You would think if it was common practice to clean solar panels in such a manner that there would be some type of mention of it on the internet yet strangely there is not
What solar field is this? I’d like to research the cleaning methods employed by that specific solar farm
Plenty of references to flying drones and robotic machines required to maintain solar farms. Same issues with those.
Show me one of a helicopter cleaning commercial solar panels. A single reference will suffice
Bird ■■■■■ Insect eggs. Dust. Residue from rain. Etc etc.
I would love to have my own personal small solar farm for the post apocalyptic days after you people bring on a civil war. But it is kinda stupid as a source for an electric utility when other methods are available…
https://www.fastcompany.com/3035378/these-drones-with-little-brooms-keep-solar-panels-clean
And plenty of other images of drones performing other inspection and maintenance functions on solar farms. Also many other images of nonflying drones cleaning the solar farms.
But you asked for only one and you got it.
This isn’t true
Subsidized or not, they don’t build solar farms…or any type of energy generating facility…unless there’s demand for it.
In order for such plants to be approved, the prospective plant owners have to have guaranteed demand.
Wrong. I receive solicitations from solar farms in New York. They want my business because their demand just isn’t what they promised.
That’s not even close to what I was asking for and you know that . There’s a big difference between a helicopter and a drone. I wanted to see an example of cost prohibitive maintenance like described in the OP. What you linked to was the opposite
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Fusion will have it’s down sides–namely excessive heat production.
I work close to a solar farm (less than a 1/4 mile away), and I have never seen (or heard) such a thing in the 2 years it’s been in existence.
You are about 9 years off from being correct. Until 2010, most solar panels took in less energy than it cost to produce them. The projections are by 2020, solar panels as an industry will have produced more energy than the solar panels cost to date.
Personally, I think solar farms with conventional PV are wasteful. I think a better solution is more house roof based PV panels. I’m waiting for the prices to be cheap enough for solar shingles so that I can re-roof my house with them. It’s a waiting game, as I probably have less than 10 years of time before I will have to re-roof.
I tend to agree. There is a lot of urban space that is wasted and should be utilized. I like how a good number of the schools in California are covering their asphalt parking lots with solar arrays.
I can’t believe this still has to be explained
Dude… not sure what your business is but I live and breath helicopters every day. I make my living supporting helicopters, rotorcraft, and fixed wing aircraft. That is a helicopter UAV.
The size is irrelevant. You need big ones to clean large surface area X in time Y. Or you need lots of small ones to clean surface area X in time Y.
Please just learn the facts.
#factsmatter.
Folks complain about it like there just aren’t enough Radio Shacks to go down to for solar energy companies to stock up on enough 60’s era “D” Cells to run a single AM Transistor.
You haven’t proven your assertion.
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Of course I did. I was asked for a single reference. I provided it.
All of a sudden…you want more.
LoL 
Let’s pretend a drone is a helicopter, shall we?
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No it is not. The OP was talking about a full sized manned helicopter in an attempt to make a point about it being cost prohibitive. The problem is that’s not how solar fields are cleaned
