Qinghai Gonghe CSP O&M Project’s unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) made its debut, enhancing the lean management of operation and maintenance

2024-01-12

On January 10, the Qinghai Gonghe CSP O&M Project conducted its first aerial inspection using unmanned drones, covering the 30,016 heliostats, the solar collector tower, cold and hot salt storage tanks, main factory building, and the control center building, etc.

The solar collector tower of the Qinghai Gonghe CSP O&M Project stands at a height of 193 meters, with 30,016 heliostats covering an area of 213 hectares. Manual inspection poses significant challenges due to the vastness of the area and low efficiency. Previously, surveillance heavily relied on on-site monitoring probes, especially in the equipment zone at the top of the collector tower. Inspection personnel could only observe using telescopes upon reaching observation platforms, making it difficult to precisely detect anomalies. In this recent drone surveillance, leveraging advantages such as all-around coverage, no blind spots, fast mobility, and high positioning accuracy, significantly improved the efficiency of inspection personnel. This approach effectively addresses issues associated with the substantial resource consumption and variations in inspection quality related to manual inspections. Additionally, images captured by the drones are transmitted in real-time, enabling the rapid identification of equipment anomalies and timely implementation of maintenance measures. This ensures the prompt elimination of safety risks and provides robust technical support for accurate on-site supervision and strategic decision-making in the future.

Next, the Qinghai Gonghe CSP O&M Project will continue to leverage the advantages of drone inspections. It will conduct regular inspections on outdoor equipment, including the 110KV GIS booster station system, transmission lines, on-site circuit breakers, isolation switches, voltage transformers, current transformers, transformers, insulators, lightning rods, and the high-altitude flat plane of gantry structures. This comprehensive inspection aims to thoroughly identify safety hazards in on-site equipment, prevent safety accidents, effectively ensure the stable operation of equipment, reduce equipment failure rates, improve the availability of power generation equipment, and contribute to the high-quality development of the company’s new energy business.