Drones in Solar Power Plant Inspections: A New Standard

The renewable energy sector is expanding rapidly, but maintaining the efficiency of large-scale solar plants remains a challenge. Traditional manual inspections using IV curve tracing or handheld thermal cameras are time-consuming, labor-intensive, and often dangerous.

The Shift to Aerial Thermography

Drone-based inspections have emerged as the industry standard for utility-scale PV plants. Equipped with high-resolution radiometric thermal cameras, drones can survey hundreds of megawatts in a matter of days—a task that would take human teams months.

By capturing thermal data from an aerial perspective, operators can identify anomalies that indicate performance issues, such as:

• Hotspots caused by cell damage or shading
• Diode failures in junction boxes
• String disconnects and inverter faults
• PID (Potential Induced Degradation) at the module level

AI-Driven Analysis

Data collection is only half the battle. The real value lies in analysis. Indavian's AI algorithms process thousands of thermal images to automatically detect, classify, and prioritize defects based on their thermal signature and potential energy loss. This ensures that maintenance teams can focus on the critical issues that affect revenue.