This is only getting local coverage in the Medford, Oregon news market, but I thought it was fucking hilarious. tl;dr: Cheap solar panels at a huge solar power installation near Medford keep melting and catching the underlying weeds on fire, and nobody knows what to do.
EAGLE POINT, Ore. -- A solar farm at 1035 Highway 234 in Eagle Point is working with Fire District 3 after two grass fires in two months.
According to a Facebook post from Fire District 3, the first grass fire happened on July 31 and was about seven acres. The most recent fire happened on Sept. 30 at three acres. The farm currently operates 33,000 panels.
"After the fire on July 31st, our fire investigators immediately began working with the company (Soltage, LLC) who owns the solar panels to develop a plan," the release said. "Both grassfires were caused by overheated electronic panels that failed and then subsequently dropped molten electronics onto the dried grass."
After the fire in July, Fire District 3 worked with Soltage to address the cause of the fire.
"With the fire danger restrictions in place, they were unable to mow the 115 acres of dried grass after the fire in July," the release said. "With our guidance, Soltage added fire breaks around the outer perimeter and into the interior of the grid."
Soltage also has not reconnected the panels to the power grid, the release said, and moved them so they were as far away from dry grass as possible -- but there is still the
potential of more fires.
"Solar panels cannot be fully de-energized," the release said. "If the sun is shining, electricity is being produced within the panels. There is no 'off-switch' to stop electricity from being produced within the panels and the internal components."
NewsWatch 12 spoke with Jack Barksdale, longtime solar system inspection and maintenance personnel and cofounder of American Union of Solar System Inspectors.
He said incidences like these mostly occur when there is a weak physical connection between wires with a high current running through them, thus creating heat.
Barksdale calls these “thermal” events rare, but almost always caused by external factors such as lightning strikes or mostly animals.
“It’s more commonly an external factor that causes things like that to happen,” Barksdale said
Fire District 3 said that while there is still a chance of panels failing, the fuel breaks in place and cooler weather lessen the chances of another fire happening.
Barksdale said the possibility of more panels failing is likely due to an underlying problem, or something that can get exacerbated by the panel failures that occurred during the summer.
“An electrical problem at point A, even though at the time it was just point A, can cause a chain reaction of sorts. [It] can affect downstream or upstream equipment," he said.
The district and Soltage are still working towards solutions.
"We are working with Soltage to find a safe solution, however, they must provide a plan that meets our stipulations before we will approve a safe return to normal operations," the release said.
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So, they can't do jack shit about the cheap panels melting and oozing onto the weeds because you can't turn the panels themselves off. Whenever it's sunny out, the panels work, and all they can do is disconnect the array from the main grid. Just wait for a panel to melt on a Red Flag Warning day, where ferocious winds and bottom barrel humidity combines to burn down the entirety of Eagle Point (a Medford suburb) and maybe beyond. Let's hear it for our brilliant overlords and their wonderful green energy.
EAGLE POINT, Ore. -- A solar farm at 1035 Highway 234 in Eagle Point is working with Fire District 3 after two grass fires in two months.
According to a Facebook post from Fire District 3, the first grass fire happened on July 31 and was about seven acres. The most recent fire happened on Sept. 30 at three acres. The farm currently operates 33,000 panels.
"After the fire on July 31st, our fire investigators immediately began working with the company (Soltage, LLC) who owns the solar panels to develop a plan," the release said. "Both grassfires were caused by overheated electronic panels that failed and then subsequently dropped molten electronics onto the dried grass."
After the fire in July, Fire District 3 worked with Soltage to address the cause of the fire.
"With the fire danger restrictions in place, they were unable to mow the 115 acres of dried grass after the fire in July," the release said. "With our guidance, Soltage added fire breaks around the outer perimeter and into the interior of the grid."
Soltage also has not reconnected the panels to the power grid, the release said, and moved them so they were as far away from dry grass as possible -- but there is still the
potential of more fires.
"Solar panels cannot be fully de-energized," the release said. "If the sun is shining, electricity is being produced within the panels. There is no 'off-switch' to stop electricity from being produced within the panels and the internal components."
NewsWatch 12 spoke with Jack Barksdale, longtime solar system inspection and maintenance personnel and cofounder of American Union of Solar System Inspectors.
He said incidences like these mostly occur when there is a weak physical connection between wires with a high current running through them, thus creating heat.
Barksdale calls these “thermal” events rare, but almost always caused by external factors such as lightning strikes or mostly animals.
“It’s more commonly an external factor that causes things like that to happen,” Barksdale said
Fire District 3 said that while there is still a chance of panels failing, the fuel breaks in place and cooler weather lessen the chances of another fire happening.
Barksdale said the possibility of more panels failing is likely due to an underlying problem, or something that can get exacerbated by the panel failures that occurred during the summer.
“An electrical problem at point A, even though at the time it was just point A, can cause a chain reaction of sorts. [It] can affect downstream or upstream equipment," he said.
The district and Soltage are still working towards solutions.
"We are working with Soltage to find a safe solution, however, they must provide a plan that meets our stipulations before we will approve a safe return to normal operations," the release said.
========
So, they can't do jack shit about the cheap panels melting and oozing onto the weeds because you can't turn the panels themselves off. Whenever it's sunny out, the panels work, and all they can do is disconnect the array from the main grid. Just wait for a panel to melt on a Red Flag Warning day, where ferocious winds and bottom barrel humidity combines to burn down the entirety of Eagle Point (a Medford suburb) and maybe beyond. Let's hear it for our brilliant overlords and their wonderful green energy.
