A new survey released this week predicts the utility market for drones will reach $538.6 million by 2023. The survey, published by MarketsandMarkets, says the projected growth from just $110.2 million this year is “attributed to the rising demand for minimizing outages in transmission and distribution infrastructure and reachability in hazardous locations.”

The survey notes that utilities have large economic incentives to expand the use of drones in day-to-day operations, including reducing “operation and maintenance costs; increasing worker safety considering their ability to operate drones in potentially dangerous areas; use of little or no fuel; and a negligible environmental impact.” It also envisions the utility industry, particularly in North America, will grow its infrastructure in the near future to meet the increasing demand for consumption and more renewable generation.

In addition, the survey predicts that the largest segment growth would involve companies that could provide utilities with “end-to-end” data. “Usage of end-to-end solution helps utility companies in avoiding problems such as updating drone technology and related data processing. All these are the major factors driving the end-to-end solution segment during the forecast period.” The survey says the majority of growth serving the utility sector would be in multi-rotor vehicles due to price, availability, and their “high precision and stability.”