Drone-Based PV Solar Panel Cleaning and Washing Solution

With the accelerated global energy transition, photovoltaic (PV) power generation has become one of the key pathways for China to achieve its “dual carbon” goals. Inner Mongolia, as an important base for PV power generation in China, has one of the highest installed capacities of PV systems in the country. However, the PV power plants of our client are located in the southwestern part of Inner Mongolia, spread across geographically harsh desert, Gobi, and mining subsidence areas. These regions not only have complex terrain but are also frequently affected by strong winds and sandstorms, posing significant challenges to the maintenance and cleaning of solar panels. According to the “Photovoltaic Power Plant Operation and Maintenance Regulations,” PV panels require regular cleaning to maintain their efficiency. However, traditional manual cleaning methods are difficult to implement efficiently in such remote and harsh environments. In response to these challenges, we have provided the client with a drone-based solar panel cleaning solution.

Challenges and Pain Points:

1. Extreme Geographic Conditions, and Difficulty of Manual Cleaning: The region has complex terrain, high surface temperatures, and frequent sandstorms, making manual cleaning of PV panels extremely challenging. Traditional cleaning methods require workers to operate under high temperatures and strong winds, which not only leads to low cleaning efficiency but also poses significant safety risks.
2. High Cleaning Frequency, Expensive Maintenance Costs: The desert area’s sandstorms easily form thick layers of dust on the surface of PV panels, severely hindering light absorption and impacting power generation efficiency. As a result, PV panels need to be cleaned more frequently to maintain their optimal performance. However, frequent manual cleaning is time-consuming and labor-intensive, consuming significant human and material resources, thus driving up maintenance costs. Additionally, manual cleaning requires suspending part of the power generation work, further impacting economic benefits.
3. Inconsistent Cleaning Results: Manual operation struggles to ensure uniform cleaning quality for each PV panel, and it is difficult to cover all panels effectively, resulting in inconsistent cleaning outcomes, which in turn affects the overall power generation efficiency of the plant.
4. Limitations of Traditional Cleaning Equipment: Traditional aerial and other cleaning equipment are easily affected by wind and sand in these environments, preventing them from completing cleaning tasks stably, efficiently, and safely.

Solution: Drone-Based High-Pressure Cleaning System for Solar Panels:

In light of these challenges, our team has customized a PV panel cleaning solution based on an aerial high-pressure cleaning system. This system addresses the sandstorm issue by equipping the drones with nozzles that allow for variable spray widths, enabling the client to choose the optimal nozzle based on sand coverage during operations. The high-pressure cleaning system, derived from Pliabot’s flexible technology, can hover in the air and perform multi-angle efficient cleaning. The 30L water tank capacity allows for coverage of large areas in a single operation, reducing the frequency of mid-operation refills. The modular nozzle design enables it to handle various solar panel cleaning tasks, adapting to different levels of dirt. By seamlessly integrating the flight control system, the entire cleaning process can be remotely operated by a single person, with cleaning path planning functionality significantly improving operational efficiency and safety.

Advantages of Drone-Based Solar Panel Cleaning:

1. Efficient Cleaning with Full Coverage: The system allows for vertical adjustment from -60° to +35° and horizontal adjustment of ±45°, greatly enhancing work efficiency.
2. Full Automation, Reducing Human Risks: The seamless integration with the flight control system allows the drone to complete the entire cleaning process automatically, reducing reliance on manual labor and enhancing safety through real-time laser measurement, ensuring stable and efficient cleaning operations.
3. Convenient Transport, Quick Response: The modular design and snap-on installation make it easy to deploy, significantly shortening response time.
4. Flexibility for Multiple Scenarios: The modular nozzle design makes the system adaptable to different surfaces and varying levels of dirt, ensuring optimal cleaning performance across different environments.

Customer Benefits:

1. Improved Cleaning Efficiency: With high-pressure and multi-angle adjustments, the drone-based PV panel cleaning system achieves high cleaning speeds and can efficiently operate in hard-to-reach areas.
2. Enhanced Safety: Remote cleaning greatly reduces the risks associated with high-intensity, high-temperature operations, avoiding the danger of personnel working in extreme environments. Additionally, in the desert’s wind and sand conditions, the flexible technology enables the drone to autonomously adjust its posture, reducing damage from wind and impact, thus enhancing the drone’s ability to withstand risks and ensuring smooth operations.
3. Reduced Maintenance Costs: The efficient cleaning system reduces the need for frequent labor, significantly lowering long-term operational and maintenance costs.
4. Increased Power Generation Efficiency: Through frequent and efficient cleaning, the cleanliness of solar panels is consistently maintained, ensuring stable and controllable power generation efficiency, thus injecting strong momentum into the development of renewable energy.

Conclusion:

By utilizing the drone-based flexible high-pressure cleaning system for solar panels, the client can overcome the challenges posed by remote locations and harsh environments, achieving efficient cleaning of the solar panels. The system’s multi-angle, automated, high-efficiency, and safe features not only lower maintenance costs but also significantly boost the power generation efficiency of the panels, resulting in higher economic benefits for the client. The successful application of this system in the remote desert areas of Inner Mongolia demonstrates the broad potential of drones in the renewable energy sector. By addressing cleaning challenges in extreme environments, this solution provides an efficient answer for PV power plants and offers new impetus for the development of the low-altitude economy.