In an ambitious endeavor to improve operational efficiency and energy management, one of the world’s top ten renewable energy asset management companies embarked on a significant project.
The company aimed to optimize the performance of their solar installation, which boasts a substantial capacity of 49.685 MWp. This case study details the challenges faced, the innovative solutions employed, and the impactful results achieved through the strategic use of drone technology.
Project Overview
The project involved a large-scale solar farm with a total of 162,855 solar modules divided into two primary configurations: 19.42 MWp of fixed panels and 30.265 MWp of tracker panels.
The infrastructure also included 10 inverter rooms housing 37 central inverters and 38 string inverters. The management of these resources was distributed among various inverter controllers, designated from IC1 to IC10, to facilitate differentiated handling of fixed and tracker panels.
Additionally, the project utilized KML configurations for optimal data collection, with a specific scope of employing UAV technology for thermal inspections.
Challenges
The primary challenges confronting the asset management team included:
Inefficient Energy Management: Unidentified anomalies within the system led to suboptimal energy production and management inefficiencies.
Insufficient Data Collection and Analysis: The lack of comprehensive and strategic data acquisition impeded the ability to analyze performance detriments fully.
Complexity in Issue Detection: The vast scale of the solar array made detecting and addressing issues a significant logistical challenge.
Innovative Solutions by Hornbill Drone Technologies
To address these issues, Hornbill Drone Technologies was enlisted to provide a cutting-edge solution leveraging unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The approach included:
Thermal Inspections: UAVs equipped with infrared thermal cameras were deployed to perform non-contact inspections across the solar panels.
Geographical Block Strategy: The installation was divided into manageable geographical blocks, allowing for systematic and thorough assessments.
Multiple Flight Missions: Tailored UAV flights with optimized parameters were conducted multiple times to ensure comprehensive coverage and data collection.
Adherence to Standards: All inspections and data collection processes adhered to industry standards, ensuring the reliability and accuracy of the findings.
Results and Impact
The implementation of UAV technology led to substantial improvements in the operation and management of the solar installation:
Anomaly Detection: A total of 2,142 anomalies were identified, which included issues like vegetation growth impacting panels and module defects.
Quantification of Losses: The power loss was quantified to be 67,725 Watts, providing a clear metric for the impact of identified issues.
Operational Efficiency: The detailed insights gained from the data allowed for targeted maintenance and operational adjustments, leading to enhanced efficiency and performance.
Informed Decision-Making: The asset management team gained actionable insights, empowering them to make informed decisions that ensure continued improvement.
Conclusion
The utilization of UAV technology by Hornbill Drone Technologies has demonstrated how innovative solutions can significantly enhance the efficiency and sustainability of solar energy installations. This case study exemplifies the potential of thermal inspections and advanced data analytics in overcoming operational challenges, leading to a more efficient and sustainable energy future. With actionable insights and clear metrics on energy losses, the project not only improved the current installation's performance but also paved the way for using similar technologies in other renewable energy projects.
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