7 Preparations for Using Drone Surveying to Create As-Built Drawings of Solar Power Plants

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When creating an existing-condition map for a solar power plant, simply walking the site can make it difficult to grasp at once the overall topography of the site, drainage routes, panel layout, access/maintenance roads, slopes/embankments, fences, and the impact of surrounding trees. Especially at large plants or sites that include sloping terrain, overlooking existing conditions can easily lead to rework in later stages of the project. One readily usable method to address this is drone surveying.

Using drone surveying, based on photos and positioning information acquired from above, it becomes easier to organize the terrain, structures, roads, drainage, and conditions near boundaries required for preparing existing-conditions maps. However, simply flying a drone does not immediately produce an accurate existing-conditions map. If you do not organize in advance the purpose, scope, accuracy, coordinate system, flight conditions, on-site verification, and how the deliverables will be used, you may encounter problems after capture such as "difficult to use for drafting," "the required area was not captured," and "important on-site points cannot be determined."

This article outlines seven preparations that practitioners should be aware of before using drone surveying to create as-built drawings of solar power plants.

Table of Contents

• Decide what you want to confirm on the existing conditions map.

• Organize the survey and mapping areas in advance.

• Confirm the handling of reference points and coordinates

• Confirm local conditions and safety conditions before flight.

• Decide the shooting plan and the required resolution

• Supplement information that cannot be determined from photos during on-site inspections.

• Decide on the method of organizing according to the intended use of the deliverables.

• Summary

Decide what you want to check on the existing conditions map

When using drone surveying to create as-built drawings for a solar power plant, the first thing to decide is the purpose: what you want to verify with the as-built drawing. If you proceed with image capture while the purpose is unclear, you may end up with images covering a wide area but lacking the information needed for design or operations and maintenance. An as-built drawing is not merely an aerial photograph; it is a drawing organized to assess site conditions and to be used for subsequent work. Therefore, it is important to clarify the intended use before capturing images.

Scenarios in which current-condition maps are needed at solar power plants include checking terrain before site development, layout planning before construction, post-construction verification of works, management of existing equipment, checking drainage and slope conditions, assessing the influence of vegetation, and preliminary surveys for renovation work. Even with the same drone surveying, the points to focus on change depending on the purpose. Before site development, you may want to see ground undulations, existing watercourses, how access routes will be taken, and the effects of cut-and-fill. After construction, panel rows, racking, maintenance roads, drainage channels, fences, areas around cubicles, and the condition of slope protection become important.

When clarifying the purpose of an existing-condition drawing, you also need to consider who will ultimately use it. Whether it will be used by designers, construction managers, maintenance managers, or as explanatory materials for the client will change the level of detail required. Designers often prioritize the consistency of coordinates and elevations, while maintenance personnel may require drawings that clearly organize equipment locations and on-site changes. When explaining to the client, in addition to technical surveying results, materials that intuitively convey site conditions may be necessary.

Also, the way you think about the accuracy required for existing-condition drawings changes depending on the purpose. When a rough overall understanding is sufficient versus when the drawings will be used for comparisons with design drawings or as-built records, the necessary surveying plan differs. Drone surveying is an efficient method for capturing wide areas, but the accuracy of the results varies depending on site conditions, image capture methods, placement of control points, and processing methods. If you do not decide in advance how much accuracy is required, you may need to perform additional surveying after reviewing the deliverables.

When deciding the purpose of creating an existing conditions drawing, rather than simply thinking “measure the entire power plant,” it is important to articulate which decisions the drawing will be used for. For example, if it will be used to evaluate drainage improvements, prepare so that you can identify terrain elevation differences, locations where water tends to collect, existing side ditches, sedimentation basins, and discharge directions. If you are assessing the impact of vegetation, be mindful of vegetation around the panels, surrounding slopes, trees near adjacent property boundaries, and seasonal changes in shadows. If the drawing is for renovation work, the locations of existing equipment and heavy-equipment traffic routes, temporary yards, and obstructions become important.

By clarifying the purpose in this way, the information that should be acquired by drone surveying is narrowed down. The completeness of the existing conditions map is not determined solely by post-flight processing. Rather, deciding in advance what you want to see before the flight greatly influences the usability of the deliverables.

