Soil Corrosion Map

Photovoltaic plants experience distinct soil corrosion risks based on their specific environments. Soil conditions vary by location, climate, geology and rainfall patterns. In the Middle East, wadis, arid climates, seasonal rainfall and desert sand composition create particularly variable soil environments.

Chloride and sulfate concentrations, electrical resistivity and pH can vary significantly, even within the same site. These factors directly influence the corrosion risk of buried metals.

The corrosive potential of the soil can be represented in a corrosion potential map. Since these factors vary from one plant to another, each plant has its own specific corrosion potential map.

Orbis Terrarum has recently completed a soil corrosion study for a 2 GW solar facility in Saudi Arabia characterizing soil physico-chemistry, electrical resistivity and hydro-chemistry across the site to generate a corrosion potential map for each zone.

The assessment identified areas with higher corrosion risk, providing a basis for decisions on protection strategies and material selection during plant design.

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