LiDAR for Scotland Phase 6: Power Network Point Cloud Data

LiDAR point cloud data captured for Scottish Power Energy Networks from 2021 to 2022. The Scottish Government procured the dataset for public use in 2022. The data has a density of 4 points per square metre and was collected to monitor overhead power cables.

Use Cases

• Modeling power line sag and vegetation encroachment based on high-density 3D point data.
• Creating digital terrain models (DTMs) for infrastructure planning in Scotland.
• Analyzing landscape changes over time for the SPEN asset management program.
• Training computer vision models for automatic power infrastructure detection from aerial scans.

Strengths

• Data has a specified density of 4 points per square metre.
• Clear provenance from a named commercial surveyor (Fugro) and public sector procurement.
• Specific temporal coverage from 2021 to 2022 is stated.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and total file size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• The license for public use is unspecified.

Provenance

Source

Fugro (initial capture for Scottish Power Energy Networks), Scottish Government (procurement).

Collection Method

Aerial LiDAR survey under the Virtual World Asset Management programme.

Time Range

2021-2022

Freshness

Data collection concluded in 2022; last update status is unknown.

Geography

Scotland (specific regions likely corresponding to SPEN's network).