Understanding airplanes vs drones in aerial inspection

Solar PV sites are increasingly benefitting from aerial data-collection technology that can rapidly detect issues and monitor PV systems large and small. Data collection is boosted by sophisticated data processing, analytics, and reporting, and regular reports build up a database of knowledge for owners and operators to track ongoing performance showing the ongoing changes on a site over set time periods.

And while the solar industry has a solid appreciation for drones, crewed aircraft provide a compelling case for aerial inspections as well, including for initial site surveys for a single or multiple large scale prospective projects, pre-construction planning, construction monitoring, semi-annual inspections for portfolios of large and wide-spread assets and more.

But when do aerial inspections by plane or by drone make the most sense, and where are they  ? Which delivers the best data for O&M, for owners looking to understand performance and baselines, and which is more cost effective — and are these even the right questions to ask?

Zeitview, our initiative partner for this webinar, will show a detailed comparative analysis of airplanes and drones, with Thomas Amsüss from Zeitview presenting a run-down of details, data, benefits, and live demos of the Zeitview platform. In addition, Amsüss will discuss upcoming crewed aircraft flight routes in Europe, focusing on Italy and Spain, for aircraft inspections and how joining pre-planned routes can deliver cost savings.

Zeitview’s solar data and analytics platform can be used to address challenges of O&M, and will show real comprehensive data from operating plants throughout the US. We’ll see views of well performing and less performant plants, along with strategic insights and tools for delivering world-class O&M by focusing on big wins.

pv magazine Webinar content:

• Introduction to aerial inspections and where airplanes and drones are best performed, the data returned and examples from the North American Solar Scan
• Scenarios detailing which aircraft is best for when accounting for a variety of factors and requirements
• Cost comparisons based on different scenarios
• A live demo of the Zeitview platform
• Details of routes in Spain and Italy
• Strategies and tools to help solar asset owners, operators, and O&Ms
• Q&A

Questions can be submitted beforehand or during the webinar through a chat window. Tristan Rayner, editor at pv magazine, will be the moderator of this webinar.

Registration for this pv magazine Webinar is free of charge.