Organize Survey and Mapping Extents in Advance

Next, it is important to separate and organize the survey area and the area to be mapped. At solar power plants, you may need to check not only the entire site but also adjacent roads, drainage outlets, the toe of slopes, the outside of fences, delivery/access roads, and surrounding trees and buildings. If you estimate the area required for the as‑built drawing too narrowly, you are likely to run into the problem after imaging that you are “missing a bit of information just outside the area.”

The survey area refers to the area where a drone collects photographs and positional information. The mapping area, on the other hand, is the area that is ultimately organized into drawings or documents. In general, it is advisable to set the capture area slightly larger than the area you want to map to help prevent insufficient information at the edges. Especially at solar power plants, drainage flows or causes of shading can exist outside the site boundary, so photographing only within the site may be insufficient for assessing current conditions.

For example, at a power plant that includes slopes, you need a coverage area that allows you to check not only the flat areas where panels are installed but also the slope shoulder, slope toe, drainage ditches, and the connection points to maintenance roads. When the purpose is drainage planning or maintenance, you will want to verify not only the flow of water within the site but also where it ultimately drains and what impact it has on adjacent properties and roads. In such cases, even if the area to be depicted on drawings is limited to the site, it is more practical to set the photographic coverage to include the surrounding perimeter.

In an existing solar power plant, many elements relate to the as-built drawings, such as panel rows, mounting structures, cable trays, junction boxes, collector equipment, substation equipment, fences, gates, monitoring equipment, and access roads. These can be checked one by one from the ground, but aerial information is useful for understanding the relationships of the overall layout. However, there are areas that are difficult to see from aerial photos alone, such as places where equipment is densely packed or the conditions under panels. When determining the survey extent, it is necessary to separate the area that can be captured by drone from the area that must be supplemented by ground inspection.

Also, when deciding the survey extent, it is important to check on-site boundary documents and existing drawings in advance. If there are cadastral maps, land development plans, site layout drawings, as-built drawings, or management drawings, use them as references to identify locations where discrepancies between the current conditions and the drawings are likely to occur. Older drawings may not match the current situation. The shape of management roads may have changed, additional equipment may have been installed, or drainage routes may have been altered. Drone surveying is effective for confirming such differences in current conditions, but if the existing reference materials for comparison are not organized, the post-flight verification work will take time.

When setting the survey area, you also need to confirm where flight is possible. You may not be able to fly as planned over neighboring properties, above roads, near power lines, in areas with pedestrian or vehicle traffic, or in locations with poor radio reception. If the area you want to photograph does not match the area that can actually be flown safely, adjust the flight altitude, flight path, or supplement with ground surveying. When creating existing-condition maps, it is a prerequisite that necessary information be obtained safely and without undue effort.

If you organize the mapping extent in advance, the policy for creating the deliverables also becomes clearer. The required representations will vary depending on whether you compile it as an overall plan view, create split drawings by equipment, produce drawings that focus on drainage and slopes, or make overlay diagrams for construction comparison. In drone surveying of solar power plants, it is important not only to capture a wide shooting area but also to prepare while considering which area will ultimately be used and at what scale.

Confirm the handling of reference points and coordinates

To use current-condition maps in practice, you need to confirm in advance how reference points and coordinates are handled. Photomaps, point clouds, and terrain data created by drone surveys become easy to compare with drawings and existing documents only when their positional consistency is ensured. Even images that look clean can produce discrepancies when overlaid on design or management drawings if their coordinate reference does not match.

In photovoltaic power plants, public coordinate systems are sometimes used, while in other cases management uses local coordinates set during construction. The coordinate systems used in drawings can differ between site development, racking installation, electrical equipment installation, and operation and maintenance. Therefore, before conducting a drone survey, it is important to confirm which coordinate system will be used to organize the current site drawings. If you need to overlay them with existing drawings, check that drawing’s coordinate system, units, origin, orientation, and vertical datum.

When preparing control points, check whether there are known points on site that can be used. If survey nails, reference stakes, boundary markers, construction control points, or fixed points for management remain within the power plant, they may be usable. However, using points that have moved since installation or whose positional information is unclear as control points will affect the overall results. When using them as control points, it is desirable to verify the point name, coordinate values, installation condition, visibility, and surrounding safety, and, if necessary, confirm them by alternative surveying methods.

