Remote Feasibility Assessment of PV Panel Repairs and Replacements from a Life Cycle Perspective Using IRT and HDR Imagery from UAV

This paper investigates the life cycle impact and carbon payback time (CPBT) of PV panel repairs and replacements in ground mounted farms. Using UAV captured RGB and IRT images, multiclass classification models are used to identify different anomaly types. Following, the parametric embodied impact calculator for PV panels, ACACIA, is used to assess CPBT from repair and replacement interventions in different scenarios. As case study, faulty panels in Spain, Bilbao, and Belgium, Brussels, are investigated. Results suggest that PV replacements need about 6 years to reach carbon break even. However, if sub components of a panel can be repaired, such as the backsheet or the junction box, CBPT can be down to 0.03 years. It suggests that full PV panel replacements need to be evaluated with the remaining operation time of the PV farm, especially towards its end of planned service time. Ideally, a 2nd life of a replaced PV panel should be foreseen, or partial repairs of sub components enforced, thus ensuring an environmentally beneficial repair and replacement.