Dominion Energy (NYSE: D) has tapped Skydio, a drone manufacturer headquartered in Redwood City, California, for unmanned vehicles to help inspect the utility company’s power generation facilities in seven states, including Virginia.
Richmond-headquartered Dominion said Wednesday it received a waiver to use the drones from the Federal Aviation Commission via its work with the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corp., which is a participant in a pilot program from the FAA to integrate drones into the work of local governments. The Virginia Tech Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership is the state’s lead partner in the FAA Beyond Program.
The waiver allows workers like power plant engineers to fly drones beyond their line of sight with no need for an additional crew member or technology to detect nearby crewed aircraft.
Dominion said it will use Skydio X2 drones to inspect more than 40 facilities in Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, North Carolina, South Carolina and West Virginia in addition…
Read the full story from the Washington Business Journal.
