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Bhubaneswar: Researchers at the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Rourkela have developed an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered autonomous system capable of monitoring and cleaning solar panels only when required, a breakthrough that could significantly improve the efficiency of solar power plants while reducing maintenance costs and water consumption.
The innovation, titled “Federated Learning Based Autonomous System and Method for Monitoring and Cleaning Solar Plant,” has been granted an Indian patent.
The patented technology was developed by Prof. Arun Kumar, Prof. Bibhudatta Sahoo, and research graduates Dr. Lopamudra Hota and Dr. Biraja Prasad Nayak from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at NIT Rourkela.
The system is powered by Federated Learning (FL), an advanced AI technique that enables intelligent monitoring of solar panels while ensuring data privacy. Unlike conventional monitoring systems that send raw operational data to central servers, the new technology shares only encrypted information, thereby reducing cybersecurity risks, lowering bandwidth consumption and protecting sensitive data.
According to the research team, the accumulation of dust, bird droppings and industrial pollutants can reduce the efficiency of solar panels by up to 40 per cent, particularly in large solar farms located in arid regions. Existing maintenance methods are often labour-intensive, consume large amounts of water and follow fixed cleaning schedules rather than responding to the actual condition of the panels.
The newly developed AI system addresses these challenges by automatically detecting dirt accumulation, identifying panels that require maintenance and carrying out selective cleaning only where necessary. It also incorporates edge computing, predictive maintenance and autonomous fault detection to improve the overall operational efficiency of solar power plants.
The technology has currently been validated through simulations at Technology Readiness Level (TRL)-3. The research team plans to develop a hardware prototype integrated with Internet of Things (IoT) sensors and conduct pilot deployments in collaboration with government agencies and industry partners.
Researchers said the innovation can be deployed across a wide range of applications, including utility-scale solar parks, floating solar farms, rooftop photovoltaic systems, industrial solar facilities, smart city infrastructure, defence establishments and remote off-grid renewable energy projects.
The team estimates that once commercialised, the AI-powered system could provide advanced monitoring and maintenance capabilities at nearly 10 per cent of the cost of comparable existing solutions.
The innovation is expected to contribute to India’s National Solar Mission and support the country’s net-zero emissions goals by enabling smarter, more efficient and sustainable maintenance of solar energy infrastructure.
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