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Spottitt’s Asset Monitoring Solutions Gain Traction in the Nordics with Innoenergy’s Support

  • Company news

Satellite-based asset monitoring is a growing trend for utility asset management in the Nordic region. Several countries and even more energy companies are already using or actively exploring technology to mitigate critical infrastructure risks and improve O&M performance.

This article highlights Spottitt’s recent client successes in the region, made possible through Innoenergy‘s support.

Power DSO in Finland: Vegetation Monitoring

Spottitt is working with an energy group that provides services for its energy network customers, sells electricity, and offers energy expertise.

With over 4000 km of distribution lines, the company was keen to explore the potential of satellite technology to:

  • Prioritize tree-cutting activities accurately and at a lower cost than current inspections
  • Understand vegetation growth rates for better vegetation management planning
  • Validate the work of contractors cutting trees

Spottitt’s solution involves acquiring fresh, high-resolution optical imagery for the client’s area of interest, covering 200 km. The imagery was processed using advanced machine learning algorithms to deliver vegetation analysis to help the DSO prioritize tree-cutting activities and estimate the volume of biomass to be cut. The pilot test began in May 2023, with a follow-up image taken in autumn to verify that the corridor is cleared of tree encroachments and assess a non-threatening vegetation growth rates.

Oil Company: 3rd Party Encroachment, Vegetation Monitoring, and Pylon Detection

Spottitt is collaborating with an international energy company with operations in 30 countries and 22,000 employees.

The company wanted to survey encroachments for two pipeline asset locations in Norway and France, including:

  • Buildings within 200m
  • Third-party activities (farming, excavating, etc.) within 25m distance
  • Trees higher than 2m within 5m distance
  • Pylon detection

Spottitt used one archive image taken in May 2020 and one freshly tasked image taken in Sept 2022 to address the company’s monitoring needs. Additionally, Spottitt utilized SAR imagery with 10m resolution, taken every five days between Jan 2020 and June 2022, to analyze beach erosion in 2020, 2021, and 2022.

Power Distributor in Finland: Vegetation Monitoring and Pylon Identification

Spottitt is also helping another DSO in Finland, which offers electricity and district heating services to its customers.

With more than 25,000 electricity customers and 500 heat customers, the company was interested in using satellite analytics to:

  • Accurately identify the location of pylons visible from above
  • Identify trees within 2, 6, or 10 meters according to the asset type
  • Understand vegetation growth rates for better vegetation management planning

Spottitt tasked fresh high-resolution optical imagery for the area of 460km of MV assets in April. Using Spottitt’s unique high-estimation algorithm, analysis of risky trees and the position of visible pylons has been delivered to the client. The second pass will be performed in autumn 2023 to assess vegetation growth rates.

In summary, Spottitt’s satellite-based asset monitoring solutions are expanding in the Nordic region, empowering utilities to enhance asset management and mitigate risks effectively.

We express our appreciation to Innoenergy for their invaluable assistance in winning local clientele. We eagerly anticipate fruitful collaborations in the future.

Niccolo Teodori
Niccolo Teodori

Spottitt Chief Growth Officer

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