The asset owner needed to quickly assess the damage to prepare for possible insurance claims and develop a remediation strategy. Raptor Maps' analysis found more than 20MWdc of site capacity was impacted by equipment anomalies.

Rapid Assessment of Wind Damage
Rapid Assessment of Wind Damage

Case Study from | Raptor Maps

After a severe storm with wind gusts of 90MPH, the owner of a 300+ MWdc site needed to quickly assess the damage to prepare for a possible insurance claims process and develop a remediation strategy to restore power production. Raptor Maps analysis included findings beyond weather damage, providing the owner with a more comprehensive strategy to get energy yield back on-track.

Key Takeaways

The asset owner needed to quickly assess the damage to prepare for possible insurance claims and develop a remediation strategy. Raptor Maps' analysis found more than 20MWdc of site capacity was impacted by equipment anomalies. The 300+ MWdc site was digitized and converted into a geospatially-enabled digital twin in the Raptor Solar platform to streamline remediation.

 

The Challenge

After a severe wind storm with wind gusts of more than 90MPH (145 km/hour), the owner needed to quickly assess the damage to prepare for possible insurance claims and develop a remediation strategy to restore power production.

 

The Solution

The owner opted for a comprehensive inspection to understand both the damage from the extreme weather event and other equipment defects in order to develop a prioritized remediation strategy. Given the urgency and ongoing weather challenges, the inspection was conducted in 3 different sections by priority with the first team on-site within 24 hours of the customer reaching out to Raptor Maps.

 

The Result

All analysis results were delivered in under 2 weeks, with the higher priority blocks being analyzed, digitized, and delivered first. The analysis found that more than 20MWdc of site capacity was impacted by equipment anomalies, caused by both weather damage and other drivers (such as module electrical defects), resulting in over $1.8M annualized revenue losses if unaddressed.
The 300+ MWdc site was digitized and converted into a geospatially-enabled digital twin in the Raptor Solar platform, with the analysis results overlaid with precise GPS coordinates for each detected anomaly. The comprehensive view of DC health, damage from weather events, and detailed view of underperformance drivers allowed for the owner to create a comprehensive and prioritized remediation strategy to get the site back on-track.

 

The content & opinions in this article are the author’s and do not necessarily represent the views of AltEnergyMag
Raptor Maps

Raptor Maps

Raptor Maps is building the integrated operating system for the solar industry, enabling the industry to scale and meet global climate goals. With intelligence for the entire solar industry, our solar management platform (Raptor Solar) provides the tools and the system of record that asset owners, managers, O&M, developers, and EPCs need to build, manage, and operate their solar sites. Raptor Solar improves asset resilience and energy yield, reduces risk and costs, and ultimately increases the rate of return of solar assets.

Other Articles

A New BMP for Erosion and Stormwater Management in Solar
Maintaining erosion control best management practices (BMPs) and preventing stormwater pollution is crucial at every phase of the solar project, but it can also be costly, time-intensive, and difficult to do at scale.
Utility-Scale Drone-in-a-Box Inspection
Raptor Maps collaborated with Enel, DJI, and UVT to conduct the first-ever DJI Dock solar site inspection in North America. Conducted on a 180+ MWdc site, Raptor Maps built the necessary mission planning software to direct the drone to conduct the inspection.
Aerial Thermography Findings from the Field: The Lesser-Known Impact of Shading on Power Production
While each instance of shading is unique and can affect power production to varying degrees, there has been little investigation into whether shading of a single string happens in isolation, or whether it also affects neighboring, non-shaded strings and modules.
More about Raptor Maps

Comments (0)

This post does not have any comments. Be the first to leave a comment below.


Post A Comment

You must be logged in before you can post a comment. Login now.

Featured Product

QuickBOLT - QB RibRider: Flexible, Fast, and Secure Solar Mounting for Metal Roofs

QuickBOLT - QB RibRider: Flexible, Fast, and Secure Solar Mounting for Metal Roofs

The QB RibRider™ is an adjustable and easy-to-place mount for exposed fastener and trapezoidal ribbed roofs, combining versatility with robust construction. It features a 90/180 mounting combo with 75mm butyl pads on the base for superior weatherproofing. The RibRider is designed to fit most exposed fastener, trapezoidal, and ribbed metal roof profiles. This mount features stainless steel roof brackets and comes with four #14 x 1-1/4" hex washer self-drilling screws, ensuring a secure attachment to the roof.