Those that work within the utilities sector appear to have a novel understanding of risk – in spite of everything, it’s of their nature. From floods, blizzards, hurricanes, wildfires, and heatwaves, to birds, rodents, rot, and rust, it’s brutal on the market for utilities, not to say costly. Utility vegetation management (UVM) is one in all the biggest expenses for T&D corporations, and Accenture estimates that utilities spend “around $6 billion to $8 billion annually on clearing vegetation from overhead lines.” (You understand it’s a difficult industry when even rapid growth is an issue.)
To ward off these unrelenting threats, utilities require extensive grid inspection to make sure the protection/operability of their vital (and expensive) assets. That process has improved dramatically through the years, evolving from ground and helicopter-based manual remark done by humans to distant/autonomous inspection by advanced technology like satellites and aerial vehicles (drones, fixed-wing, helicopters, etc.). And now with much more powerful artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) tools, evaluation that when took months can now be done in a matter of hours or days.
SATELLITES VS. AERIAL VEHICLES: BENEFITS & LIMITATIONS
As innovation exploded throughout the past decade, so too did energy costs, cybersecurity threats, and the general strain placed on our power grids. Utilities face a lot attention and scrutiny from customers and regulators that the noise can seem overwhelming and deafening. Any improvement or digitization of a utility’s operations is net good for the industry and the general public, but corporations don’t have unlimited funds to perform these operational improvements. With regards to grid inspections, utilities now have options of using satellites or aerial vehicles to observe their infrastructure, so many utilities must resolve which form of data collection method to take a position in based on impact.
To be clear, this isn’t a “one or the opposite” scenario – each satellites and aerial vehicles have unique applications and value depending on a utility’s circumstance and budget, and every improves the general workflow and productivity of the human technician, while also reducing insurance costs and safety risks. To know where it’s best to use satellites versus drones, let’s explore some additional advantages and limitations of satellites and aerial vehicles.
Satellites: Advantages & Limitations
In line with the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), there are greater than 700,000 miles of circuit transmission lines and 5,000,000 miles of distribution lines in our domestic electric grid. That’s quite a lot of territory to cover, and industry experts have found that “satellite imagery provides accurate, granular details in regards to the status of a given plot of land, including the present biodiversity and carbon sequestration on the land in plants that will otherwise have been extremely difficult to measure.”
Given their ability to map huge areas and supply a comprehensive overview of a utility’s power line network, satellites have some key advantages over other popular aerial vehicles like drones, including:
-
Satellites can often gather and present data instantaneously given there are even existing maps already available in the general public domain
-
No need for any pilot certification or federal/state oversight (which saves money and time in comparison with the regulatory hurdles that include drones.)
-
Robust mapping capabilities (which might be applied to vegetation management or powerline inspections and “save weeks of labor in the sphere by eliminating the frequent land surveys which are currently performed manually”)
But satellites also include some key limitations that will not be immediately evident to utilities, including:
-
Poor photo quality/resolution which can not meet inspection standards (drones have higher accuracy, the resolution is far sharper, and utilities can catch up with to the actual items they’re inspecting)
-
Significant lag time on acquiring imagery (tasking satellites can take several months to a yr, which implies utilities must wait to receive results that they will analyze, during which period conditions on the bottom could have modified)
-
Limited sunlight and reduced timeframe when trees have all their leaves (satellites get one trip across the Earth and are limited by night darkness, and it’s also vital to observe when trees are fully-leafed as satellite data is mostly used for vegetation management)
-
Clouds obscure land views from space (and areas that receive quite a lot of rain can impact image quality)
-
Less future-proof, customizable tech (as innovation advances on Earth, satellites can’t be retrofitted in real time, making it difficult to supply any bespoke capabilities for utilities as they seek more precise data)
Aerial Vehicles: Advantages & Limitations
While satellites are most frequently used for UVM, aerial vehicles like drones are equipped for higher accuracy and determination, lending themselves more useful for things like asset management and overseeing powerlines, transformers, substations, generators, and other equipment crucial for T&D. Industry experts have credited drones for his or her ability to “enhance the productivity and range of inspection crews by order of magnitude, boosting coverage, volume, and quality of information capture.” Globally, drone usage within the energy industry is predicted to succeed in $6 billion by 2026.
The most important excitement around drones nowadays comes from their innate coupling with powerful AI capabilities that may provide effective data evaluation, swift fault detection, and prioritized predictive maintenance to maximise a utility’s time and value savings. Other advantages of aerial vehicles over satellites include:
-
Less lag time for critical image results (for instance, dry trees can create fire hazards that have to be addressed immediately, not when a satellite company queue finally opens. Time is of the essence in a post-storm power restoration environment and drones function the right tool for data collection.)
-
More control of operations (when a utility builds an in-house drone program, they maintain full autonomy for his or her data collection and scaling of their inspection program)
-
Long-term sustainability (drones might be manufactured and deployed fast, providing utilities with a less expensive, more agile alternative than satellites)
-
Wider range of capabilities and greater ROI (drones can do all the pieces satellites can do, including accurate vegetation management using recent LIDAR sensors, and helicopters provide long-range travel capabilities to distant or inaccessible locations, together with the power to lift, position, and install heavy equipment)
-
Lengthier history of service (drones, helicopters, and stuck wing have been utilized in the utilities industry longer than satellites, which ends up in less of a learning curve for teams)
-
Reduced costs (satellites can average around $60-$90 per line mile, while aerial vehicles offer way more cost-efficiency and agility)
While the advantages of aerial vehicles are clear, there are some limitations which are the inverse of satellite benefits, including:
-
Cost/time of pilot training, regulatory standards, and oversight (there are regulations for business drone operators, requiring them to acquire a distant pilot license, adhere to altitude and airspace restrictions, and conduct flights inside visual line of sight, amongst other stipulations)
-
Limited battery life (drones average around 60-90 minutes, while satellites operate continuously. Nevertheless, recent drone-in-the-box technology is overcoming this challenge)
-
Limited scale (while aerial vehicles can map wide areas, satellites are more practical at capturing the overall range of utility assets, in addition to the biodiversity of a territory)
CLEAR SKIES AHEAD
While the responsibility of maintaining expansive power grids might be stressful, it’s also an incredibly exciting time for utilities. Emerging drone-in-the-box systems, which permit drones to deploy autonomously from a central location, operate a pre-programmed list of commands, after which return to their home base for data upload and charging, are mitigating the restrictions of drone programs.
The continued wave of innovation will certainly bring greater capabilities and efficiencies to the industry, which is able to ease among the pressures for utilities as they proceed their digitalization journey. Technologies including drone-in-the-box and full beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) clearances will allow for cheaper, time-efficient, and scaling inspection programs.
As utility decision makers evaluate their options, it’s vital to recollect the complementary relationship between satellites and aerial vehicles. By staying informed and interested in advancements in each fields, utilities will ensure they’re equipped with the best solutions to make sure the long-term viability of their assets.
Read more:
Kaitlyn Albertoli is CEO and co-founder of Buzz Solutions. Prior to founding Buzz Solutions along with her co-founder Vik Chaudhry in 2017, Kaitlyn ran a non-profit focused on sustainable food with 60 people overseeing the needs of 300 people. She was previously a wealth management analyst at JP Morgan Chase. Kaitlyn was named to Forbes 30 under 30 in 2021. She studied diplomacy and finance at Stanford University, where she received her B.A.