Renewable Energy, Photovoltaic Systems Near Airfields

15 Pages·2015·3.12 MB·English

CONTRACT REPORT
CR-NAVFAC-EXWC-PW-1504
APRIL 2015
Renewable Energy, Photovoltaic Systems
Near Airfields: Electromagnetic Interference
Geoff Dann, NAVFAC EXWC
Chris Deline, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
Distribution approved for public release: distribution unlimited; administrative and operational use; April 2015.
Other requests shall be referred to NAVFAC EXWC.
Printed on recycled paper
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FORM APPROVED
REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE
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1. REPORT DATE (DD-MM-YYYY) 2. REPORT TYPE 3. DATES COVERED (From – To)
10-04-2015 Contract Report Dec 2014 – Mar 2015
4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER
Interagency Agreement 12-1869
Renewable Energy, Photovoltaic Systems Near Airfields: Electromagnetic 5b. GRANT NUMBER
Interference NA

5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER

6. AUTHOR(S) 5d. PROJECT NUMBER

5e. TASK NUMBER
Geoff Dann, NAVFAC EXWC

Chris Deline, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER

7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT
NUMBER
NAVFAC Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center
1000 23rd Ave. C R-NAVFAC-EXWC-PW-(cid:20)(cid:24)(cid:19)(cid:23)
Port Hueneme, CA 93043
9. SPONSORING / MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSOR / MONITOR’S ACRONYM(S)
Commander, Naval Installations Command CNIC
716 Sicard Street SE
11. SPONSOR / MONITOR’S REPORT NUMBER(S)
Suite 1000

Washington, DC 20374-5140
12. DISTRIBUTION / AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

Distribution approved for public release: distribution unlimited; administrative and operational use; April 2015. Other requests shall

be referred to NAVFAC EXWC.
.
13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES

14. ABSTRACT
Recent increases in photovoltaic systems on Department of the Navy (DON) land and potential siting near airfields prompted this
assessment of the impact of electromagnetic interference (EMI) from photovoltaic (PV) systems, on airfield electronic equipment.
Existing literature is summarized, and tests to measure emissions and mitigation methods are discussed. The literature shows that
the emissions from typical PV systems are low strength and unlikely to cause interference to most airfield electronic systems. With
diligent procurement and siting of PV systems, including specifications for FCC Part 15 Class A compliant equipment and a 250-
foot setback from communication equipment, little to no EMI impact on nearby communications or telemetry equipment is
anticipated.

15. SUBJECT TERMS

17. LIMITATION 18. NUMBER 19a. NAME OF RESPONSIBLE PERSON
16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF:
OF ABSTRACT OF PAGES Geoff Dann
a. REPORT b. ABSTRACT c. THIS PAGE 19b. TELEPHONE NUMBER (include area code)
UU 13
U U U 805-982-1366
Standard Form 298 (Rev. 8-98)
Prescribed by ANSI Std. Z39.18
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Recent increases in photovoltaic (PV) systems on Department of the Navy (DON) land and
potential siting near airfields prompted Commander, Naval Installations Command to fund the
Naval Facilities Engineering Command to evaluate the impact of electromagnetic interference
(EMI) from PV systems on airfield electronic equipment. Naval Facilities Engineering and
Expeditionary Warfare Center tasked Department of Energy National Renewable Energy
laboratory (NREL) to conduct the assessment.

PV systems often include high-speed switching semiconductor circuits to convert the voltage
produced by the PV arrays to the voltage needed by the end user. Switching circuits inherently
produce electromagnetic radiation at harmonics of the switching frequency.

In this report, existing literature is summarized and tests to measure emissions and mitigation
methods are discussed. The literature shows that the emissions from typical PV systems are low
strength and unlikely to cause interference to most airfield electronic systems. With diligent
procurement and siting of PV systems, including specifications for FCC Part 15 Class A
compliant equipment and a 250-foot setback from communication equipment, NREL anticipates
little to no EMI impact on nearby communications or telemetry equipment.

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Renewable Energy, Photovoltaic
Systems Near Airfields:
Electromagnetic Interference
Chris Deline
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Produced under direction of Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary
Warfare Center by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) under
Interagency Agreement 12-1869 and Task Nos. SS12.3050 and WFHB.1006.
NREL is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy
Operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC
This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy
Laboratory (NREL) at www.nrel.gov/publications.
Strategic Partnership Project Report
NREL/TP-5J00-63310
April 2015
Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308
Renewable Energy, Photovoltaic
Systems Near Airfields:
Electromagnetic Interference
Chris Deline
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Prepared under Task Nos. SS12.3050 and WFHB.1006
NREL is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy
Operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC
This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy
Laboratory (NREL) at www.nrel.gov/publications.
National Renewable Energy Laboratory Strategic Partnership Project Report
15013 Denver West Parkway NREL/TP-5J00-63310
Golden, CO 80401 April 2015
303-275-3000 • www.nrel.gov
Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308
NOTICE
This manuscript has been authored by employees of the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC (“Alliance”) under
Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308 with the U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”).
This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States government.
Neither the United States government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty,
express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of
any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately
owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name,
trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation,
or favoring by the United States government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors
expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States government or any agency thereof.
Cover Photos by Dennis Schroeder: (left to right) NREL 26173, NREL 18302, NREL 19758, NREL 29642, NREL 19795.
NREL prints on paper that contains recycled content.
Contents
Contents ....................................................................................................................................................... 1
Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 2
Typical PV Emission Levels ....................................................................................................................... 3
Typical Emission Spectra and Countermeasures ................................................................................... 4
Radiated Measurement Technique ............................................................................................................ 4
Other RF Interactions ................................................................................................................................. 5
Summary ...................................................................................................................................................... 5
Bibliography ................................................................................................................................................ 6
General Airfield siting ............................................................................................................................ 6
Glint/Glare .............................................................................................................................................. 6
EMI ....................................................................................................................................................... 6
1
This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) at www.nrel.gov/publications.