TE Connectivity: Slashing solar farm electrical installation times from 20 minutes to two
Approximately 51 solar farms were providing a combined 2,700MW of power to South Africa in 2023, with several more set to come online in the new year, producing around 1,750MW. This is a much-needed addition to the grid to reduce the frequency and severity of load shedding, especially with Eskom predicting that there will be generation shortfalls of over 2,000MW (2 stages of load shedding) – at minimum – in 2024.
However, as there have been several delays in getting these and other projects off the ground, there is a pressing need to accelerate their construction. One solution that is proving effective locally and globally is TE Connectivity’s Solar Customizable Trunk Solution (CTS), which cuts down electrical connection installation times from 20 minutes to two.
Traditionally, large solar farms have relied on hundreds or thousands of individual combiner box connections. But the CTS system, supplied to the South African market by Tank Industries, employs a centralised trunk-bus design to simplify the wiring.
It also streamlines installation requirements by using Gel Solar Insulation Piercing Connectors (IPCs). The small piercing blades of the IPCs penetrate the insulating jacket of the cable, establishing the electrical connection to the conductor beneath the insulation, without the need for labour-intensive insulation cutback or stripping by field technicians. It only takes two minutes to install two IPCs and one installer has even said, “The installation is faster than anything that I have ever used, and the time required to install two of the major IPCS has been shorter than that required to install a single PV connector.”
Speeding up the process even further is the shear bolt head, which breaks off automatically once it hits the pre-set torque and the blades of the connector have simultaneously penetrated the cable insulation and reached the conductor strands. This portion of the installation is completed in just 20 seconds for a single installation, reducing the required on-site labour time by over 40%, compared to the traditional approach.
After setting up the main wires for each group of solar panels, the Gel Solar IPCs are installed. These connectors make it easy for the installer to pull thicker cables (500 kCMIL) from the panels to the central point where electricity is processed. This not only makes the installation more efficient but also ensures that specific voltage requirements are met. Plus, it provides real-time configurability. If the row-to-row tracker spacing requires a last-minute change due to site conditions, this can easily be accommodated by the CTS system, allowing for quick, on-the-spot adjustments to be made to the arrangement of solar panel rows.
Recently, the CTS system was deployed to accelerate the electrical connection installations on a 140MW solar farm that was being constructed in the Midwestern United States involving 350,000 solar modules. The project had endured several delays due to challenging site conditions and pervasive worker turnover, which threatened to put the entire installation several months behind schedule. But with the time savings provided by the system, the project wrapped up just a week past the initial delivery date. The impressed Project Manager raved that the speed of installation was incredible as the traditional approach can easily require 20 minutes.
Contact us today to find out more about the CTS system and other solar solutions in the TE Connectivity range.