Grant-Funded Collaboration Between REC and Linebird Shows Efficiency and Safety Potential for Drone

Fredericksburg, Va. — Last month, Rappahannock Electric Cooperative (REC) collaborated with Richmond-based startup Linebird to install fault current indicators on cooperative-owned live power lines using a drone equipped with Linebird’s non-conductive payload system and new sensor-installing tool. The partnership is the result of a Virginia Power Innovation Program Award Linebird earned from the Virginia Department of Energy. The sensor placement helped prove the applicability of Linebird’s concept and technology.

Linebird has developed drone technology for electric infrastructure maintenance, the Osprey Nonconductive Payload System. The technology is designed to enhance lineworker safety during live line work. Virginia Energy backed the project to reduce the risks associated with traditional maintenance methods, and for its potential to save lives and improve efficiency of grid operations, according to the Department’s original announcement of the award.  

"Fault current indicators have been used on REC's electrical grid for a long time. What really impressed us was the ability to reach those hard-to-access lines that are typically difficult for our equipment to reach. Reducing the need for heavy equipment in challenging rights-of-way enables us to install more indicators on the grid efficiently, improving safety and controlling costs for our members. Plus, we get better visibility into faults, loading, and capacity, which matters more and more as demand continues to grow," said Daniel Dewey, REC’s Sr. Director of Operations and Construction – Eastern Region

“Linebird is proud to share this milestone with REC,” said Michael Beiro, Linebird Founder & CEO. “The ability to install hotstick-deployable sensors on live lines with our Osprey NPS technology is one the market’s been asking for since our early days. We’re grateful to the Virginia Department of Energy and the Virginia Power Innovation Program for supporting this effort and we look forward to leveraging the results to accelerate smart grid deployments in the Commonwealth and around the world.”

About the Virginia Power Innovation Program

The VPIP is for the purposes of research and development of innovative energy technologies, including nuclear, hydrogen, carbon capture and utilization, and energy storage; and to award grants on a competitive basis from the Fund to support energy innovation in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Information about additional grant opportunities through VPIP is available online.

About Linebird

Emerging from independent student research supported by a Fortune 500 power utility, Linebird was originally developed to answer a simple question: can drones be used by utilities not just as eyes in the skies, but to perform contact testing and measurement of live infrastructure? Once the core technology was proven, the founding team of utility, drone and robotics experts extended its potential into many other areas of line work such as storm restoration, wildlife mitigation, and ground-to-tower supply transportation. Today, the company provides equipment to utilities from municipal to Fortune 500s and is conducting projects around the world. For more info, visit www.linebird.net and follow Linebird on Facebook and LinkedIn.

About Rappahannock Electric Cooperative 

Serving over 184,000 connections across portions of 22 Virginia counties, REC is a pillar in its communities, with over 18,000 miles of power lines extending from the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Chesapeake Bay. For more information about REC, please visit www.myrec.coop. Follow REC on Facebook, X, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.

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