Automating Solar Power Plants: Creating automated software and hardware tools to lower development, construction and O&M costs at utility-scale projects Award Number: DE-EE0007179 CX(s) Applied: A9, A11, B3.2 Solar Energy Technologies Office Dat...
Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance
September 16, 2015
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Automating Solar Power Plants: Creating automated software and hardware tools to lower development, construction and O&M costs at utility-scale projects
Award Number: DE-EE0007179
CX(s) Applied: A9, A11, B3.2
Solar Energy Technologies Office
Date: 09/16/2015
Location(s): CA
Office(s): Golden Field Office
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is proposing to provide federal funding to Sunpower Corp. to create a software platform for solar project development.
The proposed activities include software development, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flights, education/training, and outreach. The purpose of the proposed UAV flights is to collect high-resolution aerial imagery that would be used in conjunction with the developed software to provide information about ground conditions of potential solar project sites and construction status of active projects. The UAV flights would occur over multiple active solar project sites. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) permit (12048 FAA Exemption) and Certificate of Authorization (Section 333 Blanket 200 COA) have both been obtained for these flights. All other activities are intellectual, academic, or analytical in nature and would use no physical materials beyond basic office supplies and software.