Airpelago just finished a 140 km inspection project of the local power grid in Bålsta, NW of Stockholm, Sweden. The whole project was flown with fully automatic drones. The results were flawless, with high even image quality, and with high daily efficiency.
According to the utility owner E.On, making the yearly inspection with drones instead of conventional helicopters saves around 0.5 tons of carbon dioxide for the Bålsta grid alone. When drone inspections expand to the whole of E.ON:s 24 000 km Swedish grid, the carbon dioxide reduction becomes significant, says Lena Berglund, regional manager at E.ON Nord.
E.ON points out that switching from helicopters to drones brings further benefits, like a safer working environment and reduced noise affecting neighbors and animals.
Switching to drones for power line inspections has proven to be difficult for the industry as the efficiency has been lower and costs higher than using manned helicopters. With Airpelago’s Power Inspection software that automates flight planning and enables autonomous flight, drones can finally offer a cost-efficient alternative to helicopters that delivers consistent inspection quality with minimal pilot input.
The successful and rapid completion of E.ON’s Bålsta grid shows that our Power Inspection service is ready to change this industry, says Max Hjalmarsson, Airpelago’s CEO.