Minnesota company using special technology that helps increase capacity of power lines

MAPLE GROVE, Minn. — Wind, solar, and other renewable energies are changing the way Minnesota families power their homes. Harnessing all of that juice is the goal of a new project launched by Great River Energy.

A drone and two minutes are all it takes to install a Heimdall Neuron onto a power line.  

Inside a Neuron are thousands of dollars worth of sensors, feeding back data about the power line in real time — everything from temperature, angle, wind speed and more 

"What this technology does, is it gives us much more, many more insights into all the factors that influence how much power can flow on a line," Vice President of Great River Energy Priti Patel said.

"This actually does draw its power directly from the power line so it can be up on the line for potentially decades without any maintenance. It has a battery, so if the line ever falls out, it will still send data for six months," Heimdall Power CEO Jorgen Festervoll said.

A pilot program by Great River Energy last year used just four Neurons but estimated the utility could increase capacity by more than 40% using the tech. This month, they're rolling out 52 Neurons.

"This power supply change is helping us be able to comply with Minnesota's carbon-free standard by 2040," Patel said.

With more, new energy sources connecting to the grid, Great River Energy says the knowledge the Neurons provide is power —  literally — allowing them to send more power over more lines, safely and reliably.

"A utility, like Great River Energy will be able to increase the capacity on their lines by 30-40%. At a fraction of the cost and time of putting up a new power line," Festervoll said.

"That ultimately results in reduced costs for our customers. On top of that, with technology like this, we can delay capital investments and reprioritize those dollars to other projects that our members need," Patel said.

The Heimdall Neurons can also be useful during outages and maintenance, allowing crews to pinpoint problems on the grid quicker than before.