Florida’s leading energy provider is set to launch a powerful new technology, just before the busiest weeks of the Atlantic hurricane season: a fixed-wing drone designed to fly into tropical storm-force winds. and speed power restoration following severe weather.
The FPLAir One resembles a small aircraft and is operated remotely, allowing the utility to capture and provide real-time images and video of damaged electrical equipment to its command center. It can fly up to 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) at a time, enough to cover twice the length of Florida in the immediate followingmath of the most damaging storms.
It’s a huge improvement over bucket trucks and hand-controlled drones when it comes to learning what a storm did to the top of a utility pole.
“Instead of going out and trying to figure out what’s going on, we can save hours and days to turn on the lights,” Eric Silagy, president and CEO of Florida Power and Light, told The Associated Press.
The drone can even be pre-deployed when a heavy storm hits, skirting into its wake of destruction and following its path through the utility’s power grid. That data can point ground crews to exactly where they need to go, Silagy said.
While satellites need sunny days to document damage, drones can fly below cloud cover. And unlike handheld devices, the FPLAir One can fly in much harsher weather conditions, staying in the air for 22 hours without refueling.
