California’s solar integration challenges 

Utility-scale solar output on the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) grid is under the radar for resolving a few growing pains. Regular negative power prices and curtailment of renewable energy are obstacles to resolve about the California grid. Curtailment is wasted power and hiking rates display huge difficulties when integrating large penetrations of renewable energy. Let’s review several solutions to these concerns. 
 

Aerial maps for solar design 

In the solar industry, a picture is worth about $500 minimum. This is a conclusion from survey of U.S. solar installers in change orders. This takes place when you sell a product you can’t install or there are errors in the estimates. Retrieving a  more precise image upfront could drastiscally reduce or eliminate change orders.
 

Inefficiencies are costly 

Errors such as these could result in negative outcomes, including excessive site visits to a customer’s property which isn’t necessary to begin with. This then leads to potentially poor word of mouth from unsatisfied customers. Issues like sustain the high price for soft costs. Although soft costs are decreasing, it’s at a slower rate than other solar PV components. Non-installation soft costs are more than half the price of a residential solar PV system and continue to rise. Installers are resolving several of these inefficiencies  by using aerial imagery. Solar installers have moved away from sending crews take measurements on properties. Tony Agresta, vice president of marketing at Nearmap, a company that provides cloud-hosted aerial maps to solar installers and other industries. “People want to see the truth on the ground, verify data, and reduce the time they spend traveling to various sites.” Satellite imagery estimates how many panels could fit on a roof and   production needed. The aerial maps that solar installers use to produce sales presentations and plan more effective installations.
 

Requesting customized solar images 

Most cities are photographed at least two times yearly through an imagery-as-a-service business model. This models allows small installers to access a smaller quantity of pictures at a lower cost. Larger installers can get thousands of images. Nearmap’s API applies algorithms that improve the accuracy and efficiency of solar system design.  “We developed a feature that identifies the obstructions on a roof. And some commercial rooftops have hundreds of obstructions. It would take a long time for a designer or installer to draw them all out,” said Aurora’s Adeyemo. “With us, you have computer vision algorithms detect them for you through image recognition.” The ability of imagery to transport designers to potential sites will only become more sophisticated over time. As of now, imagery is granular enough to give a view of the pitch of a roof and the height of a building. 3D visualization is being developed that allows installers to virtually float around a site to inspect it.” In the future, machine learning and artificial intelligence will allow Nearmap to identify features for prospecting, installation and service, an evolution of the technology to reality-as-a-service. “Rather than hunt and peck through properties, with applied machine learning you can say, ‘Show me the properties within 10 square miles of this point that have solar,' or 'Show me the ones that don’t,’” said Agresta. This result let  installers close more deals with fewer change orders and improved designs. 

If you want to join the solar revolution, go to HahaSmart.com and try our price checker tool. You can see how much a system will cost, and how much you can save over the next 20 years. For more information about solar, don't forget to visit our solar blog section for guides and articles.