SMART ENERGY WEEK: Reducing the Maintenance Burden of Renewable Energy Facilities with Coordinate-Tagged Inspection Records

Introduction: The Expansion of Renewables and the Trend Toward DX in Maintenance Inspections

Toward the 2050 carbon neutrality goal (net zero greenhouse gas emissions), the deployment of renewable energy facilities such as solar and wind power is accelerating. Mega-solar sites and wind farms are being built across the country, and small hydropower and biomass power are attracting attention as regionally distributed power sources. As these renewable installations spread, the importance of maintenance inspections to keep them operating stably is growing.

However, on-site operations of renewable facilities must manage many installations with limited personnel, increasing the burden on field staff. Price competition following electricity liberalization has raised pressure to cut costs. With the phased end of the Feed-in Tariff (FIT) scheme, power producers increasingly need to optimize their operating costs themselves. At the same time, shortages of maintenance personnel and an aging technician workforce have become severe, making it difficult to maintain traditional inspection systems. How to streamline tasks such as patrolling widely dispersed solar panels and wind turbines, and organizing and reporting vast amounts of inspection data, is a major challenge.

Against this backdrop, the energy industry strongly demands digital transformation (DX) of maintenance and inspection work. At SMART ENERGY Week, one of the largest new energy trade shows, the latest technologies that help reduce inspection and maintenance labor have attracted significant attention. Next-generation inspection DX solutions—drone inspections, AI analysis for anomaly detection, remote monitoring with IoT sensors, and digitization of field records—are being showcased in large numbers, and innovation in field operations is beginning across the renewables industry.

Challenges Facing Maintenance Inspections of Renewable Energy Facilities

Inspection sites for renewable energy facilities face a variety of problems that are difficult to solve with conventional methods. In large power plants where hundreds of similar devices stand side by side, relying on paper ledgers and experience has limits for information management and contributes to increased field workload and human error. The main challenges can be summarized as follows.

• Difficulty pinpointing anomaly locations: In wide sites filled with similar equipment, accurately conveying “where the anomaly occurred” is not easy. Inspectors describe locations verbally or in notes—“north side of XX,” “third row of YY,” etc.—but interpretations can vary and those unfamiliar with the site may not understand. As a result, recovery efforts can be delayed or there is a risk of inspecting the wrong location.

• Cumbersome management of inspection photos and records: Inspections generate large numbers of photos and measurement data, and organizing these later to compile reports is a significant burden. Traditionally, photos taken with digital cameras or smartphones were matched with notes on-site, then transferred to a PC in the office to rename files and reorganize folders. It was also necessary to mark photo locations on drawings, which makes data management cumbersome.

• Time lag in reporting when anomalies occur: When equipment trouble or accidents occur, it can be difficult to share the site situation with stakeholders quickly. For example, even if a fault is found at a plant, taking photos, making notes, returning to the office, and then emailing a report can take time. During that interval the situation may worsen, and delayed initial response can expand damage.

• Difficulty tracing inspection history: Cases are often seen where periodic inspections and past repair histories are not fully utilized. If inspection results are individually stored in paper logs or Excel files, it is hard to see at a glance “when and where what kind of fault occurred” and “what happened afterward.” If history information is not utilized, preventing recurrence of the same mistakes and carrying out preventive maintenance is impaired.

Benefits of Introducing Coordinate-Tagged Inspection Records

One solution gaining attention recently for the above issues is the approach of “coordinate-tagged inspection records.” By adding positional coordinates (latitude and longitude) to photos and inspection data and managing inspection results tied to maps, the way information is conveyed and accumulated on-site changes dramatically.

First, with photos that have coordinates attached, the photo itself acts like a pin on a map, conveying the shooting location at a glance without having to describe it. For example, even in a vast solar power facility, if each photo records “where it was taken” with latitude and longitude, information such as “the panel in the nth row on the north side of the site” becomes automatically clear. This removes the need for field staff to write numbers on drawings one by one or to use vague qualifiers like “near XX.” Because all stakeholders share the same map information, mistakes from confusing locations are reduced and instructions and decisions become more accurate.

Position-tagged data can also be automatically organized in a cloud-based mapping system. Inspection records that link photos, notes, and coordinates can be uploaded from the field to the cloud and shared instantly among stakeholders. This eliminates the need to attach photos to emails after returning to the office and enables real-time transmission of the latest conditions—a major advantage. Moreover, accumulated coordinate-tagged inspection data remains as a history by asset and location, allowing one to trace past events like an electronic medical record for equipment. It becomes easy to review “when, where, what happened, and how it was handled” in map and chronological form, which helps in planning future inspections and preventive maintenance.

