10081072Aerial Electroluminescence Inspections (AELI)ClosedCollaborative R&DInnovate UK**Project goal:** The AELI (Aerial Electroluminescence Inspections) project will create a new field solar module inspections service that will greatly increase the depth of knowledge of solar assets. AELI will bring high-volume EL inspections onsite, enabling us to track module condition from factory to field. The service will be faster to implement than current ground-based EL inspections, which use tripod-mounted cameras and cumbersome module backpowering technology. AELI will develop faster backpowering equipment, able to operate in conjunction with the flight of the drone carrying the EL camera along the module strings, capturing the luminescent light being emitted by the modules as they are backpowered. AELI will create an aerial EL inspections service that is more economical than ground EL, incorporating image processing and analysis software that will identify cracks and anomalies in the solar modules and assign a root cause. This information will be localised and applied to the matching solar module in the digital twin in Above's SolarGain platform. From SolarGain, clients will be able to create actionable task lists, improve maintenance efficiency, reducing the LCOE (Levelised Cost of Energy) and increasing revenues. **The potential for AELI:** With the additional in-depth knowledge of solar module faults, AELI will drive the industry toward data integrity from factory to field, to predictive analytics and a demand for greater quality of module manufacturing and installation methods. This will help increase clean energy generation, contributing to the UK's 100% clean energy target by 2035, and the global net zero carbon emissions by 2050\. **Project partners:** Above, a world-leading solar farm aerial inspections company, is the lead project partner. We have partnered with University of York for their expertise in solar cell imaging and analysis, and solar farm electrical systems performance. Our Taiwanese project partner, Dragonfly UAS (Taiwan), is a professional drone operator with experience in solar farm inspections. Dragonfly's subcontractor PV Guider has significant experience in ground based EL inspections.