With growth rates of 60% solar power plants are one of the most rapidly expanding segments in the energy sector. But how can the huge open-air solar parks - which can quickly reach a size of several hectares - be effectively protected against vandalism, sabotage and theft?
viasys intelligent video has developed a concept for this scenario that has been implemented at numerous sites.

"Power from the desert" is a catchphrase that has been dominating the media since the middle of last year when leading energy and financial companies signed plans to establish the Desertec Industrial Initiative (DII). Its aim is to supply around 15% of Europe's electricity by 2050 from gigantic solar power plants to be built in the Sahara Desert at a cost of around 400 billion euros. Annual growth rates of over 60% in Germany, for instance, demonstrate that solar power is on the advance in Europe and is developing into an increasingly relevant factor in energy supply. Electricity from this renewable energy source would cover a major part of Germany's power consumption on very sunny days in the near future and we expect to see the expansion of solar power systems in similar magnitude during the coming years. This confronts operators of solar parks with the issue of providing effective protection against sabotage, vandalism and theft. A solution providing extremely efficient surveillance of very large areas is offered by viasys.

Intelligent Video System
A large photovoltaic power plant is approximately 6.5 hectares in size, has at least 16,000 solar modules, and has a peak production of 2.7 megawatts. Depending upon the site's location, this is enough to supply electricity to approximately 1,200 households. A fence with a length of nearly 1,200 m will protect such a solar power plant. "Our concept for these large scale sites consist of an intelligent video system directly connected to a security control centre," says Hannes Ackfeld, CEO of viasys, while explaining the surveillance solution. "The video analytics software we install is of vital importance. It must exclude false alarms triggered by animals or weather but at the same time detect relevant incidents like intruders or vehicles reliably and then directly transmit the alarm images to the connected monitoring centre in order to start the predefined intervention." The viasys analysis software permanently checks the delivered images for movements and analyzes them using various complex software filters. Different parameters are used to customize filters for different situations. An alarm is only triggered in response to a clear motion sequence. In concrete terms, this means that the screen remains black until a real alarm is triggered (e.g. persons, vehicles), and the corresponding video picture is then displayed with the motion marked by a detection frame just like a pop-up. Hannes Ackfeld explained the advantages of the system: "Security personnel in the monitoring centre are considerably relieved from strain because their attention only has to be drawn to genuinely significant events. And most importantly: an alarm is triggered before damage is caused".

"Videor Reacted to Our Requirements Highly Individually"
A total of 24 mast-fitted cameras with image transmission to viasys are installed along the fence of a solar park. A high-quality Samsung day/night camera with a Fujinon lens fitted in the eneo VTL-WWA Weatherproof Housing are installed. The protective housing is compliant with IP66 and comes with a window heater, thermostat and wall mount as standard, to ensure reliable all-year operation even in extreme weather conditions. An eneo LED infrared illuminator fitted to the mast for each camera allows 24/7 surveillance of photovoltaic power plants. Customized manufacturing is one of the services offered by Videor, the components were delivered to viasys GmbH preassembled and programmed. Hannes Ackfeld described the cooperation with Videor by saying "Videor reacted to our requirements highly individually. The cameras were delivered to us preinstalled in their housings with full cabling, configured back focal distance and were set up configured according to our requirements. This made on-site installation very easy and considerably shortened the installation time."

Protection of More than 60 Sites
viasys has already protected over 60 sites with more than 160 megawatts output with this system in Germany, Spain, Italy, France and the Czech Republic. The large number of installations is a proof of the reliability of the system. viasys customers include, BP solar, Deutsche Solargesellschaft, E.ON, Juwi Solar, Phoenix Solar, Solarworld and Sunpower. And the next projects are queuing up for implementation. With no end in sight to the solar power boom, it must be assumed that these projects are far from being the last.