_____________________________________________________________________________________________ Cleanleaf
Energy
there is already a substantial demand for upgrading and repowering solar sites. We see similar trends in Europe as well, particularly in Germany, where the solar upgrade market has become a major industry. Our team possesses the necessary competency, as most of our people come from our former construction division. As such, they are well-versed in upgrading and replacing equipment. Sometimes, our Special Projects division also undertakes smaller projects, like C & I rooftop solar systems, where a new roof is needed. In such cases, we remove the solar panels, new roof is installed and then we reinstall the equipment. In contrast to wind energy, which may require larger scale upgrades, solar energy allows for gradual replacement of smaller components to maintain performance. We primarily offer these upgrades to our O & M customers, but we are also beginning to extend these services to clients without existing O & M contracts. If a customer has a complete portfolio of solar assets, we can manage the entire portfolio to ensure optimal performance across all sites,” Mikael continues.
As our conversation reaches its end, Mikael highlights one of the latest innovations embraced by Cleanleaf.“ One significant change in our operations is the use of autonomous drones for thermal inspections. While many companies use drones for this purpose, our approach is different based on the installation. Instead of having a person manually operate the drone, we deploy autonomous drones for larger sites that require inspections over multiple days. The drone is stored in a box and is programmed by our Operations Center in Dallas. Each morning, it receives instructions on its flight path, specifying which areas of the site to inspect. Once its mission is complete, the drone returns to the box, eliminating the need for any personnel onsite during the inspection,” he ends. ■
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