Seabird Aviation delivers modified Seekers to Ergon Energy

Seabird Aviation has delivered two specially modified Seabird Seekers to Ergon Energy to enable the Queensland energy provider to conduct geo-spatial modelling of its electricity network.

Dubbed ‘ROAMES’, which stands for Remote Observation Automated Modelling Economic Simulation, the aircraft will enable Ergon to conduct geo-spatial modelling for the very first time.

The two multi-role utility Seekers were custom built by the Hervey Bay-based manufacturer, and Ergon has already put them to work, flying at altitudes of around 500m AGL. Sensors on the two Seekers enable precise measurement of distance between the Ergon Energy network and surrounding objects, such as vegetation.

“When ROAMES becomes fully operational in November, the aircraft and the sensor technology will commence scanning Ergon Energy’s electricity network,” Ergon CEO Ian McLeod said. “It will then be checked annually via ROAMES, compared with every three years by the current manual inspection system.

“This exciting project will be an important vegetation management tool and will lead to increased safety and reliability of electricity supply,” Queensland Minister for Energy Stephen Robertson said. “The vast size of Ergon Energy’s distribution area - which covers 97 per cent of Queensland and around 150,000 kilometres of network – was an important motivation for developing this new technology to manage the poles and wires and surrounding environment.

“By using data from ROAMES to generate 3D computer models, Ergon Energy expects to save $44 million over five years. “ROAMES has taken components of proven technology and combined and extended them into a package of world-leading capabilities. It represents a fundamental shift in the way vegetation is managed around electricity infrastructure.”

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