For example, after natural disasters such as typhoons or earthquakes, coordinate-tagged photos are extremely effective. If you photograph collapsed panels, scattered components, or flooded areas and share them to the cloud with location data, mapping of damaged areas can be done immediately. You can instantly grasp which areas should be prioritized for recovery work and quickly formulate restoration plans among stakeholders.

In addition, coordinate data can be used for on-site AR (augmented reality) displays. By presenting previously recorded anomaly locations as AR markers on a smartphone or tablet screen, it becomes intuitive to find places that are difficult to spot visually. For instance, routes of buried cables or degradation spots that are hard to distinguish from a distance can be identified at a glance through AR displays based on coordinate information. During new inspections, you can follow arrows or pins displayed on the device to smoothly reach points that had problems in the past.

Furthermore, by using a smartphone’s built-in LiDAR sensor to perform 3D scans of surrounding equipment, point cloud data can be tied to latitude and longitude, making it useful as precise shape records for tracking degradation. Even in confined spaces where drones or large laser scanners cannot enter, easily creating and sharing 3D data of current conditions is attracting attention as a new approach to field DX. The combination of point cloud measurement and coordinate records can assist not only maintenance but also as-built verification after construction and planning for future renovations.

In this way, introducing coordinate-tagged inspection records can dramatically improve the quality and efficiency of inspection work. Some systems have features to automatically generate daily reports and inspection reports from on-site recorded data, and in some cases the report creation that used to take hours can be completed with a single click. Inspection staff can spend less time on cumbersome paperwork and more on essential maintenance tasks.

Summarizing these effects, the following benefits are obtained:

• Reliable pinpointing of anomaly locations: Coordinates make “where and what happened” clear, reducing miscommunication and overlooked issues.

• Efficient management of photos and records: Data is organized on a map, enabling automatic classification and search so photos and records don't get lost.

• Reduced effort for reporting: Forms can be generated automatically from field records, greatly shortening the time compared to manual report creation.

• Rapid information sharing and response: Real-time cloud sharing of field conditions enables remote sites to simultaneously grasp the latest information and speeds up initial response.

For example, compare the Before/After of digital adoption for patrol inspections at a solar power plant.

Before DX adoption: A maintenance person goes to the site in the morning with paper inspection checklists and facility layout drawings. They walk the large site performing visual inspections, taking photos with a digital camera whenever an anomaly is found and jotting down the location and condition in a notebook. To later identify the abnormal panel among many similar ones, they record nearby landmarks or sequential numbers. In the evening, back at the office, the person imports the dozens of photos taken that day to a PC and begins creating the report by cross-referencing notes. They number photos by file name and enter entries like “No.5 panel row — loose connector” into an Excel ledger. By the time the work is finished it’s late, and the report is emailed to superiors and stakeholders the next morning.

After DX adoption: The inspector attaches a high-precision GNSS receiver to a smartphone, launches a dedicated app, and heads to the site. When they find an anomaly during inspection, they simply take a photo with the smartphone camera and select check items and enter notes in the app. The photo is automatically tagged with coordinates and time and saved to the cloud. For example, “a crack on the second panel from the north end of row 3” becomes a pin on the map the moment the photo is taken, so anyone can confirm the exact location. Because data is shared in real time, remote supervisors can instantly grasp the situation and issue additional instructions if necessary. After the inspection, daily report data is already organized in the cloud, so upon returning to the office the inspector can generate an automatic report with one click, review it, and finalize it for submission. No longer burdened by photo organization or document drafting, the inspector can focus on the inspection itself, which directly improves the quality of field work.

The effects of such field DX are realized not only in solar plants but across various renewable assets such as wind, hydro, and biomass. For example, at a wind farm, a single person can巡回 (patrol) multiple turbines scattered in mountainous areas and record bolt conditions at tower bases and anomalies in substation equipment with coordinates. At small hydropower sites, plotting inspection results from intake points to waterways and generating facilities on a map for centralized management helps build a leak-proof maintenance system. Although equipment types differ, the basic DX value—accurately understanding and sharing “where and what is happening”—is common and will greatly improve the precision and efficiency of maintenance work.

