Satelytics announces results of partnership with Georgia Power

Satelytics announced the results of its ongoing partnership with Georgia Power. Satelytics’ advanced AI-powered geospatial analytics technology is helping Georgia Power to proactively monitor and safeguard the health of lakes and reservoirs that constitute the organization’s hydroelectric system, which delivers power to more than 2.6 million Georgia Power residents in the state of Georgia. Satelytics deployed a suite of proprietary algorithms, and along with the field expertise of Georgia Power, was able to proactively identify threats before they could spiral out of control. The analyzed images were scheduled by Satelytics and taken with Airbus’ 50cm resolution Pleiades 1A/1B satellites, providing unprecedented, detailed insight into the challenges faced by Georgia Power-outlining a new approach for the hydroelectric power industry as a whole. The problems facing the hydroelectric power industry include shoreline-adjacent private construction projects springing up faster than manual inspectors can detect them. Soil, pollutants, and other unwanted debris are at constant risk of draining into reservoirs. Lakes set aside for water sports, or used as sources of drinking water, are frequently beset by algae and invasive species, putting communities at risk. Worse yet, invasive vegetation like hydrilla can grow to the point of choking off flow into dams, in the process damaging entire hydroelectric systems. Any one of these problems, if not identified in time, can cause significant problems for both hydroelectric power companies and the surrounding communities. Satelytics’ change-detection algorithms ensured that problems were identified in time by rapidly detecting land disturbances, vegetative clearing, and signs of construction on land or at the shoreline itself. Meanwhile, separate algorithms were deployed to detect aquatic plant growth in the water, at depths unattainable with conventional monitoring technology-upwards of two feet in many cases. Because images were acquired on a seasonal basis, Satelytics was able to pinpoint subtle differences in terrain, vegetation, and building structure, and instantly bring these to Georgia Power’s attention for remediation.