The Castilian and Leonese robot that remotely and sustainably manages Iberdrola España's photovoltaic plants

• Iberdrola España and Arbórea are working at the Villarino solar facility in Salamanca with this innovative Antecursor II robot, which operates autonomously anywhere in the world thanks to the satellite coverage of the Starlink network. And, it works using only renewable electrical energy.

• The revolutionary autonomous vehicle, weighing 285 kg, is fully electric and built from aerospace alloys. Based on several of the company's patents, it combines cutting-edge technologies to facilitate the integration of photovoltaic plants into their natural environment, reduce fire risks and maintenance costs.

• Antecursor II has an integrated vegetation clearing system based on aeronautical materials to create a fine mulching of the vegetation, which is clean and very quiet.

Iberdrola España and Arbórea Intellbird, the Salamanca-based technology company that created Arachnocopter and Antecursor I, are working at the Villarino solar plant in Salamanca, which is already operating at full capacity, with the Castilian and Leonese robot Antecursor II*. It is capable of remotely and sustainably managing the photovoltaic plants.

This novel robot operates autonomously anywhere in the world thanks to the satellite coverage of the Starlink network and does so by running solely on renewable electrical energy.

"The revolutionary autonomous vehicle, weighing 285 kg, is fully electric and built from aerospace alloys. Based on several Arbórea patents, it combines cutting-edge technologies to facilitate the integration of photovoltaic plants into their natural environment, reduce fire risks and assess damage without the need to travel on the ground. This results in greater efficiency and a significant reduction in costs and CO2 emissions," said Carlos Bernabeu, CEO of Arbórea Intellbird.

El director de Iberdrola España Renovables en Castilla y León, Fernando Martínez Riaza, ha destacado que “este nuevo desarrollo de la salmantina Arbórea ha contado con la  colaboración estrecha de Iberdrola España Renovables, aplicando su experiencia como líder en el sector para testar de manera pionera esta nueva tecnología de inspección digital autónoma e inteligente, y que mejor que su puesta de largo fuese en nuestro primer proyecto fotovoltaico en Salamanca, la planta Villarino, ubicada en el término municipal de Villarino de los Aires con una potencia de 50 megavatios (MW), que genera energía limpia suficiente para abastecer a una población equivalente a más de 26.000 hogares, además, evitará la emisión a la atmósfera de 12.000 toneladas de CO2 al año”.

Arbórea Intellbird, which provides services for the digital inspection of Iberdrola España's wind turbine blades, was promoted through Iberdrola España's start-up programme – PERSEO – for eight years with the aim of promoting its development and consolidating it in the sector. On this occasion, the company has gone a step further and has developed this new platform for autonomous inspection of solar plants. 

The Director of Iberdrola Renovables in Castilla y León, Fernando Martínez Riaza, emphasised that "this new development by the Salamanca-based Arbórea has benefited from the close collaboration of Iberdrola Renovables, applying its experience as a leader in the sector to test this new autonomous and smart digital inspection technology in a pioneering manner. What better way to launch it than in our first photovoltaic project in Salamanca – the Villarino plant – located in the municipality of Villarino de los Aires with a power of 50 megawatts (MW), which produces enough clean energy to supply a population equivalent to over 26,000 homes. It will also prevent the emission of 12,000 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere per year".

Autonomous monitoring

This platform makes it possible to carry out an inspection process to detect thermal anomalies. I can be not only in the upper part of the panels, as drones do, but also, in the case of the Antecursor II, simultaneously in all their lower structures, such as clips, fuse holders, cable clamps or cabling, which escape aerial view.

The robot's inspection autonomy far exceeds that of any other system, at over 30 hours. This allows inspections of the photovoltaic infrastructure to be carried out without requiring the intervention of any human operator. This is achieved thanks to a set of high-resolution thermographic sensors that continuously take thousands of measurements of the installation every second. This large mass of digital data is processed on board by an AI process, also patented by Arbórea, based on a combination of hardware and smart software developed by the Salamanca-based company. The system detects anomalies, evaluates them according to plant conditions and reports an early identification of potential hot spots, all in real time. As a result, the technicians of the company that owns the installation receive an e-mail on their mobile phones with the alert, the position of the anomaly and a thermography with the reference values. 

For this purpose, the robot continuously and regularly goes through the facility, monitoring the correct operation of the panels and the electrical circuit, processing the information on board, detecting anomalies and automatically reporting any value that could lead to the deterioration of the elements.

Continuous remote monitoring of the robot's vital signs allows any irregularities to be detected early and all systems to be continuously updated, no matter how remote the location in which they operate.

Efficient clearing

Antecursor II has an integrated vegetation clearing system based on aeronautical materials to create a fine mulching of the vegetation and does so cleanly and very quietly. This 100% electric vegetation management avoids soil pollution by oils or fuels, greenhouse gas emissions, the risk of fire associated with hot engines or the breakage of panels due to the projection of stones from traditional disc or filament clearing systems. This continuous autonomous cutting encourages the growth of ground cover species, thus achieving greater control of dust, which is so harmful when deposited on the panels. Creating a layer of basal vegetation avoids desertification by runoff and favours the maintenance of living soils and therefore the maintenance of biodiversity in the photovoltaic plants.

A new energy landscape that fixes population in rural areas

The development of the Villarino photovoltaic plant has had a significant local component, both in terms of industrial suppliers and the involvement of up to 250 workers during peak work periods. This has contributed to boosting the economy and employment in the area. Iberdrola España promotes renewable energies as a driver of rural development and in this way the villages emerge as a guarantee for the future.

With these projects, the company reinforces its commitment to Castilla y León, which is consolidating its position as an important centre for renewable energy developments in the company's investment cycle to 2025, where it already operates more than 5,150 MW – making it the autonomous community with the most 'green' megawatts installed by the company. 

The best initiatives for the coexistence of renewable energies, nature and people were recently recognised at the first edition of the Iberdrola CONVIVE Awards. The Burgos city council of Revilla Vallejera was one of those honoured by the company.

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