DroneBase Unveils First Solar Quality Rating System for Asset Conditions in USA

California-based DroneBase has announced the first standardized set of solar asset ratings with an aim to support the forecasted growth of 60 GW of solar deployed annually from 2025 to 2030 and ensure better oversight of American solar power plants. As a provider of intelligent imagery, DroneBase is expanding its solar scan offering to cover all of North America for this new rating system. By offering an assessment of power loss, module condition and cell temperature, DroneBase claims to help the solar industry to evaluate the total condition of solar power plants.

DroneBase is an intelligent aerial imaging company providing businesses with real-time insights to recover revenue, reduce risk, and improve build quality.

Mark Culpepper, GM of Global Solar Solutions, DroneBase, said, “Until now, there has been a lack of transparency and visibility into the overall status and condition of assets. Thanks to our scanning capabilities, we provide deep and broad data sets and bring a universal understanding on the condition of solar power plants.”

The New Rating Technology

North American Solar Scan of DroneBase employs a simple three-letter asset rating system. Each letter represents a specific aspect of a solar site’s overall condition. Conducted via manned aircraft, the North American Solar Scan provides cost-effective and comprehensive thermal and RGB views of solar assets to investors, asset owners, operations and maintenance managers, utility companies, EPC firms and policymakers. Scanned solar plants, of 1 MW or larger, are automatically assigned three criteria based on aerial photography and thermal scans.

The official statement held that stakeholders can access the data and reports via the DroneBase Solar Insights web platform.

Here is an insight into the new rating technology-

First letter of rating: The first letter in the rating represents the operating condition of the site. Thermal sensors detect components that are failing to estimate direct current (DC) losses at the power plant.

Second letter of rating: The second letter in the rating is an indicator of the highest recorded temperature of photovoltaic cells, with separate parameters for roof-mounted and ground-mounted assets. Elevated temperatures may indicate potential safety or liability risks.

Third letter of rating: Finally, the last letter in the rating reflects the condition of the modules used by comparing the number of anomalies per megawatt peak. More anomalies per megawatt generally indicate more potential problems with the modules on the site.

By providing this analysis and the three-letter rating, DroneBase enables stakeholders to correctly appraise the assets’ condition and identify potential assets for acquisition or sale.

Companies that deal with solar and storage projects can use the asset rating for various insights to save time and money through targeted maintenance and preventable downtime.

DroneBase has completed solar scan for the entire state of California till date, representing 16 GW of solar plants and 20 percent of large-scale solar-generated power in America. The company said that customers can subscribe immediately to access all the sites scanned in California.