Smart Protection Mechanisms for PV Farms Through Integration of Solid-State Circuit Breakers

This paper presents the effectiveness of a solid-state circuit breaker (SSCB) structure aimed at protecting the main components of photovoltaic (PV) farm systems, as well as an investigation into the optimal placement of SSCBs within a PV system configuration. A demonstration for a microscale PV farm system, including a single PV panel, battery, the proposed SSCB, and loads, is introduced to evaluate the protection capabilities of the SSCB. The proposed SSCB consists of two silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFETs arranged in series to serve as the primary switch. Each primary switch is coupled with an active MOV-based clamping circuit controlled by a SiC MOSFET. This configuration effectively reduces the MOV voltage to zero during the off state, disconnecting the MOV from the power line and allows the DC bus voltage to increase while mitigating voltage overshoot across the MOV. A test bench is developed to validate the protection function, specifically at 8A overload and 12V DC bus voltage. Experimental results are provided for the proposed SSCB and a mechanical circuit breaker is compared to validate the protective effectiveness of the SSCB in the PV system.