STORY: Belarusian student explores how drones inspect power lines in China's Anhui
SHOOTING TIME: recent
DATELINE: Aug. 2, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:55
LOCATION: HEFEI, China
CATEGORY: TECHNOLOGY

SHOTLIST:  
1. various of the inspection drones
2. STANDUP 1 (English): NASTYA SHUD, Belarusian student
3. SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): ZHANG RUI, Staff member of drone inspection management center of State Grid Anhui Electric Power Co., Ltd.
4. STANDUP 2 (English): NASTYA SHUD, Belarusian student
5. SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): YIN YOULONG, Director of drone inspection management center of State Grid Anhui Electric Power Co., Ltd.
6. STANDUP 3 (English): NASTYA SHUD, Belarusian student

STORYLINE:

Drones are now being used to inspect ultra-high voltage (UHV) power lines in east China's Anhui Province. Follow Belarusian student Nastya to find out how they work.

STANDUP 1 (English): NASTYA SHUD, Belarusian student
"Hello, everyone. My name is Nastya. Right now, I'm in Xuancheng City, east China's Anhui Province. Beside me, a small drone that looks like a small plane is going to take off. It is going to inspect those ultra-high voltage (UHV) transmission lines above my head."

Ultra-high voltage power lines are known as energy superhighways because they allow electricity to be transmitted over long distances without much loss. 

As China's low-altitude economy grows rapidly, drones are starting to be used for the operation and maintenance of these energy channels. 

SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): ZHANG RUI, Staff member of drone inspection management center of State Grid Anhui Electric Power Co., Ltd.
"We developed this nest for the vertical take-off and landing fixed-wing drone. The nest can automatically charge the drones and send back real-time footage taken by the drones. The fixed-wing drone has an endurance mileage of over 200 km. When six drones work simultaneously, they can inspect 463 kilometers of UHV transmission lines within two hours."

STANDUP 2 (English): NASTYA SHUD, Belarusian student
"As you can see, there are no workers on site. How do these smart drones work? Let's head to Hefei, which is 200 kilometers away, and find out together."

SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): YIN YOULONG, Director of drone inspection management center of State Grid Anhui Electric Power Co., Ltd.
"We can give commands remotely through this platform and control the drones in six nests at the same time with just one click. We can receive real-time footage taken by the drones."

STANDUP 3 (English): NASTYA SHUD, Belarusian student
"In the past, it was the spidermen walking on the high-altitude lines for inspection. But now, these more intelligent and efficient drones have become all-seeing eyes for inspection personnel, allowing them to inspect long distances while sitting in air-conditioned rooms. China's low-altitude technology is rapidly advancing, and I believe that in the near future, we will see drones widely used in more scenarios."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Hefei, China.
(XHTV)