Resilience Improvement for Distributed Renewable Energy Grids: Integration of UAV-Assisted Live-Line Inspection and Real-Time Systems

Authors

  • Zhe Sun Training Center of State Grid Shaanxi Electric Power Co., Ltd. Xi’an 710032, China
  • Ruixue Yu Training Center of State Grid Shaanxi Electric Power Co., Ltd. Xi’an 710032, China
  • Guiqi Zhu Training Center of State Grid Shaanxi Electric Power Co., Ltd. Xi’an 710032, China
  • Qi Xue Training Center of State Grid Shaanxi Electric Power Co., Ltd. Xi’an 710032, China

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.13052/dgaej2156-3306.4122

Keywords:

Collaborative inspection of drone clusters, Smart grid system, Fault diagnosis, Elastic assessment system, Multi energy complementary system

Abstract

In the context of global energy transition, distributed renewable energy grids face key issues of insufficient resilience due to frequent equipment failures, complex operating environments, and limitations of traditional operation and maintenance methods. The core objective of this study is to enhance the resilience of this type of power grid, integrate unmanned aerial vehicle assisted live inspection and real-time fault diagnosis technology, and construct a full process solution. In the inspection process, a multi rotor drone equipped with high-definition cameras, infrared thermal imaging devices, and partial discharge sensors is used to conduct uninterrupted inspections of power grid equipment at a flight altitude of 20∼150 m and a speed of 3∼8 m/s. Multiple sources of data such as equipment appearance defects and hot spot distribution are collected 2–4 times a week, covering areas that are difficult for manual access. This significantly improves the efficiency of traditional inspections and provides high timeliness data support for fault diagnosis. Fault diagnosis fusion deep learning technology embeds the Convolutional Block Attention Module (CBAM) into the YOLOv7 model to enhance feature focus, constructs a dual channel Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) combined with Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) to capture fault timing patterns, and designs a sliding window error correction mechanism to counteract noise interference. In the experiment, the accuracy and recall of this method reached 88.62% mAP@0.5 Significantly superior to existing methods such as BVLOS and SIS. The research results provide strong technical support for the safe and stable operation of distributed renewable energy grids, which helps to improve the reliability and anti-interference ability of the grid, promote the sustainable development of distributed renewable energy grids, and is of great significance for ensuring energy security and addressing climate change.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Zhe Sun, Training Center of State Grid Shaanxi Electric Power Co., Ltd. Xi’an 710032, China

Zhe Sun obtained his bachelor’s degree in Energy and Power Engineering from Kunming University of Science and Technology in 2010 and his master’s degree in Power Engineering from the same university in 2013. At present, he is working at the Training Center of State Grid Shaanxi Electric Power Co., LTD., and his research interests focus on intelligent operation and maintenance of transmission lines. He has successively published 8 scientific and technological papers, obtained over 40 authorized invention and utility model patents, and 13 software Copyrights. He has won the provincial company’s science and technology progress award, patent award, team innovation achievement award and Gold Award for innovation and creativity for many times.

Ruixue Yu, Training Center of State Grid Shaanxi Electric Power Co., Ltd. Xi’an 710032, China

Ruixue Yu graduated from Shaanxi University of Technology with a bachelor’s degree in Automation in 2012. Currently, I am working as a trainer at the Training Center of State Grid Shaanxi Electric Power Co., LTD. The research field is the maintenance and inspection of power grids using unmanned aerial vehicles and attached power equipment.

Guiqi Zhu, Training Center of State Grid Shaanxi Electric Power Co., Ltd. Xi’an 710032, China

Guiqi Zhu obtained her bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Wuhan University in 2020 and her master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Wuhan University in 2022. At present, she is working at the Training Center of State Grid Shaanxi Electric Power Co., LTD., and his research interests focus on intelligent operation and maintenance of transmission lines.

Qi Xue, Training Center of State Grid Shaanxi Electric Power Co., Ltd. Xi’an 710032, China

Qi Xue received the bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and Its Automation (Electrical) from Xi’an University of Technology in 2012, the master’s degree in Power System and Its Automation from Xi’an University of Technology in 2015. He is currently working as an Trainer at the State Grid Shaanxi Electric Power Training Center. His research areas include Use of UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) and Onboard Devices for Power Grid Inspection.

