A drone-in-a-box inspection uses a drone housed at the solar plant in a docking station: it takes off on a schedule, flies a programmed route beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS), lands and recharges, so the plant can be inspected more often without sending a crew each time. In Spain these flights fall under the specific category of EU Regulation 2019/947 and need a declaration or an authorisation from AESA, with a remote pilot who can take control at any moment. Solardrone offers capture with a drone housed in a dock where the operation is authorised, as well as with piloted drones; frequency, capture modality and scope are agreed for each project.
When a dock makes sense
A dock pays off when the question is “what has changed since the last inspection?” rather than “what is the state of the plant today?”. Typical cases:
- Recurring control during operation: repeating the same route at regular intervals to see new findings and confirm repairs.
- Plants far from the field team, where every visit costs travel time.
- Checks after an event, such as a storm, hail or a nearby fire, when images are needed quickly.
For a one-off campaign, such as an inspection before final acceptance (FAC) or a warranty claim, a piloted flight planned for that purpose is often the better tool: it can adapt altitude, angle and views to the defect being documented. Our guide on documenting module defects for warranty claims and FAC covers that case.
What a dock flight can and cannot show
An image is only as useful as the conditions and the viewpoint of the flight.
- Thermal conditions. A thermal anomaly only stands out when the plant is producing. Scheduled flights must fall within the irradiance and weather conditions of IEC TS 62446-3; a flight outside them is not a valid thermal inspection.
- Viewpoint. A top-down route sees the front of the modules. Connectors, cables and the back of the modules need close or side views, so ask whether the dock route includes them or how they are covered. Our article on overheated MC4 connectors explains why.
- Coverage. Each flight should state which areas it covered and which could not be evaluated, so that “nothing found” is never confused with “not inspected”.
What the operation needs in Spain
A dock that can fly remotely does not, on its own, make the operation legal. The operator needs an authorisation that covers that drone, that plant and that way of operating. In Spain the authority is AESA, and the usual routes within the specific category are:
- A standard scenario declaration (STS-02), for equipment with the C6 class label and within the limits of the scenario, with the pilot in the field.
- An operational authorisation based on a risk assessment (a full SORA or a predefined assessment, PDRA), needed when the operation goes beyond those limits, for example when the pilot supervises from a remote control centre.
In every case a remote pilot must be able to intervene at any moment. What changes is where that pilot is and which technical measures compensate for their absence from the plant. Our article on whether drone flights beyond visual line of sight are legal at solar plants in Europe explains each route.
Inspection or security: two different services
Docked drones are also sold for perimeter security: patrols, intrusion alarms and video verification. That is a different service from inspection. A security patrol answers “is someone inside the fence?”; an inspection answers “what is the physical state of the plant, what matters and where do we act first?”. If you need both, ask the provider which one the offer covers and how each is measured.
What to ask a provider
- Whose authorisation the operation uses, and a copy of the AESA declaration or authorisation that covers your plant and that equipment.
- Where the remote pilot is during the flight and how they intervene if something goes wrong.
- Which conditions the flights are scheduled in, and which thermal standard the inspection follows.
- Which views the route includes, and how hidden components such as connectors and backsheets are covered.
- How each finding is delivered: location by table, string and position, evidence, priority and date.
- How findings reach your maintenance system (CMMS) and how a repair is verified before it is closed.
- Who owns the data and whether you can export it.
- Who maintains the dock and what happens when it is out of service.
How Argos by Solardrone helps
Argos by Solardrone turns each capture, whether from a piloted drone or from a drone housed at the plant in a dock where the operation is authorised, into findings located at component level, with visual and thermal evidence and a priority, and follows each one until the repair is verified. Solardrone has been inspecting solar plants since 2017, analyses more than 400 plants a year and has analysed more than 15 GWp. Read the Argos FAQ or request a free personalised study.