Solar Love
  • Rooftop Solar
    • Energy Storage
  • Solar Panels
  • Policy
  • Research
    • Science
    • Market Research
    • Solar Perceptions & Polls

Solar Love

  • Rooftop Solar
    • Energy Storage
  • Solar Panels
  • Policy
  • Research
    • Science
    • Market Research
    • Solar Perceptions & Polls
New Technology

Drones And Robots Help Make Solar Farms More Efficient

by Steve Hanley September 24, 2016
written by Steve Hanley September 24, 2016
Drones And Robots Help Make Solar Farms More Efficient

Drones and robots are being used more regularly to help build and maintain solar installations. SunPower is one of the leaders in using new this new technology. It is about to begin construction of its new “Oasis” power plants in North America and China. These massive projects utilized drones to fly over proposed sites to gather data. That information was then fed into computers that use cutting edge software to evaluate thousands of designs and make recommends for the best options to pursue. That allowed project managers to easily compare potential sites. then customize configurations in order to make the best use of the available space.

SunPower uses drones and robots

Tom Werner, president and CEO of SunPower, said in a press announcement:

“An Oasis solar power plant may be designed 90 percent faster than the time required to design conventional solar power plants. While flat, rectangular-shaped sites are required for other trackers on the market, Oasis can take advantage of unused irregularly shaped areas and slopes up to ten degrees to generate up to 60 percent more energy than conventional technology installed at the same site. Each additional ten acres of usable land on a site may represent two to four more megawatts of power, which can significantly impact a project’s bottom line.”

The new systems are also being designed with room for agriculture. As solar power becomes widely accepted, it’s not always easy to find space to locate large solar arrays. That’s one reason that floating solar projects are becoming more common around the world. The distance between rows leaves just the right amount of room for certain farming activities. SunPower is partnering with the University of California, Davis to find out which crops will grow best in these specialized circumstances.

Solar panels typically convert about 20% of the sun’s energy into electricity. But contaminants like dirt, pollen, and bird droppings on the surface of the panels can lower that rate, which costs the solar operator money. When SunPower acquired Greenbotics in 2013, it gained access to a system of robots that can clean the surface of the solar panels at its facilities. Keeping the panels clean maximizes solar efficiency over time.

The robotic system uses 75% less water than cleaning the panels by hand. The robots are programmed to operate at night when they don’t interfere with the sunlight falling on the panels. According to SunPower, the new robotic method is twice as fast as the current robotic cleaning technology and 10 times faster than manual cleaning methods.

Source: ZDNet   Photo credit: SunPower

crops for solar installationsdronesfloating solar farmsland usagerobotic solar panel cleaningSunPower
0 comment
0
FacebookTwitterPinterest
Steve Hanley

writes about the interface between technology and sustainability from his home in Rhode Island. You can follow him on Google + and on Twitter.

previous post
Small Sliver Of Sahara Desert Could Power Entire World With Solar Energy
next post
Community Solar Project To Retrain Unemployed Coal Miners

You may also like

High School Girls Create Solar Powered Tent For...

April 6, 2017

New Perovskite Solar Cell Record Claimed By Korean...

March 31, 2017

“Sun King” Introduces New Flexible Solar Panel LIne

March 27, 2017

Solar Power Can Make Hydrogen From Biomass At...

March 16, 2017

Scientists Look To Jellyfish For Next Generation Solar...

February 18, 2017

Giant Leap Announces Granite Glass Concentrated Solar Breakthrough

January 22, 2017

Perovskite Coating Could Boost Solar Panel Efficiency By...

December 28, 2016

3D Printed Trees Harvest Energy From Sun, Wind,...

December 10, 2016

Wind And Solar Go Together Like Cake And...

December 5, 2016

Kevala Helps Developers Find Best Sites For Solar...

November 26, 2016

Follow Me

Facebook

Recent Posts

  • Meet PVCase: A 3D Solar Design Software That Every PV Designer Should Consider

    June 12, 2019
  • Mitsui To Partner With Indian Company For Distributed Solar Projects

    June 10, 2019
  • India’s NTPC Offers Solar Project Management Services To ISA Members

    June 9, 2019
  • Equinor & Scatec Solar Complete 162 Megawatt Brazilian Solar Plant

    November 29, 2018
  • Gamesa Awarded 400 Megawatt Solar Project In Egypt

    November 29, 2018
  • Facebook

@2019 - All Right Reserved solarlove.org


Back To Top