrified solar gas (plasma) and Coronal Mass Ejections (CME) that produce violent solar storms. These solar storms occur when the sun's solar magnetic field suddenly snaps to a new configuration and releases massive amounts of energy, radiation and CME resulting in three specific environmental disturbances:

1. geomagnetic storms (disturbances in earth's geomagnetic field due to gusts of solar winds),
2. 2. solar radiation storms (elevated radiation levels due to high-energy particles)
3. 3. and radio blackouts (disturbances in earth's ionosphere due to X-ray emissions from the sun).

The chatter I've been stumbling upon on line (after filtering out the doomsday wackos) points to an extreme solar storm cycle activity that can produce Geomagnetically-Induced Currents (GIC) which is to peak in 2012!! The problem is that the resulting GIC from sunspots and solar flares could cause significant damage to our electrical grid, telecommunication and other devices. Many believe that this threat should not be ignored and that a CME event should be considered an "unrecognized catastrophic risk" due to our increased reliance on technology today. …not to mention the ridiculous coincidence between the cycle (and peak) of the CME activity and the Mayan calendar! Like, how crazy is that?

What is the NOAA doing to prepare for such an event? Word on the street is that if something like this hit us, we are literally sitting ducks.

I thank you in advance.

As I said, it sounds like we have similar concerns Don. I just found it amusing that in one of the links that Lo_Volt supplied mentioned the Mayan calendar and it kinda took me for a loop. Coincidence? ... most likely.

Ronando, thanks for your response. It looks like we are on the same page. I think we both know what the potential consequences could be from a large CME but we need to know what precautions are, or are not, being taken. I have sent letters to state and federal government officials, and to utility companies asking for information. I haven't received any responses. Thank you for sending the letter to NOAA. Please keep us advised.

Hi Don,

I am currently having an "Off Grid" system installed and have had the same concern. I have been listening to a recent broadcast of Coast to Coast with physicist Michio Kaku in which he addresses this particular question. It is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljPMQDtvJ3k The discussion about CMEs begins about 10 minutes in. As a member of the American Physical Society they went before congress to try to secure funds to "harden" our grid. The entire program is very interesting. The long and the short of it seems to be that if we have another "Carrington Event" which occurred in 1859 we are looking at a return to the stone age. Congress, in their predictable response to threatened civilization ending catastrophies, refused to provide funding. Any electronic equipment, including our PV systems will be reduced to trash unless it is secured in something like your microwave oven - a Farraday Cage. A shipping container would work.

There is an excellent two minute forecast which reports these CMEs every morning so that you will have a day or two to prepare. Now how severe it has to be to represent a threat to your system I do not know. It sounds as if it would be better if the whole system was disconnected prior to the arrival. If it is that serious it may not make much difference.

https://www.youtube.com/user/Suspicious0bservers

I don't know about Louisiana but here in North Carolina if you have an "On Grid" system and the grid goes down your PV system WILL NOT WORK. Cool! Eh?

J, thanks for the info. Since my system is battery backup, it does continue to work in the event of a power failure. I was able to utilize the system this past summer when a hurricane came through and we were out of electricity for 6 days. The 6 kw system helps. It is not enough to power my entire house but it take care of my camper. So, my wife and I just lived in the camper for 6 days. I will definately watch the youtube video.

Don