Drones in Renewable Energy
Within the last few years, drone use in the energy sector has become more and more prominent. From replacing helicopters for transmission line inspections, reducing inspection time in solar farms by up to 70%, and even de-icing wind turbines!
The one industry that has seen some of the largest growth is solar. Infrared cameras attached to drones are able to inspect a solar farm much more quickly than traditional methods. In this article we are going to cover how drones are saving money for PV companies, asset owners, and O&M teams. Let’s dive in!
Table of Contents
$200 Million Saved in 2019
The drone solar inspection software company Raptor Maps, released the 2020 Global Solar Aerial Thermography Report. This report includes drone data collected from PV systems between January 1, 2019 through December 31, 2019 by various asset managers, operations and maintenance (O&M) teams, engineering firms, and drone service providers.
In total, 31,295,692 modules were inspected across 826 PV systems, with a total nominal capacity of 7,882,069 kW DC. The sites ranged from 10 kW to 350,000 kW across 25 countries and 6 continents.
Here are the findings:
- 2.2% of analyzed modules had faults (700,494).
- Affected power of 126,845 kWDC (1.6% of analyzed).
- $200 million of yearly potential revenue would have been lost if identified anomalies stayed unresolved.
$435 Million Saved in 2020
The 2021 Rapor Maps Global Solar Aerial Thermography Report showed a 36% increase of drones being used for PV inspections from the previous year. Data was collected between January 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020 via manned aircraft and unmanned aerial systems (UAS). All systems were equipped with a radiometric thermal and visible light (RGB) camera.
The report included 1,126 PV systems, 70,121,507 modules, and a total nominal capacity of 22,032,460 kW DC. Sites ranged from 19 kW to over 800 MW and were located within 27 countries across 6 regions: North America, Europe, Latin America, Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Africa, and Asia Pacific (APAC).
Here are the findings:
- 3% of analyzed modules had faults (2,104,672)
- Affected power of 411,162 kW DC (1.9% of analyzed).
- $435 million of yearly potential revenue would have been lost if identified anomalies stayed unresolved.
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Also included in the report was data of kW DC production and number of modules affected by category.
Production Affected by Category
| Fault Type | Production Affected (kWDC) | Production Affected % |
|---|---|---|
|
String |
173,002 |
42.4% |
|
Combiner |
58,247 |
14.3% |
|
Tracker |
49,065 |
12.0% |
|
Inverter |
47,942 |
11.8% |
|
Cell Multi |
16,779 |
4.1% |
|
Diode |
10,772 |
2.6% |
|
Shading |
10,338 |
2.5% |
|
Cell |
7,697 |
1.9% |
|
Vegetation |
7,595 |
1.9% |
|
Soiling |
4,959 |
1.2% |
|
Cracking |
4,732 |
1.2% |
|
Offline Module |
4,106 |
1.0% |
|
Reverse Polarity |
3,154 |
0.77% |
|
Internal Short Circuit |
2,705 |
0.66% |
|
Missing Module |
2,366 |
0.58% |
|
Junction Box |
1,701 |
0.42% |
|
Circuit |
1,004 |
0.25% |
|
Diode Multi |
728 |
0.18% |
|
Delamination |
563 |
0.14% |
|
Hot Spot Multi |
414 |
0.11% |
|
Hot Spot |
237 |
0.06% |
|
Damaged Module |
48 |
0.01% |
|
Totals |
408,153 |
100% |
Modules Affected by Category
| Fault Type | Modules Affected | Modules Affected % |
|---|---|---|
|
Tracker |
657,368 |
31.2% |
|
String |
544,542 |
25.9% |
|
Combiner |
198,549 |
9.4% |
|
Inverter |
144,545 |
6.9% |
|
Cell Multi |
109,442 |
5.2% |
|
Diode |
96,648 |
4.6% |
|
Shading |
91,429 |
4.3% |
|
Cell |
76,240 |
3.6% |
|
Vegetation |
74,964 |
3.6% |
|
Soiling |
28,202 |
1.3% |
|
Cracking |
16,784 |
0.80% |
|
Offline Module |
15,591 |
0.74% |
|
Missing |
10,264 |
0.49% |
|
Reverse Polarity |
9,490 |
0.45% |
|
Internal Short Circuit |
7,891 |
0.37% |
|
Circuit |
7,525 |
0.36% |
|
Junction Box |
4,226 |
0.20% |
|
Diode Multi |
3,517 |
0.17% |
|
Hot Spot Multi |
3,160 |
0.15% |
|
Hot Spot |
2,326 |
0.11% |
|
Delamination |
1,824 |
0.09% |
|
Damaged Module |
145 |
0.01% |
|
Totals |
2,104,672 |
100% |
What's included in YOUR GUIDE...
Techniques for Exposing Warrantiable Items on Your PV Sites.
A Proven Roadmap for Successfully Implementing Drones in Solar.
Strategies for Identifying DC Losses and Avoiding Downtime.
