Multi-resolution dataset for photovoltaic panel segmentation from satellite and aerial imagery

Abstract. In the context of global carbon emission reduction, solar photovoltaic (PV) technology is experiencing rapid development. Accurate localized PV information, including location and size, is the basis for PV regulation and potential assessment of the energy sector. Automatic information extraction based on deep learning requires high-quality labeled samples that should be collected at multiple spatial resolutions and under different backgrounds due to the diversity and variable scale of PVs. We established a PV dataset using satellite and aerial images with spatial resolutions of 0.8, 0.3, and 0.1 m, which focus on concentrated PVs, distributed ground PVs, and fine-grained rooftop PVs, respectively. The dataset contains 3716 samples of PVs installed on shrub land, grassland, cropland, saline–alkali land, and water surfaces, as well as flat concrete, steel tile, and brick roofs. The dataset is used to examine the model performance of different deep networks on PV segmentation. On average, an intersection over union (IoU) greater than 85 % is achieved. In addition, our experiments show that direct cross application between samples with different resolutions is not feasible and that fine-tuning of the pre-trained deep networks using target samples is necessary. The dataset can support more work on PV technology for greater value, such as developing a PV detection algorithm, simulating PV conversion efficiency, and estimating regional PV potential. The dataset is available from Zenodo on the following website: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5171712 (Jiang et al., 2021).