Solar Facility Inspection – Raptor Maps

Utility Scale Solar Facility Inspections

Solar farms by their nature cover large areas and therefore a manual facility inspection and verification can be a time consuming and expensive process. This is where the economic justification for drone use really comes into its own. We can fly a solar farm faster, with less manpower and generate reports to highlight anomalies in matter of days. This results in a far more cost effective inspection process, quicker turnaround and much less equipment down time.

We collect data using the latest in DJI Commercial grade equipment including Matrice M210, DJI/FLIR XT2 IR cameras as well as X5S cameras for high quality RGB images where necessary.

Laguna Drones uses Raptor Maps, a premier solar (PV) analysis and reporting software.

We use Raptor Maps for reporting purposes with the ability to create detailed reports, classified by anomaly and location to allow you to verify the issues highlighted and create a plan to remedy them.

The data (images) are collected using specific raptor maps guidelines and flight plans to meet the specific requirements for required deliverables. The data is QC reviewed in the field during collection and then verified offsite before uploading to Raptor Maps for processing.

If this is a first inspection of the solar facility, we should also have received the as-builts which are also uploaded with initial inspection data.

Using the Raptor Maps reporting system, each inspection of your facility is stored online under the facility folder, this allows you to compare facility performance and anomalies over time.

There are basically 3 reporting levels

COMPREHENSIVE
(Complies with IEC TS 62446-3:2017)
Highest detail available in IR imagery at 3cm/px resolution and RGB at 1cm/px
This report generates a detailed report highlighting anomalies down to the cell level.
The flight plan for this report would generally be at an altitude of approx 80ft.
If we have been supplied with the as-builts, these anomalies will be listed using your legend

STANDARD
This report is generated with IR imagery resolution of approx 6cm/px and RGB imagery of 2cm/px
The flight plan for this report would generally be at an altitude of approx 140ft.

OVERVIEW
The overview report is ideal for providing customers, project manager or site managers with a quick overview highlighting any anomalies at the string or module level.
The flight plan for this report is generally flown at about 210ft.

The tradeoff across these reports is that as you fly higher, you can cover more ground in a single image but you get less detail in each image.

We offer turnkey services providing the complete service from collection to report processing and delivery.

Laguna drones is based in San Jose, operating west of the Rockies at short notice and available nationally or internationally with a little more planning.

If you have a (PV) Solar project you would like to discuss in more detail, please contact us and we would be more than happy to discuss the collection and reporting process in more details.