Course Name: Ground Design for Solar and Wind Energy Facilities
Course Dates: March 6-7, 2025
Course Objective
The objective of this 2 day training session is to provide comprehensive coverage of grounding design procedures for utility scale PV plants, wind farms, and collector substations, and the use of computer programs to implement the design procedures. Numerous examples will be worked in class using the program WinIGS. Participants will receive a temporary two-month license of the program WinIGS to continue exercises.
Course Instructors
A.P. Meliopoulos, Ph.D.
George Cokkinides, Ph.D.
Scope
In recent years PV and wind projects have accelerated. These systems must be grounded for safety, provide reference for protection and communications and protection against lightning. Because these systems are geographically extensive, their design presents challenges in meeting standards at reasonable costs. Some of these systems also present unique challenges as they are installed on the top of landfills or mountains.
This course will comprehensively cover PV and wind farm grounding system design procedures for safety and lightning protection. It will start with a simplified coverage of the basic principles in grounding design and follow with a step-by-step design procedure. It will explore soil characterization, modeling requirements, and data preparation procedures for PV, wind and collector substations ground system design and lightning shielding. You will have the opportunity to discuss practical examples and see demonstrations of design procedures. Furthermore, options will be discussed for controlling ground potential rise, touch, and step voltages, as well as quantify the
influence of grounding systems on nearby pipes, fences, and buildings with the use of the WinIGS program. By the end of the course, you will be able to design PV, wind, and collector substation ground systems and lightning shielding to minimize the risk from lightning overvoltages.
Throughout the course, the design procedures will be demonstrated with numerous examples of wind farm and PV plant ground designs using the program WinIGS which simulates and visualizes maximum ground potential rise, touch and step voltages, split factors, and ground voltage distributions across wind and PV plant areas. Participants will be provided with a two-month license of the software with which they can perform exercises and gain experience with ground design of wind and PV systems, and collector substations.
The course is taught by the developers of the program WinIGS.
Course Instructors
Who Should Attend
This course is designed for electric power utility engineers involved in the design of substations and electrical installations. It is also intended for consulting and manufacturing engineers and engineers with substation equipment supply companies. University power system educators and graduate students will also benefit from exposure to these important topics.
Prerequisites
Participants should have an engineering degree (electrical, mechanical, or civil), or equivalent experience.
Course Materials
The following material will be used during the short course presentations:
- Extensive class notes.
- Meliopoulos, WinIGS Training Guide, September 2019.
- Meliopoulos, WinIGS Manual, September 2019, electronic copy.
A copy of the class notes and the training guide will be given to all participants. The WinIGS manual will be provided in electronic form within the WinIGS program.
Professional Development Hours
Participants who successfully complete this program will earn 16 Professional Development Hours (PDHs). An official transcript of PDHs earned will be provided within 45 days of the completion of the course.
Course Topics
Grounding System Design Principles
Factors Affecting Grounding System Performance
IEEE Standard 80 Design Procedures
IEEE Standard 81 Testing Procedures
IEEE Standard 998 Design Procedures
Special Considerations for Wind Farm Grounding
Special Considerations for PV plant grounding
Soil Characterization
System Modeling for Grounding Design
WinIGS Program General Organization
- Features Overview, Program Modes, File Organization, Hardware Requirements
Understanding what information is required to create a file on WinIGS
- Step by step instructions on creating a WinIGS file
The Network Editor
- Network Elements & Parameters (Lines, Transformers, Sources, etc.)
- Connection Properties
- Layered Organization using The Substation Element
- Adding Geographic Information
WinIGS Libraries
- Conductor Library
- The Cable Library & Cable Library Editor
- Transmission Line Tower Library
- Computation of Transmission Line Parameters
The Grounding Editor – Part I
- Soil resistivity measurements – all options
- Creating a soil model
- Export/import soil models between WinIGS and WinSGM
The Grounding Editor – Part II
- Navigating in the 3-D Editor Space
- Creating Grounding Systems (Ground Conductors, Connectors, etc)
- Adding Civil Elements (Buildings, Electrical Equipment, Fences etc)
- Importing Drawings and other Images
- Importing and Exporting DXF files
- Creating Design Drawings
Network Modeling Options
- Transmission lines – options and importance.
- Distribution lines – options and important parameters
Network Analysis Options
- Base Case, Fault Analysis, Maximum Ground Potential Rise, GPR & Fault Current vs Fault Location, Port Thevenin Equivalent, Frequency Scans and Coefficient of Grounding.
- Examples
Basic design requirements for PV plant grounding
- PV array grounding
- Inverter grounding
- Collector substation grounding
- Integrated grounding system modeling and analysis
Basic design requirements for Wind farm grounding
- Wind turbine system grounding
- Wind farm interconnection system
- Collector substation grounding
- Integrated grounding system modeling and analysis
Grounding Reports
- Resistance, Maximum Ground Grid Current, Resistive Layer Effects, Allowable Touch & Step Voltages, Equipotential Plots & Graphs, Point to Point Impedance, Bill of Materials
- Examples
Ground Design for Lightning
- Lightning Shielding Design
- Low Ground Surge Impedance Designs
- PV plant design for lightning protection
- Wind Turbine System design for lightning protection
Lightning Shielding Analysis
- Data Requirements, Analysis Options, LSA Reports, Examples
Course Fee & Registration
After February 07, 2025, the registration cost is $1,600.00.
Training, course materials and a one-month software license of WinIGS-SDA are included in the course fee.
Registration Form
After we have received your registration, we will send you a confirmation and provide payment options.
Alternate ways to register
CALL (512) 636-1448 between 8:00AM – 5PM, Eastern Time
EMAIL your registration information to courses@ap-concepts.com
MAIL registration request and payments to:
Advanced Power Concepts
P. O. Box 49116
Atlanta, Georgia 30359
Please be prepared to provide your name, address, company/affiliation, email and
phone contact information and your desired method of payment.