In drone surveying, ground control points and check points are sometimes established on the ground to stabilize the positional accuracy of outputs created from photographs. Ground control points are used to align positions during photogrammetric processing, and check points are used to verify the results. These points need to be placed where they are easily visible in aerial images and can be measured accurately on site. At solar power plants, reflections from panels, shadows cast by racking, grass, crushed stone, and the slope of embankments can make ground markers difficult to see in photos. When deciding where to install them, visibility from above should also be considered.

When placing reference points, pay attention to the site edges and locations with elevation differences. If reference points are concentrated only in the center of the site, it can become difficult to verify accuracy at the perimeter and on slopes. It is important to consider a balanced layout so that the entire area you want to use as an existing-conditions map is supported. Especially on filled or sloped sites, handling the vertical (height) direction is crucial. For existing-conditions maps used for drainage planning, earthwork quantity estimation, and slope verification, ambiguous height references can lead to incorrect judgments.

When handling coordinates, you need to check not only the horizontal positions but also the elevation reference. Confirm whether the heights used on site are public elevations, heights referenced to a temporary benchmark, or custom heights set specifically for construction. When comparing elevations after creating an existing-conditions map, overlaying datasets with different references as-is can produce apparent discrepancies. If you plan to compare the existing-conditions map with design documents or as-built records, it is essential to sort out how elevations will be handled before data capture.

Rather than relying solely on the drone's onboard positioning information, it's also important to determine whether to supplement it with ground control depending on the intended use of the deliverables. For a general overview, a simple arrangement may be sufficient, but if the data will be used for overlaying with drawings or for construction decisions, verification of on-site control points may be required. The level of accuracy required varies depending on the purpose of the as-built drawings, the client's requirements, internal standards, and site conditions. To ensure the plan is neither deficient nor excessive, it's important to decide early on how to handle control points and coordinates.

Confirm local conditions and safety conditions before flight

Before conducting drone surveys at a solar power plant, it is essential to confirm the site and safety conditions. While the plant covers a large area, it contains many elements that require attention during flight, such as panels, mounting structures, electrical equipment, power lines, fences, slopes, and access roads. Flying without sufficient safety checks can result in contact or collision involving the aircraft, crashes, danger to workers or third parties, and equipment damage.

First, check the takeoff and landing area. Choose an area that is flat, offers good visibility, and is unlikely to interfere with the movement of workers and vehicles. At solar power plants, service roads or vacant spaces can sometimes be used, but there are also locations affected by flying gravel, grass entanglement, slopes, mud, and strong winds. Because the aircraft moves at low altitude during takeoff and landing, check the distances to nearby mounting racks, fences, cables, signs, and temporary structures.

Next, check for overhead obstacles. Around the power plant there may be power lines, communication lines, transmission equipment, trees, light poles, surveillance cameras, lightning protection equipment, and the like. Some of these can be confirmed later from aerial photos, but when creating the flight plan it is important to visually confirm them on site. In particular, power lines and thin guy wires can be difficult to see against certain backgrounds. Obstacles close to the flight path should be avoided by adjusting the flight altitude and approach direction.

At solar power plants, attention must also be paid to reflections on the panel surface. Strong reflections can cause parts of captured images to be blown out or make it difficult for image processing to detect feature points. The effect of reflections varies with solar altitude, panel angle, shooting direction, and time of day. When creating current-condition maps, it is important to choose times when the shape of the equipment and the condition of the ground surface are easy to discern. Simply avoiding times of strong reflection can improve the clarity of the deliverables.

Weather conditions are also important. Strong winds, rain, fog, low clouds, and sudden weather changes can affect flight safety and photo quality. Strong winds can make the aircraft’s attitude unstable, which can affect photo overlap and blur. In rainy or high-humidity environments, not only are the aircraft and camera affected, but the color and reflectance of the ground surface also change. When recording terrain and equipment conditions as a current-condition map, take into account that appearance can vary with the weather and avoid attempting flights in unsafe conditions.

Checking the rules and permissions related to flight is also part of the preparations. Depending on the location, flight method, aircraft, and surrounding environment, it may be necessary to verify permits and approvals under aviation law, aircraft registration, approval from the site manager, and on-site safety procedures. Even if the power plant is located in mountainous or suburban areas, you need to check nearby facilities, roads, residences, railways, airport-related airspace, and potential third-party access. Establishing lines of communication with the site owner, managers, construction contractors, and maintenance companies can also reduce confusion on the day.

