Correlation between the generated string powers of a photovoltaic power plant and module defects detected by aerial thermography

Drone-based aerial thermography has become a convenient quality assessment tool for photovoltaic power plants. Often caused by defective photovoltaic modules and cells, thermal abnormalities can be localized and classified. So far, infrared images cannot be utilized for the quantitative estimation of the generated power of a solar park yet. In this context, three photovoltaic power plants with an overall nominal power of approximately 9.4 MWp are evaluated. The analysis of both the radiometric data and the monitoring data of the inverters indicate a strong correlation between defective modules and the power of the associated string.

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