pv magazine Webinar | DroneBase’s North American Solar Scan brings transparency to U.S. solar market

In 2023, the US solar market is projected to deploy more than 30 GW of installed capacity thanks to investment from the Solar Energy Manufacturing for America Act as part of the US Inflation Reduction Act. Combining aerial photos and video footage taken from crewed aircraft equipped with high-quality infrared sensors and RGB cameras, DroneBase has come out with a ratings system that shows the condition of solar projects of 1 MW and larger regardless of age.

In this pv magazine Webinar, we will provide more color on how market participants can easily see projects in need of repair, modifications, and repowering equipment opportunities. Benefits extend from contractors/developers, utilities, and grid system operators to parties such as investors, O&M providers, and PV panel cleaning and service providers, and more. Additionally, we will hear from DroneBase, the webinar partner, about the launch of its North American Solar Scan, its effort to scan, analyze, and rate every solar plant in the US sized at 1MW and larger.

Mark Culpepper, general manager of Solar at DroneBase, will present an overview of the North American Solar Scan , as well as which end users and state markets the system stands to benefit the most. We invited Mark to provide the company’s findings from its first six months of scanning operational solar projects and Jamie Mordarski, director of Operations and Maintenance (O&M) at SMA America will share the insights.

Attendees will learn first-hand how users across the US solar market are using data to better understand the condition of solar asset portfolios captured by DroneBase.

pv magazine Webinar content:

● Overview of data metrics sorted by operating condition, temperature and equipment characteristics, illustrating both projects in need and new deployment opportunities.
● Common issues affecting the operations of utility-scale solar plants (1MW+)
● How DroneBase data aggregation streamlines O&M functions and opens new opportunities for growth for repowering, transmission, and grid system upgrades.
● Best case practices for achieving a triple-A solar asset rating and which states/regions are seeing the highest penetration of top-rated projects.
● The Inflation Reduction Act's impact on the pace of solar deployments and asset integrity.
● Insights and hypotheses from DroneBase as it embarks on its first full year providing North American Solar Scan ratings.
● Q&A

Questions can be submitted beforehand or during the webinar through a chat window. Tristan Rayner, editor at pv magazine, and Michael Schoeck, associate editor at pv magazine USA, will be the co-moderators of this webinar.

Registration for this pv magazine Webinar is free of charge.