Raptor Maps has released a manual for solar PV inspections with manned aircraft, a supplement to the training materials the company has previously published for drones.
The manual features step-by-step information for how to collect reliable PV system health data with airplanes and helicopters, useful to solar asset owners and managers, O&M, engineers, EPCs and financiers, as well as to pilots and other aviation professionals seeking new revenue sources in the fastest-growing energy sector.
“Solar asset owners and operators have a right to specify the quality of work that is done on their behalf,” says Nikhil Vadhavkar, Raptor Maps’ co-founder and CEO. “The industry is moving away from the ‘check the box’ mentality, and stakeholders are demanding unfiltered, original data to ensure compliance and avoid money being left on the table. By making our drone and manned aircraft manuals available to the public, we reaffirm our commitment to transparency and enable anyone to be an aerial inspection expert.”
Among the insights are considerations for when to use manned aircraft, flight planning, equipment mounting and operation, specific cameras, lens configurations and aircraft makes and models that are used in the solar industry.
Download the Guide to PV Inspection via Manned Aircraft for free here.
News item from Raptor Maps
The SPI exposition will have many items of interest for the Solar PV farm and even residential and small business adopters. Some of the items introduced in the last SPI was equipment to help clean panels on large tracts of land in a short period of time. SCADA systems that can have simple data base driven decision queues to full force and real time graphics and automated command and control structures. The system could use drones and sensors to flyover the panel field and check for hot spots in real time and also check for bad connections and even cracked or damaged panels. The drone could also be used to find, document and gather evidence of vandalism, theft and e-mailed to the proper authorities for action.