ZenaTech expands drone surveying into solar school projects

ZenaTech says its Drone as a Service unit has moved into solar surveying with two contract awards worth more than $110,000 for school campus and municipal projects. The company is targeting about $600,000 from one client over the next 12 months as it pushes into a larger solar inspection and surveying market.

Why it matters: - ZenaTech is trying to turn solar surveying into a recurring business line, not just a one-time project. - The work could lead to follow-on inspection, cleaning and maintenance contracts after solar panels are installed. - The company is targeting a market where solar engineering, procurement and construction spending is projected to keep growing.

What happened: - ZenaTech said its Drone as a Service business entered the solar surveying market with two contract awards totaling more than $110,000. - The contracts cover solar school campus and municipal projects. - A third project worth about $60,000 is expected to be awarded within 90 days. - Management expects the client to generate about $150,000 in revenue per quarter, or roughly $600,000 over the next 12 months. - The announcement was made Nov. 6, 2026.

The details: - The current contracts cover as-built surveys of school parking lots where solar canopies will be built over parking stalls. - ZenaTech’s survey team delivers finished survey data to the client’s design team for solar array layout. - Field data capture is complete at the first six school sites, and those sites are now in processing. - Work at a second campus is scheduled to begin in the coming weeks. - ZenaTech said site surveys are the first step in solar engineering, procurement and construction. - The Business Research Company values the U.S. solar EPC market at $79 billion in 2025 and projects it will reach $101 billion by 2030. - ZenaTech said static LiDAR scanners must be reset roughly every 70 feet, which can make campus-wide coverage expensive. - Management believes a drone can capture a full 10-acre campus in the same time a static scan takes for a 2-acre parking lot, or less. - ZenaTech is running a proof of concept on three of the sites, with two complete, comparing drone-captured campus data with static scans of the project limits. - The company’s survey model combines licensed surveying expertise, drone-based data capture and centralized AI data processing. - Drones capture topographic measurements for site planning and construction. - Surveyors establish ground control points and verify accuracy. - ZenaTech’s proprietary AI software suite is planned for formal testing across the DaaS network in 2027. - The software is designed to classify millions of 3D measurements and extract survey deliverables. - ZenaTech expects the system to shorten turnaround times, lower labor costs and increase crew capacity. - The company also expects the approach to help developers move construction planning faster and reduce delay costs.

Between the lines: - The solar market gives ZenaTech an entry point into work that can recur after the initial survey is complete. - The company is positioning drones as a cheaper and broader alternative to static LiDAR on large sites. - In many states, solar projects at larger facilities must pass state architect review that considers the whole campus, not only the build area. - That creates an opening for drone surveys that can cover larger footprints more quickly than fixed-position scanning. - ZenaTech said its solar clients are already asking about infrared drone inspections to find micro-fractures and overheating panels, plus panel cleaning. - The company plans to offer that work with its IQ Square outdoor inspections and maintenance drone. - Credence Research valued the global drone solar inspection market at about $1.02 billion in 2024 and projects it will reach about $3.22 billion by 2032.

What’s next: - ZenaTech expects the third project award within 90 days. - The company plans to expand from surveying into solar inspection and maintenance services after installation. - ZenaTech said its DaaS footprint now includes almost 45 locations across 14 U.S. states, Canada, Europe, the UAE and Australia. - The company also plans broader testing of its AI software suite in 2027.

The bottom line: - ZenaTech is using early solar survey wins to build a longer-term drone services pipeline around design, inspection and maintenance.