Drones make light work of blade inspection on offshore wind turbines

Describing the autonomous inspection of operational offshore wind turbines at the Rødsand 2 offshore windfarm in Denmark – which he said was the first offshore demonstration of the technology, following several successful onshore trials – Mr Utermöhlen said, “Inspecting wind turbine blade damage has become a whole lot easier thanks to autonomous drone technology. And now we are entering the next level by inspecting while turbines are in operation.”

Working in collaboration with Danish startup Quali Drone, with funding from the EUDP programme, RWE used drones to assess damage to wind turbine blades at Rødsand 2 while they were in operation.

“Usually, offshore wind turbines must be stopped to inspect the condition of their blades,” he explained. “However, this technology – developed as part of the Danish AQUADA-GO project – enables contact-free, real-time inspections while the blades are rotating.

“This could open up more cost-efficient, safer and more sustainable inspection options, reducing turbine downtime and associated CO2 emissions,” Mr Utermöhlen said.

The blade inspection solution tested by RWE uses software developed by Quali Drone with AI technology from DTU, the Technical University of Denmark. The AI model is used to automatically identify abnormalities in wind turbine blades. Potentially critical damage is detected using advanced algorithms linked to computer vision technology, including thermal imaging. 

Equipped with a range of cameras, a drone can detect damage on the blade surface and below it. With every inspection, the AI model is trained with new data, continuously improving its accuracy.

“In the long run, this technology has the potential to become a key asset for the offshore wind industry, substantially reducing inspection costs, downtime and safety risks,” Mr Utermöhlen concluded.