A principle of fire at a solar power plant mobilized teams from the Fire Department in the municipality of Bataguassu (MS), approximately 350 km from Campo Grande (MS), on the afternoon of last Saturday (2).
Firefighters were called after the photovoltaic plant's monitoring center detected signs of smoke at the site. The panels and the entire structure of the plant were not damaged.
The case is still under investigation, but the suspicion is that the fire was started in a criminal manner, according to firefighters.
“The owners of the solar plant have several surveillance cameras and the person in charge contacted our radio room directly. He reported that there was a lot of smoke coming from the area. That’s when we quickly dispatched a team to the location,” said Corporal Jonathan Paulo Pinto, from the Bataguassu Fire Department (MS).
The professional says that, upon arriving at the solar power plant, the corporation found that the fire was concentrated in the vegetation around and underneath the solar panels. The team had to force open the entrance gate to gain access to the affected area.
The firefighter highlighted that the monitoring center was of great importance in helping the firefighters' actions.
“Monitoring was also very important to us. In addition, the weather was very overcast and about 10 minutes after we controlled the fire, it started to rain heavily. It was an incident that could have gotten worse, but it was confined to the grass,” he said.
Importance of monitoring centers
Jefferson Gonçalves, engineer at CS Consulting, explains that the monitoring center is essential to guarantee the accuracy and agility of information and the safety of photovoltaic installations, in addition to protecting equipment and people during their operation.
He further explains that there are two main models of monitoring centers: conventional and intelligent. Conventional centers use traditional alarms to protect facilities manually.
Smart centers use advanced equipment, such as cameras with thermographic sensors and video analysis systems, known as VMS (Video Management System), which offer speed in communication and information management.
“For example, technical inspection 19 of the São Paulo State Fire Department requires that large installations have a system response within 30 seconds,” he said.
“Conventional power plants are generally unable to meet the required speed, requiring a more advanced monitoring system, with high-tech cameras and high-precision communication monitoring networks,” added Gonçalves.
The CS Consultoria engineer explains that this type of monitoring can also be applied in centralized generation plants, where the perimeter is much larger and camera coverage needs to be highly efficient.
“In addition, there are systems incorporated into specific components, such as power transformers and photovoltaic inverters, forming a large monitoring system to help protect these large plants,” he highlights.
Don't miss any news from the electricity sector! Sign up to our Community by clicking here and get exclusive access to our content!
all the content of Canal Solar is protected by copyright law, and partial or total reproduction of this site in any medium is expressly prohibited. If you are interested in collaborating or reusing part of our material, please contact us by email: redacao@canalsolar.com.br.
