Florida utility’s new drone can speed hurricane recovery

By CODY JACKSON
Associated Press

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Florida’s primary energy provider is ready to launch a powerful new technology, just ahead of the busiest weeks of the Atlantic hurricane season. Florida Power and Light’s new fixed-wing drone is designed fly into tropical storm-force winds and speed the restoration of electricity. FPLAir One resembles a small plane. It’s remotely operated, and can stay aloft for 22 hours or 1,000 miles in the immediate wake of the most damaging weather, By delivering real-time images of damaged equipment to the utility’s command center, it can point repair crews exactly where they need to go even before the winds die down.