This is a seriously good idea. Otherwise the cleaning bill must be ridiculous. This can end all that and put the whole problem on simple care and maintenance.
It is also good to see a real commercial application for this hardware.
I would also like to see such a device rigged out to assist tree management as well although that is likely far to tricky to make sense..
Aerial Power's drones deliver a clean sweep of solar panels
By Nick Lavars
October 29, 2014
http://www.gizmag.com/aerial-power-drones-solar-panels/34474/
Aerial Power's SolarBrush aimed at reducing the maintenance costs of a solar field by 70 percent
Unfortunately, sunny desert locations where solar arrays are often installed are also ideal for attracting layers of dust on the panels' surface. To maintain their effectiveness, the panels need to be kept clean, but this has proven a labor-intensive and costly process. London-based startup Aerial Power is looking to help reduce the burden with brush-carrying drones that skim along the solar arrays and wipe their surfaces clean.
This isn't the first time automated upkeep of solar panels has been tackled. In 2009, the Californian company Heliotex developed a cleaning system that sprays water through nozzles installed on each panel at intervals determined by the user. Earlier this year, Israel's first solar field Ketura Sundeployed a fleet of robots that move up and down the panels, using a rotating brush to keep them dust-free.
Keeping these surfaces clear of dirt can improve energy production by as much as 30 per cent each month, according to Aerial Power. The expensive and time-consuming nature of cleaning the panels manually often means the task is neglected, rendering the systems less efficient than they might otherwise be. Aerial Power is aiming to reduce these maintenance costs by 70 percent.
The solution uses a so-called SolarBrush, a drone attachment that sweeps across the surface of the panels, brushing dirt and dust to the ground below. Ridha Azaiz, a German engineer and founder of Aerial Power, says one advantage of his solution over other robot cleaning systems is that it can cover an entire solar farm through pre-programmed flight paths. This means they don't need to be moved manually from row to row, a task which in itself can prove labor-intensive.
Aerial Power is currently testing its SolarBrush system in the Chilean desert, where it has access to a 25 MW solar farm. From there, it hopes to license the product to manufacturers of solar panels and distributors.
Source: Aerial Power
By Nick Lavars
October 29, 2014
http://www.gizmag.com/aerial-power-drones-solar-panels/34474/
Aerial Power's SolarBrush aimed at reducing the maintenance costs of a solar field by 70 percent
Unfortunately, sunny desert locations where solar arrays are often installed are also ideal for attracting layers of dust on the panels' surface. To maintain their effectiveness, the panels need to be kept clean, but this has proven a labor-intensive and costly process. London-based startup Aerial Power is looking to help reduce the burden with brush-carrying drones that skim along the solar arrays and wipe their surfaces clean.
This isn't the first time automated upkeep of solar panels has been tackled. In 2009, the Californian company Heliotex developed a cleaning system that sprays water through nozzles installed on each panel at intervals determined by the user. Earlier this year, Israel's first solar field Ketura Sundeployed a fleet of robots that move up and down the panels, using a rotating brush to keep them dust-free.
Keeping these surfaces clear of dirt can improve energy production by as much as 30 per cent each month, according to Aerial Power. The expensive and time-consuming nature of cleaning the panels manually often means the task is neglected, rendering the systems less efficient than they might otherwise be. Aerial Power is aiming to reduce these maintenance costs by 70 percent.
The solution uses a so-called SolarBrush, a drone attachment that sweeps across the surface of the panels, brushing dirt and dust to the ground below. Ridha Azaiz, a German engineer and founder of Aerial Power, says one advantage of his solution over other robot cleaning systems is that it can cover an entire solar farm through pre-programmed flight paths. This means they don't need to be moved manually from row to row, a task which in itself can prove labor-intensive.
Aerial Power is currently testing its SolarBrush system in the Chilean desert, where it has access to a 25 MW solar farm. From there, it hopes to license the product to manufacturers of solar panels and distributors.
Source: Aerial Power
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