The Northwest Arctic Borough( NAB) Energy division just completed a new free standing Solar World, high performance, 23Kw panel that feeds energy directly into the Alaska Village Electric Cooperative( AVEC) grid. The panel offsets the cost of energy and will potentially lower the cost of electricity for all consumers in Noorvik.“ This is the largest and first utility sized array in the region,” said Ingemar Mathiasson, the Northwest Arctic Borough( NAB) Energy Manager.“ This is all part of a larger collaborative effort of installing
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solar in the region between NANA, NAB, KEA [ Kotzebue Electric Association ], IEC [ Ipnatchiaq Electric Company ], Buckland Electric and AVEC” he said.
The Noorvik array will be tested to ensure its latest cutting edge solar arrays can withstand an Arctic environment. It was built with Coastal Impact Assistance Program( CIAP) funding awarded this year.
Installation of solar panels and micropiling for the Deering and Buckland project will tentatively start in 2017. ■
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Dave Schilke, a survey office technician at WHPacific’ s San Diego office, has taken the first step to obtain an exemption from the Federal Aviation Administration for Unmanned Aircraft Systems( UAS). UAS, or drones as they are more commonly referred to, are rapidly becoming a huge game changer in the surveying industry. Dave has obtained his certificate for“ Part 107 small Unmanned Aircraft Systems,” and as a licensed pilot he has made this process go much more efficiently than it would without a license.“ We strive to stay in front of this exciting and quickly-changing technology to best
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serve our clients,” Mike Stys, San Diego’ s operations manager, said.“ Our clients have and will continue to ask about this technology, so we will continue to work to develop business-oriented applications, when and where it makes sense.”
This certification will allow the company to legally use this technology for commercial purposes. The use of drones for surveying work will become more prevalent in the years to come, with the technology offering more accurate aerial photography and remote sensing. WHPacific will keep working hard to continually enhance their technology and innovation for their client’ s needs. ■
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