»Digital twins« of solar power plants should enable lower operating costs

In the research project »VR4PV«, various research institutions and companies have investigated whether virtual reality simulations can be used to reduce the operating costs of solar power plants. The cooperation partners Fraunhofer Center for Silicon Photovoltaics CSP, Fraunhofer Institute for Factory Operation and Automation IFF, DENKweit GmbH and Dexor Technology GmbH have created the »digital twin« of an entire plant in order to use it for subsequent operation and maintenance.
In practice, the data from the planning phase of such plants is usually still used for operation management. However, because there are regularly deviations between planning and actual execution, these data often do not match reality. Damage cases can therefore often only be identified with a delay, according to a statement by the project partners. This results in »unnecessary technical failures of various system components and faster aging of the systems.«
The 3D image created with the help of drone images as well as detailed photographs and an AI-based evaluation has now »created the prerequisites for a digital twin of PV systems, the benefits of which will now be demonstrated in its application in operation and during extensions and conversions.«
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