pv magazine Webinar | Don’t bury the problem! How a new TÜV standard will significantly alter expectations of cables for direct burial

Initiative partner: Leoni

This webinar is a part of a series examining the “key indicators of PV quality” in partnership with Leoni.

The direct burial of cables at PV power plants can be a cost-effective approach – ensuring that cabling is out of the worst weather conditions and cannot be damaged by maintenance crews or local critters. However, when the cables are not themselves fit-for-purpose it can lead to the cables breaking down and potentially faults and fires.

Water and ground contaminant ingress into the cables, including by substances such as oil, can be a cause of power losses and has resulted in fires at utility scale PV projects. Rodents and termites can cause damage to cables buried in the earth, undermining the assumption that cables out of sight are out of harm’s way.

TÜV Rheinland has tackled the challenge of moisture ingress, and has published new standard for direct burial cables in solar applications. The standard (Standard 2PfG2642/11/17) was officially published on October 31.

The new 2 PfG standard for direct burial cables is likely to cause a substantial rethink among PV power plant developers and EPCs – and importantly lead to safer and higher performance PV projects!

The upcoming webinar will consist of three Segments:
• A detailed introduction to the current situation regarding direct burial cables, including illustrations of the faults that can occur
• A presentation from TÜV Rheinland setting out the new 2 PfG standard for direct burial cables, and the evolution of similar standards in terms of adoption within the wider PV industry
• An introduction to cabling solutions that meet the new standard and can be used by EPCs to avoid faults and in-ground deterioration of cables

Questions can be submitted beforehand or during the webinar through a chat window.

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This webinar was recorded on 15 November 2018.