On the day of operations, workers and vehicles may enter the flight area. At solar power plants, tasks such as vegetation control, inspections, electrical work, cleaning, and repairs may be carried out simultaneously. Sharing the drone survey schedule with relevant parties and establishing access control and signaling procedures in advance improves safety. In particular, when access roads are used, confirm vehicle traffic schedules and ensure they do not coincide with takeoff, landing, or low-altitude flight.

Checking safety conditions also affects the quality of the existing conditions map. If, during flight, you feel unsafe and change the route or interrupt imaging, you are likely to end up with insufficient photos or inconsistent coverage. By understanding on-site conditions in advance and creating a realistic flight plan, you can achieve stable data acquisition. Drone surveying is an efficient method, but only with preparation to ensure a safe flight environment can you obtain results that are usable for creating existing conditions maps.

Plan the Shoot and Determine the Required Resolution

In creating current-condition maps of solar power plants, it is important to decide the imaging plan and the required resolution in advance. In drone surveying, a large number of photos are taken and stitched together to produce an overall image and terrain data. If the flight altitude, photo overlap, flight speed, camera angle, or time of day are not appropriate, the images may not stitch well and the necessary targets may be difficult to identify.

Flight altitude is determined according to the level of detail of the subjects you want to see on the current condition map. If you only need to understand the overall layout of the power plant and the terrain, you can plan to photograph a relatively wide area efficiently. On the other hand, if you want to observe fine changes such as drainage ditches, slope shoulders, the ends of maintenance roads, and around equipment, shooting conditions that allow finer discrimination are required. However, photographing at higher detail increases the number of flights and the volume of data to be processed, so adjust to avoid being excessive for the intended purpose.

Photo overlap is also important. In drone surveying, having sufficient overlap between adjacent photos makes it easier to estimate positional relationships during processing. In solar power plants, panels are arranged regularly, so there are areas where similar patterns repeat. In such places, image processing can confuse features, so it is important to ensure adequate overlap and make good use of ground control points and surrounding features. Plan your capture so that you include not only the monotonous panel surfaces but also roads, drainage, slopes, and the ground surface.

The camera orientation should be chosen according to the purpose. Straight-down shooting is suitable for creating plan views and photo maps. Oblique (angled) shooting can make it easier to understand three-dimensional conditions such as slopes, the sides of equipment, level differences, trees, and fences. However, oblique photos alone can make it difficult to maintain consistency for plan views. When creating current-condition drawings, a practical approach is to focus on straight-down shooting as the basic method while using oblique photos as supplementary material when necessary.

The time of day when images are captured also affects how easy the deliverables are to interpret. At solar power plants, panel reflections, shadows cast by mounting racks and trees, and slope shading appear in images. When shadows are long, terrain undulations and the three-dimensional form of equipment can be easier to discern, but ground surfaces and drainage channels can be hidden by shadow. During periods of strong reflection, panel surfaces may appear white, making it difficult to assess surrounding conditions. It is important to choose a time when the information needed for current-condition maps can be read easily.

In the flight plan, we also consider flight paths tailored to the shape of the power plant. Solar power plants are not always laid out on neat rectangular sites. There are sites such as former forest land, sloped terrain, valleys, dispersed plots, narrow service roads, and sites with multiple generation sections. A simple grid-pattern flight alone can result in insufficient photos at the edges or in areas with elevation changes. We check site shape, topography, obstacles, and the permitted flight area, and ensure sufficient imaging density in the necessary parts.

When using it as an existing-conditions map, prepare the information needed for post-processing after capture. Recording the capture date, weather, flight area, flight altitude, control points, coordinates used, and any on-site observations makes it easier to verify and reuse the deliverables. The record of capture conditions also helps later when comparing with design drawings or past photographs. This is especially important for solar power plants, where grass height, shadow patterns, and drainage conditions change seasonally, so it is essential to record the conditions at the time of capture.

The required resolution is determined by working backward from the subject you want to see. The necessary level of visibility changes depending on whether you only need to grasp the shape of maintenance roads, the arrangement of panel rows, and the location of fences, or whether you need to check the width of drainage ditches and subtle deformations of slopes. When preparing to create existing-condition drawings, decide what must be distinguishable when viewing the deliverables and set the shooting conditions needed to achieve that. The goal is not to obtain high-resolution images for their own sake, but to acquire, without excess or deficiency, the information needed for operational decision-making.

