Since the flood, explosions have ‘rocked’ the EVN solar power plant in Dürnrohr! Chemical reactions cause the inverters in the PV system to explode.
Our company fire brigade has been in action continuously for weeks. The women and men are doing great things in this extreme situation. First we secured and pumped, now the Florianis often have to swerve because of burning panels,” says EVN spokesperson Stefan Zach, while paying tribute to the helpers. Fatal chain reaction: Because the water level has slowly dropped after the major flood due to consistent pumping, the panels of the large PV system have also come to light. However, the now unavoidable solar radiation produces direct current, which is supplied to the inverters below. This is where so-called electrolysis takes place: a splitting of the liquid into hydrogen (a flammable gas) and oxygen. The chemical consequence: sparks cause explosions!
Solar energy won’t be available for a few months
“All 71 inverters are broken, as are the four transformer stations that supply solar energy to the grid. A replacement has now been ordered, but delivery and installation will take several months. Only then can solar energy be generated again for our customers at the old coal dumps,” says Zach.
The experienced green energy expert explains why a quick solution could not be found, saying that the inverters could not be separated from the panels. Within a very short time, the dirty brown floodwaters had overflowed the system due to the bursting of the Perschling Dam in the Tulln district. The modules were only faintly visible under the up to three meter high bodies of water. Everything was under pressure; any intervention would have been life-threatening.
Source: Krone
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