By Andrea Sorri, Business Development Director, Critical Infrastructure at Axis Communications
Often located in rural areas and covering vast expanses of terrain, solar plants require security solutions that operate efficiently and independently. Solesa, a company working in the solar energy industry, established a 21 hectare plant named Ternavasso in Poirino, Italy. Because it is located over 45 minutes away from the office headquarters, and 30 minutes from the nearest police station, Solesa needed a security system that could be remotely monitored. The IP solution installed not only allows Solesa to protect against theft or vandalism, but also enables them to monitor the condition of solar panels and quickly respond if there are any problems.
In the case of Ternavasso, they implemented a video surveillance solution combining thermal technology with HDTV supervision together with an intelligent video algorithm. Standard network infrastructure usability, ease of installation, scalability, remote monitoring and low costs all work together to solve the logistical and physical issues arising in the implementation of this solar plant’s security system.
The monitoring station receives visual feedback via thermal cameras, and because they have a very wide field of view, they can be used to perform intelligent analytics and monitor the entire area- not just the perimeter. This is enhanced through the use of an analytics algorithm. This algorithm filters false alarms caused by plant or wildlife allowing the user to respond appropriately to incidents.
Ternavasso also uses pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) dome cameras to monitor and inspect key parts of the system and schedule maintenance, helping to solve immediate problems, and cut down on unnecessary maintenance costs. It’s the unique, combined use of thermal and PTZ cameras and cutting edge technologies that makes a difference for this solar plant.
As Ternavasso grows, or if its needs change, the installed IP solution can grow and change with them. Integration with new sensors, expansion to more cameras, and even a weather station are all viable possibilities thanks to the flexibility provided by this system.
IP technology has brought many advantages to the field of video surveillance solving problems linked to physical and logistical limitations that impact the implementation of these security systems. Its strengths include the use of a standard network structure, ease of installation, scalability and the ability to monitor in real time and remotely monitor alarms as well as contain costs. To this technology, Axis Communications has added thermal cameras, originally designed for military applications, whose development has proven useful for civilian use.
The peculiarity of these cameras is the ability to “see” thanks to temperature and not light, creating images based on the heat released by all kinds of objects, people or animals. A thermal camera needs no light source as it detects infrared radiation from the electromagnetic spectrum therefore producing images of said radiation.
Thermal network cameras represent the perfect addition to any IP technology system that monitors an area 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, as in the case of photovoltaic fields that are often targets for theft and vandalism. The use of thermal network cameras has been found to be especially appropriate in this setting as monitoring is required of a large area that is morphologically difficult to guard without the aid of artificial lighting.
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