Devastating Storm Tests Solar Panel Strength
More than 5,000 MECASOLAR trackers installed in the Grupo OPDE photovoltaic solar farms in Spain have endured with great strength over the weekend of 26 and 27 February, the winds that swept the Iberian Peninsula from north to south caused by the explosive cyclogenesis and which reached speeds of up to 200 km / h accompanied by heavy rains.
This was the case of the large solar farm at Almaraz (Cáceres)-with 2-axis MECASOLAR solar trackers, which withstood hurricane winds up to 132 km / h without any of the trackers registering any incidents. The explosive ciclogenensis also particularly affected the solar farms of Belvis de Monroy (Cáceres), which recorded maximum wind speeds up to 102 km / h.
More than 5,000 MECASOLAR trackers installed by OPDE are located on solar farms in Andalusia, Extremadura, Castilla-Leon and Navarre. All of which withstood the hurricane wind speeds caused by Xinthia, without registering any structural problems and or panel breakage. "Last weekend our trackers have once again beat records for wind resistance of 132 km / h showing the market on the ground that they are the most robust and best built mechanically on the market," says Gustavo Carrero, Director of Marketing of Grupo OPDE These trackers are maintained and constantly monitored by OPDE from the Control Centre located at RIOS, a company in the OPDE group.
The 2-axis MECASOLAR TRACKER MS-2E is designed to withstand high wind speeds- tested in conditions of up to 140 Km / h, the automatic device can be programmed to control movement and position itself in the horizontal position in the event of winds of more than 70 km / h, or any other speed considered to be of interest with regards the situation of the solar plant.
The wind safety mechanism fitted on MECASOLAR trackers is operated by an automatic device, which positions the trackers in a completely horizontal position at certain wind speeds. When the speed is higher, the gear motor brake is released and the tracker can rotate freely, similar to construction cranes. The whole process is controlled by an anemometer installed in each wind farm, which records wind speeds and directions. This data is recorded on a database for further analysis and control at the Operation and Maintenance Control Centre located in Fustiñana-Navarra.
