Abstract:
This thesis presents the analysis and testing of submerged solar panels in a solar power plant. The analysis aimed to inspect the submerged solar panels whether they had good performance and safety features to generate electricity or not.
The analysis and testing of submerged solar panels in the selected solar power plant focused on the crystalline silicon solar panels in the submerged area. There were 111,798 submerged solar panels with different submersion durations which could be divided into 2 groups: 1) 73,558 solar panels submerged for 5 8 days and 2) 38,240 solar panels submerged for 8 12 days. There were also 20 non-submerged referenced solar panels. The testing procedures comprised 7 processes: 1) randomization of solar panels from the group of submerged solar panels by Krejcie & Morgan technique, 2) visual inspection, 3) leakage voltage test, 4) leakage current test, 5) insulation test, 6) wet leakage current test and 7) I-V test.
From the analysis results, only the referenced group of solar panels had suitable performance and quality for use. The solar panels in group 1 and 2 were not suitable for use because of the lower maximum power of the panels than the specification. Group 1 and group 2 had an average reduction in the maximum power of
43.99 and 57.73%, respectively. Besides, the insulation resistance multiplied by the panel area of group 1 and group 2 were 85.00 and 96.67%, respectively. As a result, they were not suitable for use in wet conditions because the wet dielectric strength was lower than the IEC 61215 standard which requires not less than 40 MΩm[superscript2].