Supplement information that cannot be determined from photos alone during on-site inspection

Drone surveying is effective for grasping the overall layout of a solar power plant, but aerial photos alone do not provide all the information needed for as-built drawings. To make as-built drawings usable in practice, it is important to combine them with ground verification. By distinguishing between information visible from above by drone and information that can only be discovered by walking the site, the reliability of the drawings is increased.

Aerial photographs allow broad confirmation of panel layout, access roads, drainage ditches, slopes, fences, vegetation, bare ground, and the extent of paving and gravel, among other features. On the other hand, conditions beneath the panels, clogged drainage ditches, details of piping and cables, equipment nameplates, fine step differentials, surface muddiness, small cracks on slopes, and damage to fences can be difficult to assess from photos alone. Information that should be noted on the current-conditions map will be verified and supplemented through on-site inspection.

At solar power plants, attention must also be paid to the effects of grass. During periods when grass is growing, the ground surface, drainage ditches, boundary stakes, reference points, and the edges of maintenance roads can become difficult to capture in photographs. Surfaces obtained from drone surveys may represent not the bare ground but include the tops of grass and trees. If the purpose is to assess terrain or drainage, it is important to confirm on site how much the grass is affecting the data. If necessary, a decision can be made to re-shoot after weeding.

For site condition maps concerning drainage, on-site verification is particularly important. From above you can discern the shape of watercourses and side ditches, but it can be difficult to determine whether water is actually flowing, whether they are clogged with sediment, whether adequate gradient is maintained, or where the outlets connect. After rain you may see puddles or flow traces, but that alone does not allow you to conclude the normal drainage condition. When indicating drainage routes on a condition map, confirm on site the flow direction and locations prone to blockage, and record any necessary notes.

Regarding boundaries and management divisions, it is safer not to judge them from photographs alone. A fence does not necessarily coincide with the boundary, and access roads or slopes may extend both inside and outside the site. Even if there are boundary or survey stakes, they can be difficult to see because of vegetation or accumulated soil. When showing boundary lines on current-condition drawings, cross-check with existing documents and on-site verification, and ensure you can distinguish between parts that are inferred and parts that have been confirmed. Expressions about boundaries can easily lead to misunderstandings in later stages, so they must be handled with care.

Even when checking equipment condition, ground inspection is indispensable. From the air it can be easier to grasp missing panel rows, equipment layout, and how shadows fall, but specialized inspection is necessary to determine electrical equipment details and safety-related defects. As-built drawings are not a substitute for equipment inspections themselves. In practice, it is effective to use drone surveying to understand the overall positional relationships and to supplement it with ground inspections for areas of concern.

To carry out ground verification efficiently, it is helpful to organize the items you want to check before drone imaging. If you can inspect on-site the locations you notice during or immediately after imaging, you can reduce the need for revisits. For example, make targets for checking places where the plans and the current conditions appear to differ, low-lying areas where drainage might stagnate, trees outside fences, slope deformations, damage to maintenance roads, and newly installed equipment. If you link and record the information seen from above with that seen on the ground, it will make it easier to create annotations for the current-condition drawings.

When creating existing-condition drawings, it is important not to treat drone surveying as a cure-all. Drones have the ability to capture large areas in a short time, but on-site verification is necessary for interpreting and making judgments about local conditions. By combining aerial photographs with ground checks, you can document the existing conditions of a solar power plant more accurately, producing materials that are easier to use for design, construction, and operation and maintenance.

Determine how to organize deliverables based on their intended use

To use data acquired by drone surveying as a current-condition map, you need to decide in advance how the deliverables will be organized. Simply storing the photos, point clouds, and terrain data you captured will not produce a current-condition map that is practical for real-world use. It is important to consider who will use it, in what situations, and which documents it will be combined with, and to format the data accordingly.

Deliverables of current-condition maps take various forms, such as photo maps, plan views, topographic maps, contour maps, cross-section verification data, equipment location maps, drainage route maps, and comparison materials. In managing photovoltaic power plants, organizing the layout of power generation equipment, access roads, drainage facilities, fences, slopes, vegetation, and surrounding features on a single drawing makes it easier to share the overall site situation. However, cramming all information onto one sheet can make it harder to read. It is also worth considering separating drawings by purpose.

