Southern Company to run dock-based BVLOS drone inspections

Southern Company says it has been granted a conditions-based waiver by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to conduct autonomous beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone operations across its energy network from Georgia to California.

The authorization will allow the utility provider to operate dock-based drones remotely for infrastructure monitoring and inspection at its plant sites, substations, and other fixed-site locations. Previously, the FAA had allowed Southern Company to conduct advanced BVLOS drone operations at only one plant in Alabama (pictured above).

As such, Southern Company’s UAS program manager Dean Barefield is calling the development a “huge step” in advancing autonomous and remote operations at scale. “The waiver will help to unlock the true potential of autonomous and remote-based operations while increasing efficiency and reliability,” Barefield stresses.

Southern Company plans to use the Skydio X2 drones…