ZX Lidars, a remote wind measurement company, has announced it has achieved accurate wind Lidar measurements from a commercially-available drone (an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) for demonstration purposes, and trialed the system successfully during summer 2018 with excellent data rates and sensitivity.
ZX Lidars provides vertical and horizontal profiling wind Lidars to measure wind conditions remotely and above or ahead of their installed position. These independent wind measurements are a cornerstone in the development, construction, and operation of wind farms globally.
According to the company, Dr. Michael Harris, Director of Science at ZX Lidars, has pioneered wind Lidar for the wind energy industry for nearly 20 years and has been “the driving force” behind this latest innovation.
Drones have also been used for the inspection of power lines. Xcel Energy is operating drones beyond visual line of sight during ongoing inspections of transmission lines near Denver.
Xcel Energy joins local, state and federal officials today in celebrating the milestone flights and watching the drone as it inspects electric power lines near Ft. St. Vrain Generating Station in Platteville, Colorado. Using advanced command-and-control technology, licensed pilots are remotely operating a small, 35-pound drone. Equipped with two cameras, the drone is collecting data on the condition of power lines and transmission towers with flights along a 50-mile route.
And in August 2018, Enel Green Power North America (EGPNA) and Raptor Maps signed a deal to co-develop utility-scale solar asset management technologies to optimize the field operations and maintenance of solar assets. Under an MoU signed this week, the two Massachusetts companies plan to configure Raptor Maps’ AI solution so it can be embedded into EGPNA’s drone hardware.
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