Integrated platform for intelligent operation and maintenance of distributed photovoltaic based on digital twin technology

Abstract

Driven by the “dual carbon” goals, the distributed photovoltaic(PV) industry has developed rapidly. However, its large-scale application is hindered by the challenges of decentralized layouts and the limitations of operational and maintenance(O&M) efficiency. To address these issues, an intelligent integrated O&M platform that integrates digital twin technology, UAV inspection, AI-based diagnosis, and component-level monitoring was proposed. A “three-layer, four-dimensional” architecture is established to enable full-process intelligent management. Specifically, the perception layer employs high-precision sensors and UAV fleets for collaborative data acquisition; the network layer leverages 5G combined with APN private networks to ensure millisecond-level data transmission; and the application layer implements intelligent defect detection through digital twin-based 3D modeling and the YOLOv5 algorithm.Key technologies underpinning this platform include 5 cm-precision oblique photography modeling, the ORB-SLAM3 air-ground collaborative inspection algorithm, hot spot detection with temperature differences exceeding 3℃, and sub-second queries of billion-level time-series data supported by the TDengine database. Through a “UAV preliminary screening-manual verification” workflow, the platform reduces the inspection time per power station from 2 days to 4 hours, lowers the string-level fault omission rate from 17% to below 3%, and achieves 92% diagnostic accuracy with AI. This approach effectively mitigates the “weakest-link effect” inherent in series-connected PV strings, resulting in a reduction of O&M costs by more than 35%. The proposed platform provides a comprehensive solution covering data acquisition, intelligent diagnosis, and decision-making support for distributed PV systems. It facilitates the transition of O&M practices from reactive maintenance to predictive maintenance and offers significant practical value for advancing intelligent management within the new energy sector.

Keywords

distributed photovoltaic / intelligent operation and maintenance / digital twin / AI diagnosis / UAV inspection