Photovoltaics (PV) are becoming a major source of electricity in the 21st century. PV power plants are becoming larger and larger and contain millions of solar panels. Inspecting these large quantities of panels for quality control requires new methods that are currently being developed. A cornerstone of these methods is the use of artificial intelligence to identify defects and quantify their impact on power generation and revenue. In this talk, I will present recent developments at the Helmholtz Institute for Renewable Energies Erlangen-Nürnberg in Germany on how AI methods can be used to extract information from monitoring data, process field images and generate automated inspection routines. Drone based imaging systems have the potential to provide detailed information that enables predictions at an unprecedented level.

Photovoltaics (PV) are becoming a major source of electricity in the 21^st century. PV power plants are becoming larger and larger and contain millions of solar panels. Inspecting these large quantities of panels for quality control requires new methods that are currently being developed. A cornerstone of these methods is the use of artificial intelligence to identify defects and quantify their impact on power generation and revenue. In this talk, I will present recent developments at the Helmholtz Institute for Renewable Energies Erlangen-Nürnberg in Germany on how AI methods can be used to extract information from monitoring data, process field images and generate automated inspection routines. Drone based imaging systems have the potential to provide detailed information that enables predictions at an unprecedented level.