Most of us will have experienced the effects of electromagnetic interference (EMI) at some point in our day to day lives. The clicking sound heard from speakers when receiving a text message is one common example, however, there are many more. Solar farms could produce EMI and the potential effects have brought about concerns from stakeholders whose infrastructure may be affected by this type of interference e.g. transmitting stations for radio or television signals. Solar developers will be conscious of the many surprise concerns that can arise during the planning process and therefore it is important that you are aware of this potential issue so that they can be addressed accordingly.
The following article provides an overview of EMI, how solar farms can affect wireless transmissions, and the possible ways forward for your proposed solar development.
What is EMI?
EMI is the disruption to the standard operation of an electronic device created by an electromagnetic field in its vicinity. There are various types of EMI mechanisms that can occur between electronic devices. Interference occurs when an unwanted electromagnetic field interacts with an electronic component due to a coupling path. This can be a physical connection between the two pieces of equipment, or it can occur due to induction/radiation without a physical connection.
Interference can be continuous or intermittent. The mechanism by which interference occurs can vary according to the distance between the interference source and the affected system as well as the field levels that are produced by the source. EMI is something that, in small amounts, can be perfectly acceptable however there will come a point where the interference causes complete degradation of a ‘wanted’ signal.
How do Solar Farms produce EMI?
Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) is the term used which relates to the unintentional interaction of electromagnetic fields produced by a particular electrical component with one or more other electrical components. Electromagnetic fields associated with electrical devices can cause induced fields in other devices, leading to interference. In solar farms this is most likely to occur at the inverters.
In the majority of cases, neither the transmitting station nor the solar farm has been specifically designed to coexist with one another and there is the possibility that interference may occur between the two. There are two possible concerns which may arise, these are:
1. That the proposed solar farms may cause interference to the transmissions;
2. The transmissions may cause interference to the solar farms.
EMC standards are designed to set limits on the amount of electromagnetic radiation that a piece of equipment is allowed to emit. They also define levels of external interference that a piece of equipment can tolerate while functioning correctly. There are various organisations that contribute to EMC standards. Commercial electronic devices, including solar panels, are subject to EMC testing. If however these limits were to be exceeded, interference could occur. This could cause a malfunction at the solar farm or interfere with broadcast signals nearby.
Who can object?
Objections could arise from many different stakeholders including the Local Planning Authority, Ofcom and mobile network operators.
What are the ways forward?
The EMC standards can be used to assess whether an electromagnetic impact is likely to occur. If you ever come across this type of issue please get in touch and we would be happy to help.
Image accreditation: “Light wave” BY IMAM HATOYO via Flickr / CC BY 2.0 / Image cropped and resized from original.
8 Comments
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Is there any international/country specific EMC standard for Solar farm/solar system connected to grid or battery? I understand there is an EMC standard for inverter but i am not sure about the total solar system.
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Rohan
Thank you for your query. You are quite right that there are EMC standards for the individual components of a solar development. These standards relate to both the components emissions and the components behaviour when exposed to emissions.
In practice components are type tested with certificates being issued to prove compliance. In my experience it is rare to actually undertake measurements on site once a complete system is installed.
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I live on a 31 acre parcel. My neighbors are all 4-6 acre parcels Just got a notice that a solar farm wants to set up bordering my property and the neighbors.. want to know the impact this can have on us all .. this parcel is 25 acres. Thanks for your input.
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Dear Pam,
Thank you for your comment.
The most common impact that we would assess for solar panels adjacent to a property would be the potential for glint and glare effects (i.e. reflections of sunlight by the panels causing a disturbance). The level of potential effect depends on many parameters including the type of panel system, its visibility and its position relative to the surrounding receptors.
In the past we have assessed potential electromagnetic interference, as discussed in this article, however this is usually in the context of solar sites adjacent to sensitive radio transmission sites. The likelihood of noticeable electromagnetic interference at a domestic residence near a solar farm is, in my experience, extremely low.
If you would like more information regarding specific studies we can provide, please do not hesitate to contact the team.
Kind regards
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What about the effects solar panels on a 2500 acre solar farm will have on Amateur Radio reception at about 300 feet?
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Hi Larry,
Thanks for this.
I have never come across reported interference to amateur radio from solar panels, nor is this something that I have seen raised as a potential concern.
My instinct is that the potential for adverse impacts is likely to be small, but it isn’t something I have ever assessed.
Kind regards,
Kai
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They have built a huge solar farm about 4 miles from our house. It encompasses hundreds of acres. We have a Digital Antenna. For the last 10 months, as expansion of the solar panels increased, our Tv signal has steadily worsened, with the worse times being at night. We live in an where cable is not available and anything would require a 20 ft tower. Could the Solar Farm be causing our problem and is there anything we can do? Any help would be appreciated. Thank You.
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Dear Kim,
The most likely form of interference in the instance would be diffraction effects, whereby the solar panels are blocking the television signal. If the solar panels were to reduce the visibility of your aerial to the transmitting antenna such that the solar panels effectively block a usable signal, then this would cause interference. However, this is only likely if your terrestrial television signal is already weak, but usable. It would be interesting to know whether the solar panels were static or tracking (and currently tracking) as this could affect the time of the day the effects materialise. Other than that, the reason for interference mostly occurring at night may be due to some other factors. We recommend you get in touch with the developer to raise these concerns
Thank you, Danny
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