by Betsy Lillian for unmanned-aerial.com
UAVs and Renewable Energy: A Cheaper and Safer Option
Betsy Lillian (March 03, 2015)
CalCom Solar, a Visalia, Calif.-based engineering, procurement and construction firm for solar photovoltaic installations, is testing the waters of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and, in the process, seeing a slew of future applications.
Nic Stover, the company’s CEO, is no stranger to the technology: The final project of his Master’s degree program last year involved the applications of UAVs in agriculture, where there is a “tremendous need” for unmanned aircraft, he tells Unmanned Aerial Online.
CalCom Solar, which specializes in developing solar projects on agricultural land, is in a nascent stage of using UAVs, he says. Operating a DJI Phantom 2, the company has captured – through both photo and video – aerial views of several completed solar projects, including a 1 MW ground-mounted array on a tomato farm in Firebaugh, Calif.
Solar racking systems company GameChange Racking recently shared a video of this installation – offering what it calls a “stunning” view of the project, featuring the company’s Pour-in-Place ballasted ground system.
According to Stover, using a drone to provide a view of a finished array is beneficial for clients – who are able to “appreciate the scale and the scope” of a project – and the company.
Before it began implementing drones – an “absolutely” cheaper and safer method of aerial photography, he notes – the company had to sometimes bring in manned aircraft or stand atop tall structures to get the shot.
Although CalCom Solar has not yet used the drone during other phases of projects, such as construction and pre-construction, Stover says plans are in the works to deploy it for what he calls “site scouting.” Ideally, he explains, after a client selects a site, CalCom Solar would then take the UAV there to survey the land, such as the neighboring areas and the utility connections.
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