One-Person Inspections Enabled by Smartphone + High-Precision GNSS

The key to smoothly performing coordinate-tagged inspection records on-site is the combination of smartphones and high-precision GNSS. Recently, small RTK-GNSS receivers that can be attached to smartphones have appeared, and when combined with dedicated apps, centimeter-level positioning (cm level accuracy; half-inch accuracy) has become easy for anyone to perform. Conventional smartphone GPS had errors on the order of several meters (several ft), but using RTK (real-time kinematic) technology improves accuracy to several centimeters (several in). For example, even when measuring the position of each individual solar panel mount, high-precision GNSS allows pinpoint recording, eliminating the worry of confusing one mount with another.

Furthermore, by using the augmentation signals of Japan’s Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) Michibiki, such as CLAS, stable RTK positioning is possible even in mountainous areas outside terrestrial communication coverage. A positioning environment based on high-precision GNSS is being established even at remote renewable sites where mobile signals do not reach, steadily strengthening the foundation for field DX.

With a smartphone + GNSS device carried on site, a person can efficiently patrol and inspect a vast renewable facility alone. Without special surveying equipment or a multi-person team, an inspector can walk the site with a smartphone in hand, completing photo capture and location recording on the spot. For every target—in electrical equipment (substations and inverters), panel mounts and foundations, underground cabling routes, fences and gates—if an anomaly is found it can be photographed with a smartphone and recorded to the cloud together with its coordinates. Because there is no need to carry heavy tripods or surveying instruments to measure locations, a small team can cover many checkpoints in a short time.

Moreover, by leveraging high-precision position information and smartphone sensors, simple surveying tasks can be performed as well. For example, if you measure and record positions of as-built work after new construction with a smartphone, you can later verify whether installations match the drawings. Tasks that previously required specialized surveying instruments can be replaced by a single smartphone, enabling continuous field DX from construction through maintenance. This smartphone + GNSS technology that enables such one-person inspection and surveying is expected to play an increasingly important role at renewable sites where labor shortages are a concern.

The Role of Cutting-Edge Inspection DX Technologies and Coordinate Records

As showcased at SMART ENERGY Week, technologies supporting DX in maintenance and inspections span many areas. Drone- and robot-based automated inspections offer revolutionary means to check high or wide-area equipment without human entry; AI image analysis can quickly extract defective areas from large volumes of inspection photos; and attaching IoT sensors to equipment enables 24/7 real-time monitoring of conditions such as vibration and temperature to detect early warning signs. Advanced examples have also emerged that centrally manage equipment information on platforms such as digital twins and BIM, and visualize inspection results in 3D space.

While these solutions each bring strengths, coordinate-tagged inspection records play the role of complementing and connecting them at the field level. For example, even if a drone detects a hotspot on a solar panel, actual repair requires a person to go to the site and identify the exact panel. With coordinate-tagged records, the drone can accurately share the panel’s position and the technician can reach the issue without hesitation. Similarly, if a vibration sensor on a wind turbine tower signals a threshold exceedance, leaving a photo and coordinates of the affected component on site makes it easier to plan detailed future inspections and repairs.

In other words, as a bridge linking “detection and discovery by advanced technologies” with “on-site confirmation and response by humans,” coordinate-tagged inspection records are indispensable. By centering digitalized spatial information, you can integrate data collected by drones and sensors with raw information brought back by field workers to build a truly efficient maintenance management cycle. Also, having coordinates as a common language smooths data exchange across different systems (for example, between inspection record apps and asset ledger systems, or with BIM/CIM models). As a foundation that enables other technologies to be fully leveraged, coordinate-tagged records enhance on-site effectiveness and help comprehensively promote inspection DX.

Conclusion: Toward Sustainable Energy Operations through DX in Maintenance Sites

Stable operation of renewable energy facilities depends on steady, accumulative field maintenance and inspections. To reduce that burden and ensure reliable work, the use of digital technologies will become increasingly important. From large power producers to municipal staff managing local assets and maintenance companies undertaking on-site work, there are many opportunities to benefit from DX adoption. By implementing field DX solutions, including coordinate-tagged inspection records, organizations with limited personnel can efficiently manage wide-ranging assets, accelerate trouble response, and extend equipment lifespans. Of course, such digitalization requires initial investment, but gains from improved work efficiency and failure prevention often justify the cost, making field DX a worthwhile investment for the future. If parts of your operation still rely on paper inspection sheets and experience, try experiencing the effects of digitalization on-site.

LRTK provides an environment that enables centimeter-level GNSS positioning on smartphones and strongly supports simple surveying and periodic inspection tasks at renewable energy sites such as solar, wind, small hydro, and biomass. By adopting cutting-edge tools, evolve your field operations to the next stage and contribute to sustainable energy management.