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Tdworld 4087 Drone
Tdworld 4087 Drone
Tdworld 4087 Drone
Tdworld 4087 Drone
Tdworld 4087 Drone

North Dakota Invests in Drone Tech to Improve Natural Disaster Response

June 24, 2016
Xcel Energy and partners explore ways to speed recovery efforts with pilot program

North Dakota has awarded Xcel Energy and its partners a $500,000 grant to help develop better ways to respond to natural disasters.

Xcel Energy, Elbit Systems of America and others are providing $500,000 in matching funds for a pilot program that will research ways to speed recovery efforts following natural disasters. One of the greatest challenges during storms is reaching and assessing damage in hard hit areas. Using unmanned aerial vehicles to send information back to a control center to be analyzed immediately will help save time, money and lives.

“North Dakota’s leadership in the UAS industry continues to attract companies from across the globe, and we are fully committed to further developing our expertise and assets as a national hub for UAS research, development and commercialization,” North Dakota Lt. Gov. Drew Wrigley said. “I applaud Xcel Energy, Elbit Systems of America and the University of North Dakota for collaborating and utilizing state resources, such as Research ND, demonstrating that same level of commitment.”

The community of Mayville will be the test site for the pilot program. The University of North Dakota, General Electric, Northern Plains UAS Test Site and Waypoint Global Strategies are other partners in the project.

Xcel Energy did the first FAA sanctioned utility flight using drones in North Dakota in October 2015. Xcel Energy inspects 320,000 miles of electricity and natural gas infrastructure, thousands of substations and dozens of power plants in the eight states it serves to ensure the safety and reliability of its energy system.

Xcel Energy serves more than 93,000 electric customers and nearly 54,000 natural gas customers in North Dakota.

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