Solar trailers, which combine panels, batteries and controls on a towable chassis, offer another option. They arrive ready to run, need no fuel for the main supply and can move when the work moves. This guide explains where they fit on pipeline and oilfield sites and what to check before deploying one.
Typical loads along a pipeline
Cathodic protection rectifiers that protect buried steel from corrosion, remote terminal units and radios for SCADA, flow and pressure transmitters, gas detectors, valve actuators, lighting and cameras are the usual consumers. Most are small, a few hundred watts to a few kilowatts, but they run continuously.
Because the loads are small and steady, they suit solar with batteries well. The challenge is less the size of the load than the need for it never to stop, through cloudy spells and long nights.
Cathodic protection
Impressed current cathodic protection systems use a rectifier to drive a small DC current from anodes through the soil to the pipe. Where there is no grid, the rectifier needs an independent supply. A solar trailer can power the rectifier directly or through an inverter, depending on the equipment. Temporary protection during construction, before permanent power is available, is a common use.
Work with the corrosion engineer to confirm the rectifier’s power demand and any limits on supply interruptions, because protection must remain within its criteria.
SCADA, telemetry and metering
Remote terminal units, radios or satellite terminals and meters let operators watch and control the pipeline from a central room. Losing power at a remote valve site means losing visibility of that section. A solar trailer with enough battery autonomy keeps these systems online and can also report its own state of charge and alarms through the same link.
Plan for the extra power drawn by satellite terminals or heaters in cold weather, which can be larger than the instruments themselves.
Gas detection, valves and security
Gas detectors, actuated valves, lighting and cameras at compressor sites, metering stations and well pads add to the demand. Actuators draw high power for short periods, so the battery and inverter must handle those peaks. Cameras and lights add night-time load. Our article on solar trailers for security and surveillance covers that part in detail.
List each load with its operating pattern so the system is sized for real daily energy, not just peak power.
Keep the trailer out of the hazardous area
Oil and gas sites are divided into hazardous areas where flammable gas may be present. A standard solar trailer, with its inverter, charge controller and batteries, is not certified for use inside those zones. Place it outside the classified area and run cable to the loads, or use equipment specifically certified for the zone.
Ask the site’s area classification drawing and agree the trailer position with the operator’s safety team before arrival.
Sizing for continuous loads
Start from the daily energy, in kWh, that the loads use. Add losses in the inverter, cabling and battery, then size the panels for the worst month’s solar resource at the site. Our page on how many kWh a solar trailer delivers per day explains how to do this.
For constant loads, battery autonomy matters as much as panel size. Several days of autonomy protects against cloudy spells and dust storms that cut solar output.
Battery choice and temperature
Oilfields are often very hot or very cold. Battery life and capacity depend heavily on temperature. Lithium iron phosphate batteries are common on modern trailers; they need thermal management in extreme climates to stay within their limits. Our guide to solar trailer battery storage compares the options.
Shade the battery compartment, ventilate it in hot climates and provide heating where temperatures fall below the battery’s charging limit.
Dust, wind and security
Desert and plains oilfields bring dust that settles on panels and cuts output, and wind that loads the mast and panel frame. Plan regular cleaning, especially after dust storms, and follow the maker’s wind limits for raised panels. Lock the trailer, anchor it and monitor it, because remote unattended equipment can attract theft.
Choose trailers with ballast or ground anchors suited to the site’s wind exposure.
Hybrid backup
Where loads are critical and the solar resource is poor in some months, a small backup generator integrated with the trailer can start automatically when batteries run low. It runs only a few hours instead of continuously, cutting fuel use and visits.
Make sure the backup generator is also outside the hazardous area and meets the site’s rules for engines.
Moving with the work
During construction, testing and maintenance campaigns, power is needed at different points along the right of way. A trailer can be towed to the next location, set up quickly and left running. That mobility suits temporary cathodic protection, hydrotest monitoring and maintenance camps.
Plan moves alongside access permits and landowner agreements, and record each location for asset tracking.
About this guide
This article was prepared by our hybrid and solar power engineers, who design off-grid systems for remote industrial sites. USP&E supplies and supports those systems as the delivering contractor, not as a broker, with 24+ years of field work, 25,000 MW contracted since 2002 and 150+ power projects in 45+ countries. Our hybrid solutions are described on the hybrid power systems page.
Offices: Colorado Springs (1755 Telstar Dr, Suite 300), Knoxville (800 S Gay St, Suite 700), London (162-168 Regent Street), Johannesburg (22 Kildoon Rd, Bryanston), Cape Town (31 Brickfield Road, Woodstock) and China (No. 1 Ningzhou Road, Wuxi). Regions: USA | AFRICA | UK | UAE | CHINA. ISO 9001 and ISO 45001 certified.
Pipeline and oilfield solar trailer questions
Can a solar trailer power pipeline cathodic protection?
Yes, where the rectifier’s power demand is within the trailer’s capacity and battery autonomy covers nights and cloudy spells. Confirm the demand with the corrosion engineer.
Can a solar trailer be placed inside a hazardous area?
Not a standard unit. Place it outside the classified area and run cable to the loads, or use equipment certified for the zone.
How many days of battery autonomy are needed?
For continuous critical loads, several days is common, depending on the local solar resource and how critical the load is.
What maintenance does a solar trailer need on an oilfield?
Regular panel cleaning, battery and controller checks, security inspections and, where fitted, servicing of the backup generator.
Power a remote pipeline site
Send the load list, site location and hazardous area drawing, and our engineers will size a solar trailer or hybrid system for the duty.
Phone +27 10 822 2324 during office hours, or write to info@uspeglobal.com at any time; the solar trailer enquiry page also routes straight to our project engineers. Power equipment for remote sites is listed in our equipment inventory.