When used for design or renovation work, overlaying with existing drawings is important. Comparing the current-condition map created by drone surveying with the design drawings, site development drawings, and equipment layout drawings makes it easier to understand the differences from the existing conditions. However, forcibly overlaying drawings whose coordinates or scale do not match can lead to incorrect judgments. When preparing comparison materials, organize the reference points, coordinates, drawing creation dates, and data sources, and clarify to what extent the comparison can be used.

When used for operation and maintenance, it is important to present information in a way that on-site personnel can easily understand. In addition to specialized data formats, creating clear drawings for each power generation section, each maintenance/access road, and each equipment area makes them more useful for inspection and repair instructions. For example, annotating locations prone to poor drainage, areas that require mowing, slopes that need to be checked, and places where trees are close to fences can also help with the handover of maintenance responsibilities.

When preparing materials for clients or internal audiences, it is best to separate specialized surveying deliverables from explanatory figures. Even if you have high-precision data, what the audience often wants to know is "where the problems are," "what area will be addressed," and "how current conditions differ from before." By overlaying management zones and annotations on a photo map, you can more easily convey the situation to people who have not visited the site. Solar power plants cover large areas, and ground-level photos alone can make spatial relationships hard to grasp, so aerial current-condition maps are also effective as explanatory materials.

You should also prepare a method for data management. In drone surveying, many files are generated: captured photos, flight logs, reference point information, processed data, and deliverables produced as drawings. If file names, storage locations, creation dates, site names, extents, coordinate systems, and version numbers are not organized, it becomes difficult to find the data you need later. This is especially important when surveying the same power plant periodically, since comparison with past data is crucial. Managing the data so that the date and capture conditions are clear makes it easier to understand changes.

When organizing deliverables, also be mindful of the accuracy of the information recorded on the as-built drawings. If you mix information confirmed by drone surveys, information confirmed by ground inspections, information quoted from existing drawings, and information entered as estimates, organize it so that later viewers will not be misled. In particular, the basis for judgments is important for boundaries, equipment names, heights, drainage directions, and slope conditions. Because as-built drawings form the basis for on-site decision-making, do not leave unknowns as unknowns; you need to distinguish between verified information and unverified information.

Also consider how frequently and to what extent you will update the deliverables. Solar power plants continue to experience vegetation growth, changes in drainage conditions, repairs to access roads, additions of equipment, and slope deformations even after construction. If you plan to use a current-condition map for a long time, it is advisable to decide on the timing and scope of updates in advance. Drone surveys make it easy to repeatedly record the same area, so they are well suited to periodic monitoring of current conditions. If you establish rules for organizing data during the initial preparation stage, future comparisons and management will proceed more smoothly.

Summary

When using drone surveying to create as-built drawings for solar power plants, the important part is not merely photographing from above but preparing to produce deliverables that can be used as as-built drawings. Decide what you want to verify on the as-built drawings, organize the survey area and the mapping area, and confirm how control points and coordinates will be handled to reduce rework after capture. Furthermore, by checking site conditions and safety conditions, determining the flight plan and the required resolution, and supplementing information that cannot be determined from photos alone through ground verification, you can move closer to as-built drawings that are practical for use in the field.

Solar power plants occupy large sites and contain many pieces of equipment and terrain elements, and their appearance changes with the seasons and management conditions. An aerial perspective from drone surveying is useful for comprehensively understanding panel layouts, maintenance roads, drainage facilities, slopes, fences, vegetation, and surrounding features. On the other hand, boundaries, the actual flow of drainage, conditions beneath panels, and equipment details need to be assessed through on-the-ground verification. Rather than treating drone surveying and site inspections separately, it is important to plan them as complementary to each other.

Site condition maps can be used in a variety of situations, such as pre-construction reviews, land development planning, renovation work, maintenance, explanations to clients, and comparisons with past data. To do so, you need to decide how the deliverables will be used before imaging and organize the required accuracy, scope, annotations, and data management methods. With preparations that match the purpose, drone surveying can streamline understanding of the current state of solar power plants and help align stakeholders' understanding.

If you want to make the creation of as-built drawings proceed more smoothly, it is important to consider on-site surveying, recording, drafting, and sharing as a single, continuous workflow. When incorporating drone surveys for solar power plants into practice, it is advisable to organize flight conditions, control points, coordinates, ground verification, and methods for managing deliverables in advance, and to proceed while consulting experts knowledgeable in surveying or safety management as needed.