SPEKTRI-VAHTI - Enhancing power grid resilience through multichannel remote sensing

The SPEKTRI-VAHTI project addresses the critical need, driven by climate change, to strengthen power grid resilience as extreme weather events become increasingly frequent. The project aims to create a next-generation dynamic monitoring model, shifting from traditional reactive fault repair to proactive, data-driven risk management. The project’s technological novelty is rooted in the operation and future integration of five distinct data sources: multispectral imaging, high-resolution laser scanning (LiDAR), thermal imaging, automated change detection, and real-time IoT data. This multi-channel approach enables the identification of risks that current methods fail to capture effectively—such as detecting dying hazard trees through multispectral analysis, identifying risks based on tree growth rates, or locating incipient overheating in power grid components using thermal imaging. Conversely, the system can identify trees that grow so slowly they pose no threat, based on species or growth patterns, thereby avoiding unnecessary intervention. 

The project partners—the Finnish Geospatial Research Institute (FGI) of the National Land Survey and Aalto University—bring over three decades of research history and a significant patent portfolio to the initiative, ensuring scientific leadership and technological feasibility. The project utilizes world-class algorithms and previous demonstrations of ultra-dense point clouds, integrating them into a dynamic digital twin of the power grid.

The key impacts range from improving the security of electricity supply to achieving significant environmental benefits. Precision clearing of vegetation preserves valuable carbon sinks, reduces the unnecessary use of heavy machinery in the field, and maintains the aesthetic integrity of the landscape. Simultaneously, IoT sensors installed on utility poles and measurement stations provide real-time data on the mechanical stress of structures. This allows for dynamic load management based on local conditions and optimizes maintenance resources. Ultimately, the project develops a scalable and replicable operating model applicable not only to power grids but to all critical infrastructure, strengthening society’s overall capacity to adapt to a changing climate. 

SPEKTRI-VAHTI builds a sustainable bridge between cutting-edge research and practical security of supply, producing globally competitive Finnish innovations to secure energy infrastructure in all conditions. Furthermore, it ensures the generation of open-access knowledge for the mutual benefit of the energy sector and the remote sensing community.