At A Glance

• The client needs to assess the health of 2.5 million PV modules spread out over a 1,000 hectare site

• Using DETECT, SenseHawk helps identify over 15,000 defects

• Remediation using integrated Tasks capability results in savings of $9,000 per day

  
  

Problem: Solar developer needs to assess the health of a 700 MW site

A leading solar developer in India was grappling with a major challenge – they needed to assess the health of over 2.5 million solar panels and improve generation at their 700 MW plant efficiently. The developer wanted to identify defective panels that were causing power losses, quickly. Even a 1% power loss in such a large plant could result in over $750,000 of lost revenues, annually.

The conventional handheld method of thermography would require close to 3000 man-days to complete, making it an unfeasible option. The company, therefore, approached SenseHawk for a solution that would simplify the identification and rectification of defective solar panels.

Solution: The DETECT feature of the SenseHawk SDP

The DETECT feature of the SenseHawk Solar Digitization Platform or SDP offers AI-powered defect detection, tracking, and remediation. Using IR-equipped drone flights, the entire site was scanned over a period of 2 weeks. The IR imagery was used to construct detailed thermal maps of the site. Applying proprietary ML-based algorithms, defects were identified and classified based on severity and probable cause.

These defects were mapped onto the digital model of the site on the platform, created using the as-built CAD drawing of the project. In this way, two outputs were generated:

• Interactive map-based reports, viewable on the SenseHawk desktop & mobile app

• CSV and PDF reports containing hotspot locations, string numbers, temperature deltas, and classification

Result: DETECT helps drive remediation without missing a single thermal anomaly

The scan identified over 15,000 defects, estimated to cause ~$2200 of lost production per day. Using SenseHawk’s classification system and temperature deltas assigned to individual issues, the asset manager was easily able to organize and prioritize thermal defects. Tasks were created with detailed checklist templates (customized for each defect type) and assigned to field engineers for immediate remediation.

The onsite crew used the GO mobile application to view prioritized tasks, navigate to the defect, verify and fix anomalies, and effortlessly create status updates and reports.

This entire exercise resulted in over 1% improvement in plant generation, with a payback period of less than 60 days.

To know how the SenseHawk SDP can help you design and build your project better, book a demo by dropping an email at sales@sensehawk.com