Page 16 - North American Clean Energy September October 2015

Solar Plant

Security -

not an easy

smash and

grab

Image 1: Poor illumination strategy
by Anson Moran

Designing and operating a security

system for a solar plant sounds like a
simple task. On closer inspection, solar

developers and EPC’s ind the task more
challenging than irst expected.

Image 2: An example of good illumination
Image 3

Anybody who has considered the security options available on the market has asked them- To secure a solar plant, alarms must be reduced to a manageable level and the cause
selves, “Do I install cameras with motion detection, microwave sensors, passive infrared sen- of the alarm must be immediately known and veriied. A motion sensor will create an

sors, or radar?” After all, any of these technologies will produce alarms, and many false alarms. alarm, but without a camera for veriication, the alarm has no value. he traditional
Typically, too many alarms are generated, then the sensitivity is turned down to the point solution consists of a motion sensor system to generate the alarm, and a camera system
where the operator can get a good night’s sleep, but system does not function as designed.
for veriication. Most intrusions happen at night along the perimeter so the maximum
spacing between the camera poles is limited by the lighting strategy and capacity.

Surveillance and intervention
In an efort to reduce the pole and camera count, Pan, Tilt, Zoom (PTZ) cameras have
Most of the video security industry is focused on recording video in high resolution and been installed at some project sites with fence shaker sensor alarms. his works well at
high frame rate on DVR/NVRs for playback after the damage is done. his approach is industrial sites that have unlimited bandwidth and the operator knows every inch of
called, “surveillance.” Surveillance is adequate for retail operations or parking garages his property. However, in the case of a solar plant, 90% of the camera views are identi-

where the intruder is in close proximity to the camera, the area is always well lit, and the cal, and the operator can easily get lost. PTZ cameras are a good option for O&M appli-
intruder is not wearing a mask or obscuring their face. Even in the best environment, the cations such as checking the amount of dirt or snow on the modules, but are seriously
unlikely premise is that somebody will recognize the suspect and divulge his or her iden- lacking for solar plant security applications. he PTZ security strategy is intended to
tity. In outdoor perimeter security applications like solar plant security, the operator needs work like this; when the fence is moved, a sensor is triggered, and the PTZ camera looks

to know if it is a person, not necessarily who the person is.
to that area. Too often the camera turns and sees nothing. Was it a tumble weed slam-
Protecting a solar plant has unique challenges that require protecting long, dark fence ming into the fence and disintegrating or was it a diversion for an intrusion outside
lines in remote areas with limited bandwidth and power. he solution is not about record- the camera’s view? It can’t be known because the PTZ only sees what happened in the
ing terabytes of high resolution video. he solution is alarming with video veriication so moments after the alarm, and does not explain what caused the alarm. In addition, the

an intervention can be deployed quickly to limit the amount of damage that can be done. camera only sees what is illuminated in a spot light efect and the rest of the picture is
Security is a local issue and local security guard irms are the best partners to contract for black, which eliminates the only advantage of a PTZ camera.
alarm intervention.
Most intrusions happen at night so the perimeter must be illuminated to see what

caused the alarm. (Images 1 & 2) If an
operator installs perimeter lights that oper-
ate throughout the night they might also
help the intruders ind the way to the fence

safely. Finally, without a robust internet
connection, it will be nearly impossible to
control the pan, tilt, and zoom function.
he camera will stop reacting to commands, Everything
you need to know

and then it will spin out of control when
the connection is re-established.
to
get your NABCEP
Cer
tiication

Seeing heat, not light

Two military grade technologies have be-
come available to the security mass market
in recent years. he cost of thermal imag-
ing cameras which see heat, not light, has
Kaplan Clean Tech ofers the convenience of over 30 campus locations around the country plus
dropped dramatically. With thermal imag-
ing cameras there is no need for expensive, the lexibility of online courses.
high-powered illumination of the perimeter.
Illumination is no longer the limiting factor Featuring streamlined NABCEP PV Installation Professional or NABCEP Technical Sales training

in pole spacing, now it is optics. Pole spacing packages, our outstanding instructors and education consultants will be with you every step of
can increase from around 200’ to 700’.
the way.
here is now video analytic algorithm
software which analyzes live video, and distin-

guishes between people, moving vegetation, Get started today! www.kaplancleantech.com | 888.394.2078
small animals, and weather events. Environ-
Continued on page 18.
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16
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015
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