References

Persiani C A F, Sallazar F M, Inoue R S, et al. Drone-based fault recognition in power systems: a systematic review of intelligent methods[J]. Discover Applied Sciences, 2025, 7(5): 475.

Korki M, Shankar N D, Shah R N, et al. Automatic fault detection of power lines using unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)[C]//2019 1st International Conference on Unmanned Vehicle Systems-Oman (UVS). IEEE, 2019: 1–6.

Qamar A, Uddin Z. Drone-assisted time-varying magnetic field analysis for fault diagnosis in grounding grids[J]. PLoS One, 2025, 20(6): e0325845.

Ayoub, N., and Schneider-Kamp, P. (2020, July). Real-time On-board Detection of Components and Faults in an Autonomous UAV System for Power Line Inspection. In DeLTA (pp. 68–75).

Nethravathi, S., and Murali, V. (2023). A Novel Knapsack Algorithm-Based Energy Routing in a Microgrid. Distributed Generation & Alternative Energy Journal, 641–668.

Wong S Y, Choe C W C, Goh H H, et al. Power transmission line fault detection and diagnosis based on artificial intelligence approach and its development in uav: A review[J]. Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering, 2021, 46(10): 9305–9331.

Lu X, Zhong S, Zhou C, et al. Self-powered real-time fault monitoring for drone blades[J]. Nano Energy, 2025: 111073.

Kim S, Kim D, Jeong S, et al. Fault diagnosis of power transmission lines using a UAV-mounted smart inspection system[J]. IEEE access, 2020, 8: 149999–150009.

Ayoub, N., and Schneider-Kamp, P. (2021). Real-time on-board deep learning fault detection for autonomous UAV inspections. Electronics, 10(9), 1091.

Alsafasfeh M, Abdel-Qader I, Bazuin B, et al. Unsupervised fault detection and analysis for large photovoltaic systems using drones and machine vision[J]. Energies, 2018, 11(9): 2252.

Foudeh H A, Luk P C K, Whidborne J F. An advanced unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) approach via learning-based control for overhead power line monitoring: A comprehensive review[J]. IEEE Access, 2021, 9: 130410–130433.

Iversen N, Schofield O B, Cousin L, et al. Design, integration and implementation of an intelligent and self-recharging drone system for autonomous power line inspection[C]//2021 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS). IEEE, 2021: 4168–4175.

He Y, Liu Z, Guo Y, et al. UAV based sensing and imaging technologies for power system detection, monitoring and inspection: a review[J]. Nondestructive Testing and Evaluation, 2024: 1–68.

Yangbing, Z., Xiao, X., Xing, W., Mingyue, C., and Lu, C. (2023). Stability Modeling and Analysis of Grid Connected Doubly Fed Wind Energy Generation Based on Small Signal Model. Distributed Generation & Alternative Energy Journal, 413–434.

Cubukcu M, Akanalci A. Real-time inspection and determination methods of faults on photovoltaic power systems by thermal imaging in Turkey[J]. Renewable Energy, 2020, 147: 1231–1238.

Li Z, Zhang Y, Wu H, et al. Design and application of a UAV autonomous inspection system for high-voltage power transmission lines[J]. Remote Sensing, 2023, 15(3): 865.

Li, Ziran, et al. “UAV high-voltage power transmission line autonomous correction inspection system based on object detection.” IEEE Sensors Journal 23.9 (2023): 10215–10230.

Guan H, Sun X, Su Y, et al. UAV-lidar aids automatic intelligent powerline inspection[J]. International Journal of Electrical Power & Energy Systems, 2021, 130: 106987.

Kaitouni S I, Ait Abdelmoula I, Es-sakali N, et al. Implementing a Digital Twin-based fault detection and diagnosis approach for optimal operation and maintenance of urban distributed solar photovoltaics[J]. Renewable Energy Focus, 2024, 48: 100530.

Roshanski I, Roshanski M, Kalech M. Real-Time Sensor Fault Detection in Drones: A Correlation-Based Algorithmic Approach[C]//35th International Conference on Principles of Diagnosis and Resilient Systems (DX 2024). Schloss Dagstuhl–Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik, 2024: 17: 1–17: 20.

