2012 Activity and sustainable development report - RTE

AN OFFER FOR TODAY AND TOMORROWA NEED FOR INNOVATIONFocus€3 mover 5 years devoted toresearch on the use of UAVsand robots with a laboratoryat the Pierre and MarieCurie University in Paris.€1,643 mwas spent by RTE on purchasesexcluding electricity in 2012,or 38% of its sales.UAVs TO CONTROL THE STATE OF TOWERS /Since early 2012, radio-controlled UAVs (unmannedaerial vehicles) have been inspecting towers forcorrosion. Equipped with digital cameras andwireless video cameras, it takes them barely10minutes to produce 80pictures of each of thefour sides of a 40-metre tall pylon, in all 320photographsof excellent quality. 2,200km of HV andVHV lines were inspected in this way in 2012.The long-term aim is to extend the use of UAVsto facilitate access to towers on steep slopes,to speed up repairs and limit network outagesat the lowest cost.LINESCOUT, A ROBOTFOR ALL SEASONS /Remote-controlled from theground, this robot can moveautonomously along a power line,with a range of 8 to 9 hours.Equipped with four high-resolutionvideo cameras, an infrared camera,measuring instruments andmaintenance tools, it can observethe condition of live power lines.It can withstand rain and wind andoperates in a temperature rangefrom -40° C to +90° C. Developed inCanada, Linescout has been trialledwith great interest on the Frenchelectricity transmission network.A NEW LOGISTICS ORGANISATION / In July 2012, RTE openeda logistics platform at Saint-Quentin-Fallavier, in south-eastern France.This 12,000 m 2facility is intended for storing equipment before it isdispatched to development and maintenance sites. Inventoriespreviously stored at the premises of roughly forty suppliers are nowheld in-house. The aim is to improve both the quality of service towork sites and inventory management while reducing greenhouse gasemissions thanks to optimised transportation.RTE | IN LINE WITH THE FUTURE35