Gila Bend, Arizona
Brenna Flats PV
Pre-noon sweep of blocks C–F after an inverter flagged low string current. Seventeen hot cells and two open bypass diodes found in one flight.
42
ha
Area covered
38
min
Flight time
17
flagged
Anomalies found
64
°C
Hottest reading
Findings
Block D, string 14: three adjacent cells at 63.8 °C, 31 K above the string average
Two bypass diodes open on combiner box CB-07
Soiling band along the west fence, 0.6 % yield loss estimated
Debrief
Flight plan drawn from the site boundary file in four minutes. The aircraft flew 38 minutes at 61 m with a 72 % side overlap, timed so irradiance stayed above 700 W/m² for the whole pass.
Every anomaly above the 20 K isotherm threshold was written to the O&M queue as its own work order, with the IR and daylight frame, the string ID and the GPS fix of the module.
We used to send two techs with handhelds for a full day. The work orders were in Maximo before the drone was back in the van.
Dana Ruiz, O&M lead, Brenna Flats
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