LiDAR, Drone Mapping & 3D Scanning for Energy & Utilities
Accurate survey data for solar and wind farms, power lines, substations and telecommunications towers, anywhere in New Zealand.
Recon provides drone LiDAR, aerial mapping and 3D laser scanning to energy and utility companies across New Zealand. Our data supports the whole asset life cycle: site selection, route planning, design, construction checks and maintenance. As a CAA Part 102 certificated drone operator with SiteWise Gold accreditation, we’re set up to work safely around live energy infrastructure and on remote sites.
How We Help Energy & Utility Teams
From site selection to maintenance, our data gives designers, asset managers and engineers the answers they need, without putting people at risk.
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Drone LiDAR and laser scanning capture conductors, plant and terrain from a safe distance: no outages, no climbing and no walking the line.
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One capture covers the corridor, the site and the plant, so designers work from the data instead of revisiting site.
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Classified point clouds, terrain models, orthophotos and CAD or Revit models, tied to the LINZ datum, with an accuracy statement on every job.
What We Survey
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Solar & Wind Farms
Drone LiDAR, aerial photography and GNSS survey combined into one design-ready dataset, from site feasibility to checking installed equipment heights.
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Power Lines & Corridors
Conductors, poles, vegetation and ground captured in one pass and classified for clearance checks, route design and vegetation planning, with no outages.
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Substations & Power Stations
Millimetre-accurate laser scans of switchrooms, basements and yards, delivered as point clouds, CAD or Revit models and a free walk-through viewer.
Telecommunications Towers
Recon runs a monthly drone capture programme for a major tower owner’s digital twin of its network, flying towers throughout New Zealand. We also capture towers for telecommunications contractors and engineering consultants.
Our pilots work to tower-specific flight plans and capture consistent, high-resolution imagery suitable for 3D modelling, structural assessment and equipment audits. Where new equipment is planned, existing brackets, headframes and mounts can be scanned and turned into precise CAD models, so new parts fit first time.
Projects Across New Zealand
A selection of recent energy and utility projects. Client names are withheld; we’re happy to provide references.
Northland: 33 kV distribution circuit upgrade. Drone LiDAR and aerial photography for upgrade design.
Northland & Taranaki: proposed utility-scale solar sites. LiDAR, aerial photography and feature extraction for site assessment.
Auckland: substation upgrade. 3D scan of the basement and switchroom, with a CAD model.
Bay of Plenty: solar farms of ~230 ha and ~70 ha. Survey control, drone LiDAR, ground models and equipment height checks on the installed array.
Central Plateau: power station telecommunications tower. Tower capture, scan and point cloud for structural assessment.
Manawatū / Tararua: wind farm repowering. Drone LiDAR of the wind farm and haul roads.
Lower North Island: distribution network. Drone LiDAR and orthophotography for network planning.
Canterbury: solar farm of ~300 ha. Topographic and feature survey, drone LiDAR and aerial photography.
Southland: transmission line access way, Fiordland National Park. Drone LiDAR of three remote, high-risk sites.
Nationwide: telecommunications tower networks. Ongoing drone capture programme.
How We Deliver
We confirm the area, accuracy, deliverables and coordinate system, prepare the flight plan and safety plan, and handle airspace, landowner, council and road-corridor approvals.
Scope, plan & approve
Survey control tied to the LINZ datum, then drone LiDAR and aerial photography, terrestrial laser scanning, or both. On operational sites we work under your inductions and permit-to-work procedures.
Capture on site
We classify and check the data against independent check points, then deliver in the formats your designers use. Early LiDAR data can be ready within about 4 working days of capture, with full deliverables typically 2–3 weeks after capture.
Process & deliver
Certified, Safe and Fully Compliant
Recon is a CAA Part 102 certificated unmanned aircraft operator. Part 102 is the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand’s certification for commercial drone operators who need to work beyond the standard Part 101 rules, and it is only granted once the CAA has reviewed and approved how an operator identifies and manages every hazard and risk.
What Part 102 certification means for your project:
More places we can fly: our certificate allows us to be approved for work that standard Part 101 rules restrict, such as flying over people or property, near aerodromes or in controlled airspace, subject to the conditions of our certificate and the required permissions.
A CAA-approved exposition: every operation follows our approved procedures for pilot competency, aircraft maintenance, flight planning and emergency response.
Job-specific risk management: each inspection includes a site risk assessment, airspace checks and coordination with air traffic control, landowners and site managers where needed.
Ongoing CAA oversight: as a certificated operator we are subject to CAA audits, giving asset owners and principal contractors confidence that the work meets New Zealand aviation safety standards.
Alongside our Part 102 certification, Recon holds SiteWise Gold accreditation and is a Site Safe member, so our health and safety systems meet the expectations of New Zealand’s leading contractors and asset owners.
Energy & Utilities FAQs
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Yes. Drone LiDAR captures conductors, poles and vegetation from a safe distance without outages or physical contact. We plan flight paths and clearances for every line and work to the asset owner’s safety requirements.
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On open, hard surfaces our drone LiDAR is accurate to better than ±50 mm vertically and ±100 mm horizontally. Conductors and branches are captured as dense point clusters, so they can be modelled and measured. Every job comes with an accuracy statement.
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Yes. Laser pulses pass through gaps in vegetation, so we can separate ground points from trees and crops and build an accurate terrain model where photogrammetry alone can’t see the ground.
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Yes. Our team completes site inductions and works under your permit-to-work and isolation procedures. Laser scanning is non-contact, and running two scanners at once keeps our time on site to a minimum.
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Under our CAA Part 102 certificate we can fly over private property once landowners and occupiers have been notified. We help prepare the notification and can handle aerodrome, council and road-corridor approvals as part of the job.
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Yes. Most of our energy work is outside Auckland, from Northland to Fiordland. For specialist LiDAR and scanning work, travel is usually a small part of the total cost, and we combine sites wherever possible.
Our Drone Fleet & Equipment
DJI Matrice 300 RTK
Heavy-lift inspection and survey platformOur workhorse for demanding sites. RTK positioning, up to 55 minutes of flight time and IP45 weather resistance let us fly longer, more precise missions while carrying professional camera payloads.
DJI Camera Payloads
Zenmuse H20, P1, XT2 and L2The full-frame P1 with 35mm and 50mm lenses captures survey-grade imagery for photogrammetry and 3D models. The H20 zoom camera inspects fine detail from a safe distance, the XT2 thermal camera reveals heat-related faults, and the L2 LiDAR sensor captures accurate 3D point clouds.
DJI Mavic 3 Enterprise
Compact rapid-deployment droneQuick to deploy on smaller sites, roofs and tight spaces. Its mechanical-shutter wide camera and zoom camera deliver sharp inspection imagery and mapping data without the setup of a larger aircraft.