Solar Lake in Sjöbo

Digital Documentation of the Power of the Sun

In the southern Swedish town of Sjöbo, the temperature is just below freezing, and deer are searching for food outside one of Sweden's largest solar parks. The locals see the solar park as a large lake, which has made Svea Solar's facility on unused farmland well-received. Today, the panels are covered in snow, and inside the park's gate, a hare hops peacefully. The hare is not alone in the area, but given that the enclosure is 20 hectares large, it can graze under the solar panels undisturbed by Ola Hagbyhn, Electrical Manager at Svea Solar, or subcontractors Thomas Ståhle, Elmyra El, Tele & Data installations, and Magnus Andrell. We have a chat with Ola.

Pushed down from first place, how does it feel?

When Svea Solar built Sjöbo Solpark in 2019, it was Sweden's largest solar park. However, solar technology advances, and expansion has surged in recent years, so it's natural for larger parks to deliver higher power. Besides, Svea Solar still has Sweden's largest solar park, Fjällskär Solpark, so it doesn't bother much that this one is no longer the largest. Most of this park has panels that only receive sunlight from one direction; nowadays, we use only double-sided, bifacial, panels that generate power on both sides.

Most of it?

Yes, the facility here was expanded just a year or two after the inauguration, becoming larger with a total delivery of about 19 MW. The new panels were used in the expansion.

How does it work to expand an existing facility?

It requires foresight from the beginning, planning for future expansion. For example, it's important to dimension correctly and perhaps increase the cross-section when choosing power cables.

Calculated through Nexans Eco Calculator maybe?

Haha, you can use any tool you want, but it's always wise to double-check the sizing when choosing a cable. We always do an economic dimensioning, mainly to reduce losses - no one wants to invest in a system where energy disappears into thin air. We want to accelerate the transition to renewable energy sources and eliminate fossil fuels from the grid. Through cost-effective and large-scale solar energy solutions, solar energy becomes accessible to more people. Economics is a crucial part of succeeding in this without compromising on regulations or safety.

Speaking of economics, what are three people doing here on a winter day?

We conduct periodic checks and maintenance, going through the system's voltage levels, ground fault circuit breakers, and relay protection, among other things. It's smart to do it in the winter because it feels unnecessary to do it on a sunny summer day when the system generates the most power. This way, we keep losses and lost income down.

How do you document your work?

We have installed Nexans Evermark in all eight transformer kiosks on the site, where 160 inverters are connected. Digital labelling and documentation are the right way forward, and we already have Evermark in a park in Gävle and are very satisfied with the setup.

Tell us more.

Evermark allows us not to need binders or flowcharts in the cabinets. Every electrician knows how those papers become after cold and moisture; it's not a pleasant story. If you even find the binder. Nexans Evermark makes it easy and straightforward to sit calmly in the office to set up the system from the beginning, and then everything is easily accessible digitally for those who need access to the information.

How did you come into contact with Nexans Evermark?

It was actually through Elektrikerpodden where Nexans Design Lab Manager, Jenny Nyström, talked about Evermark, and the idea was born.

Then it was just plug and play?

Well, it's in the early stages, and it's a bit of learning by doing. Nexans is very generous here, helping and open to new additions to the app.

Have you trained your staff in this new way of working?

Eventually, we might need to train the staff, but we work with locks that, like Evermark, use NFC technology, so most of our people are familiar with the technology. In addition to all colleagues at Svea Solar, we have about 200 external installers in Sweden and subcontractors who all need to access documentation in some way. Everyone carries a phone, so digital documentation is convenient. We haven't encountered poor mobile coverage yet, but since I come from the mobile network industry, I know it can happen, and then I hope Evermark's offline mode solves the problem.

200 external installers, that's a lot.

Yes, the market has exploded, as known, and even though private investments have decreased slightly lately, many are investing in parks and industrial roofs with solar panels. The entire electrical industry suffers from a lack of the right workforce, and efforts need to be made to attract more to the industry and be stricter in controls and requirements to get rid of amateurs whose installations can leave much to be desired.

So, what do you say to those considering pursuing an electrical education?

Do it! You never stop learning in this field, and having it as a job is very personally enriching. If you, for example, take the Electrical and Energy program in high school, you can become practically anything. There are both practical and theoretical roles in the profession.

And if you could wish for something from Santa Claus?

A bigger car! No, but seriously, I want to bring in a whole bunch of people with the right skills to the industry. As I said, I also want to see stricter and clearer requirements from the industry to ensure safe installations that are properly sized and last a long time – that's the only way we can manage the electrical transition.

We hope Santa has plenty of space in his sack. Thanks for today!

Thank you, it was fun to showcase our solar park. You are welcome back in the summer to see how it looks when it's producing at full capacity.