Digital OD.ISSAY. Pokrovska Solar Farm implemented a unique system to diagnose and control the operation of major solar power plants

DTEK keeps on investing in innovations and new technologies. DTEK Renewables' specialists designed a system to diagnose and support the operation of major solar power plants, which boosts their operational efficiency and delivers a 4% rise in the annual output. Pokrovska Solar Farm became a pilot site for the implementation of this project.

The unique thing about the OD.ISSAY system is that it enables automation of the power plant management process to the fullest extent possible. Original software, which was developed in cooperation with the company's partners, gathers and analyses huge volumes of data coming from different equipment. Before the personnel had to process the data manually, but now the system does it automatically.

The project also involved implementation of the world's first automatic unmanned aerial system to monitor the solar power plant equipment. An unmanned aerial vehicle has been used by the power plant as an additional tool to diagnose the equipment and had to be controlled by the ground-based operator manually. The new drone is autonomous (no need for an operator) and works 24/7 in all weathers. While flying over on a predefined path, the drone performs a visual inspection using its infrared camera, records data and sends it to a cloud-based portal for processing and analysis. The new technology makes it possible to bring the equipment diagnostic accuracy up to 91% and cut down on false crew trips by 95%.

The OD.ISSAY digital diagnostic system enables continuous monitoring of the equipment health and prevention of emergency situations, thus reducing the down time, as well as makes the life of the personnel easier and takes the human factor out of the equation.

DTEK Renewables is a responsible and reliable company, which is constantly looking for innovative solutions to enhance occupational health and safety as well as the environmental friendliness and efficiency of its business. In the long-run, the company's specialists plan to scale up the OD.ISSAY project for it to be used on other solar power plants.