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Robotic cleaning to gain momentum in water scarcity situation

Water is becoming one of the scarcest and crucial element in the country. Conservation and use of water is becoming a big concern for billions of people. Solar projects that primarily use water for cleaning of modules often use plenty of water and is required throughout its life span. Project developers are currently using too much water to clean solar modules, and they should try and minimize wastage. Cleaning is essential for efficient power generation, which ultimately impacts the generation performance of plants.

Cleaning of solar modules becomes a big challenge for developers in dry zones where quality of water required for cleaning is utmost unavailable. It becoming essential to clean dust particles, bird droppings etc that yield a low output.

Robotic cleaning solutions is slowly gaining acceptance, and is more economical when the project sizes increase. Robotic cleaning provides a cost-effective method to clean solar panels as compared to manual cleaning. The larger the project, the higher the cost of manual labour for panel cleaning which is driving utility-scale developers and solar park operators to opt for automated cleaning solutions. Infusion of thermal imaging cameras with robotic cleaners is another new technology that will shape the future, as it gives plant owners the ability to detect and fix any hotspots that may arise on their modules.