The average household in the United States uses approximately 28 kWh of electricity per day, or 10,204 kWh each year. The majority of this power comes from fossil fuels. Not only are fossil fuels nonrenewable, but they are also directly responsible for negatively impacting the environment. One of the ways companies are working to mitigate the negative effects of nonrenewable fossil fuels is by tapping into renewable energy sources. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Renewable energy is energy from sources that are naturally replenishing but flow-limited; renewable resources are virtually inexhaustible, but they are limited by the availability of the resources.”

The three most common sources of renewable energy come from wind farms, followed by hydroelectric facilities, and, lastly, solar farms. As solar power plants become more popular, more are being built across the country. As of 2023, there were thousands of utility-scale power plants in the United States, which generated upwards of 164.5 terawatt-hours of energy and employed more than 280,000 people. The smallest of these solar panel farms cover between 6 to 10 acres of land, while large utility-scale plants can cover upwards of 200 acres.

For these solar farms, from the smallest to the largest, frequent monitoring is vital to ensure the operations run efficiently. To send a person out to manually check each solar panel would take hours to complete. Additionally, there is only so much the human eye can pick up when inspecting a solar array. Fortunately, advancements in drone technology have enabled solar plant companies to keep a close eye on all the solar panels they maintain. A single drone can cover an entire solar farm in record time. And since drones have specialized cameras, they can capture data that could easily be missed by a person.

After receiving his bachelor’s degree in Air Transport Engineering from Suffolk New College in Ipswich, England, Will Hitchcock worked for several London-based IT companies. In 2014 he was hired to be the Program Director at Push Energy, a company that specializes in the construction of solar farms. Here Will was responsible for the construction of 150MW of solar farms throughout the UK. In this capacity, Will quickly became aware of a major problem the solar industry was facing, the inspection process for the vast number of solar panels needed to keep the industry moving.

In 2016, Will founded Above Surveying out of Colchester, UK. “We are on a mission to support the solar industry with cutting-edge technology and insights to help our customers build and sustain longer-lasting, higher-performing solar plants, in turn, driving and accelerating their deployment,” the company website states. To do this Will developed a drone surveying platform called SolarGain. Utilizing drone technology, SolarGain provides solar farm data collection for every stage of a plant.

Drones are first used to build topographic maps to plan solar farms, then they are used to manage the construction process. Upon construction completion, drones are used to carry out ultra-high-definition inspections of the entire farm. The drones also conduct thermographic inspections of individual panels to detect any thermal anomalies. All the data collected by the drones is then uploaded to the SolarGain program. The program uses machine learning technology to create detailed and actionable reports based on the data. “Seamlessly access, share, filter, and compare multiple inspection reports,” the company’s website explains. “Utilize SolarGain’s data analytics tools to transform your data into actionable insights. SolarGain maintains a lasting record of your existing plants and works alongside you as your portfolio expands.”

Above has completed more than 5,000 solar panel surveys using drone technology. Though based in the UK, Above serves solar companies all over the world. As the demand for renewable energy continues to rise, innovations like the drone inspection process developed by Above are helping to streamline the management of solar plants, ensuring they operate efficiently and sustainably. By leveraging cutting-edge drone technology and data analytics, solar energy companies can monitor their assets more effectively, reduce costs, and improve performance. With continued advancements in technology, the future of solar energy looks promising, offering a cleaner, more reliable alternative to fossil fuels and playing a vital role in the transition to a greener planet.

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