Satellite imagery used to identify high-voltage power line faults

In a collaborative project between Spanish TSO Red Eléctrica, tech platform Elewit and satellite solutions developer Orbital EOS, the capability of satellite imagery analysis is being investigated as a means to identify breakdowns in high-voltage power lines and reduce asset service replacement times.

The project’s proposal is to use very high-resolution satellite imagery from synthetic aperture radar (SAR) technology, allowing terrain surfaces to be observed in unfavourable weather conditions, through clouds and regardless of luminosity conditions.

To take these images, electromagnetic pulses are sent to the earth and their return is recorded once reflected by the surface, thus obtaining images of the area it illuminates.

With the aim of putting this technology into practice, the dismantling of the Trives-Aparecida line in Galicia was used as a tester, which allowed the simulation and visualisation of different damages that could arise on the lines. Various aspects were analysed, such as the precision of the images, requirements to carry out an effective capture of these and their viability to be able to visualise different types of breakdowns.

According to Elewit in a release, the results obtained allowed them to see the technical feasibility of these type of images for the detection of certain types of faults in power lines.

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Ensuring optimal and constant operation of grid infrastructure is one of the main tasks of Red Eléctrica as the sole transporter and operator of the Spanish electricity system.

To this end, one of the activities carried out is the repairs that occur on overhead power lines due to various situations such as adverse weather phenomena.

Under normal conditions, a helicopter flight is made to the affected area to inspect the damage.

However, when weather conditions are adverse or at times of low visibility such as at night, this review is not feasible. Hence, Red Eléctrica raised the possibility of collaborating with the Valencian startup Orbital EOS to use radar images taken by satellites when the helicopters cannot fly to verify the status of the line.

Although the solution has yet to be implemented in Red Eléctrica operations, the TSO states great expectations regarding what SAR images can contribute considering the tech advances and cost reductions that the sector has seen in recent years.