Arenella A, Greco A, Saggese A, et al. Real time fault detection in photovoltaic cells by CBAMeras on drones[C]//International Conference on Image Analysis and Recognition. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2017: 617–625.

Mao, Tianqi, et al. “Development of power transmission line defects diagnosis system for UAV inspection based on binocular depth imaging technology.” 2019 2nd International Conference on Electrical Materials and Power Equipment (ICEMPE). IEEE, 2019.

Reddy, B. R. S., Reddy, V. V., and Kumar, M. V. (2023). Design and Analysis of DC-DC Converters with Artificial Intelligence Based MPPT Approaches for Grid Tied Hybrid PV-PEMFC System. Distributed Generation & Alternative Energy Journal, 1307–1330.

Siddiqui, Zahid Ali, and Unsang Park. “A drone based transmission line components inspection system with deep learning technique.” Energies 13.13 (2020): 3348.

Diniz, L. F., Pinto, M. F., Melo, A. G., and Honório, L. M. (2022). Visual-based assistive method for uav power line inspection and landing. Journal of Intelligent & Robotic Systems, 106(2), 41.

Jenssen, R., and Roverso, D. (2019). Intelligent monitoring and inspection of power line components powered by UAVs and deep learning. IEEE Power and energy technology systems journal, 6(1), 11–21.

Ramasamy, Jayabharathi, et al. “Cloud-Enabled Isolation Forest for Anomaly Detection in UAV-Based Power Line Inspection.” 2024 2nd International Conference on Networking and Communications (ICNWC). IEEE, 2024.

Deng, Fangming, et al. “Research on edge intelligent recognition method oriented to transmission line insulator fault detection.” International Journal of Electrical Power & Energy Systems 139 (2022): 108054.

Langåker, Helge-André, et al. “An autonomous drone-based system for inspection of electrical substations.” International Journal of Advanced Robotic Systems 18.2 (2021): 17298814211002973.

Baltacı, Özge, et al. “Thermal image and inverter data analysis for fault detection and diagnosis of PV systems.” Applied Sciences 14.9 (2024): 3671.

Lekidis, Alexios, Anestis G. Anastasiadis, and Georgios A. Vokas. “Electricity infrastructure inspection using AI and edge platform-based UAVs.” Energy Reports 8 (2022): 1394–1411.

Ma, Yunpeng, et al. “Real-time detection and spatial localization of insulators for UAV inspection based on binocular stereo vision.” Remote Sensing 13.2 (2021): 230.

Sivakumar, K., Jayashree, R., and Danasagaran, K. (2023). New Reliability Indices for Microgrids and Provisional Microgrids in Smart Distribution Systems. Distributed Generation & Alternative Energy Journal, 435–466.

Zhang, Xingtuo, et al. “InsuDet: A fault detection method for insulators of overhead transmission lines using convolutional neural networks.” IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement 70 (2021): 1–12.

Li, Chuanjiang, et al. “A zero-shot fault detection method for UAV sensors based on a novel CVAE-GAN model.” IEEE Sensors Journal 24.14 (2024): 23239–23254.

Ghazali, Mohamad Hazwan Mohd, and Wan Rahiman. “Vibration-based fault detection in drone using artificial intelligence.” IEEE Sensors Journal 22.9 (2022): 8439–8448.

Guo, Kai, et al. “UAV sensor fault detection using a classifier without negative samples: A local density regulated optimization algorithm.” Sensors 19.4 (2019): 771.

Li, Yi, Minzhe Ni, and Yanfeng Lu. “Insulator defect detection for power grid based on light correction enhancement and YOLOv5 model.” Energy reports 8 (2022): 807–814.

Downloads

Published

2026-04-05

How to Cite

Sun, Z. ., Yu, R. ., Zhu, G. ., & Xue, Q. . (2026). Resilience Improvement for Distributed Renewable Energy Grids: Integration of UAV-Assisted Live-Line Inspection and Real-Time Systems. Distributed Generation &Amp; Alternative Energy Journal, 41(02), 271–300. https://doi.org/10.13052/dgaej2156-3306.4122

Issue

Section

Renewable Power & Energy Systems