Heli-saw to ‘transform’ tree-trimming around power linesFriday 17 May 2024
The Lines Company (TLC), based in Te Kūiti, has undertaken its first successful trial of the heli-saw – a specialised tree-trimming saw hanging from a helicopter. The heli-saw, owned by Lakeview Helicopters in Taupō, was trialled by TLC in a forestry block in Kuratau near Taupo last month. In just over an hour the heli-saw successfully trimmed 950 metres of radiata pine along a corridor housing a 33kV network line. Material was left at the base of the trees, leaving two blocks of trees – 9 years and 14 years – undamaged. TLC’s vegetation manager Jason Gaukrodger said the trial was “sensational”, saving the company weeks and weeks of work and thousands of dollars. It proved the heli-saw technology had incredible potential, he said. “I had high expectations, but this blew me out of the water in terms of how efficient it was. It was much faster than I anticipated, and the pilots had incredible control. This technology has the potential to be transformational for electricity distribution companies like ours, as well as for the forestry sector.” TLC chief executive Mike Fox said for customers the potential benefits could be huge. TLC services 24,000 connections across some of New Zealand’s most challenging geographical terrain. Around 10% of its network – approximately 150,000 hectares – is covered in forestry blocks, some poorly maintained. The company had 269km of power lines running through forestry blocks and 106km of line through Department of Conservation (DoC) land. It was an ongoing battle to keep trees clear of power lines, making the network vulnerable to storms and weather events. “In a normal year, we’d invest around $1.6 million in vegetation management. But in the future, we will need to invest more because of increasingly volatile weather patterns and the increase in commercial forestry. Over the next 10 years, we’ve budgeted a further $200,000 to $600,000 per annum to keep trees away from power lines and in some cases, reroute some lines away from trees completely.” TLC will continue testing heli-saw technology later this month in a plantation forest south of Piopio in the King Country. A 2.6km corridor through a commercial forest will be trimmed, with support from the forestry owners. Gaukrodger said the forestry sector was invited to see the heli-saw in action at Kuratau and left impressed. TLC would continue to work alongside foresters, he said. “This technology helps both TLC and forestry owners manage the risk from trees and does so cost-effectively, especially in steep or hard-to- access terrain. The other option is felling the trees completely, but removing edge trees opens up forestry blocks to wind. We can send arborists in to trim trees but we are literally looking at weeks and weeks of work. With this technology, weather permitting, we’re talking hours.” More >> Source and image credit: The Lines Company (TLC) | ||
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