UK first as Ørsted uses drones to service world’s largest offshore windfarms

Ørsted and its UK-based drone operator Skylift are using FlyingBasket cargo drones to transport boxes of evacuation equipment, which weigh up to 70 kg.

Each box is taken from a ship by the drone and delivered to the nacelle at the top of each wind turbine at a height of more than 100 m.

The programme is pushing the boundaries of drone use in the offshore wind industry with a number of significant milestones. It is the largest drone delivery programme ever attempted to offshore wind sites with over 550 flights to more than 400 turbines. It is also the first time that drones have been used for such an extensive delivery programme so far from land, delivering to turbines up to 121 km to sea.

As a result of the initiative, more than 400 turbines at four of Ørsted’s offshore windfarms – Hornsea 1 and Hornsea 2 on the east coast; Walney 1 & 2 on the west coast – will receive safety equipment in this way.

Using drones to deliver cargo reduces costs and time as well as improving operational safety and efficiency. Drones mean less work disturbance as turbines don’t have to be shut down when cargo is delivered. They avoid risk, making it safer for personnel working on the windfarm and minimise the need for multiple journeys by ship, reducing carbon emissions and climate change impacts.

Ørsted product manager generation engineering and services Nina Le, who is leading the project for Ørsted said, “Normally, delivering heavy loads like this, would require two crane-lifting operations to get the box to the top of the turbine. It would also take three people and means shutting the turbine down for up to six hours, so we could only deliver one box a day.”

In contrast, she says, drone delivery does not remove technicians from their scheduled work, and turbines can continue running, which means no lost power generation. Each drone delivery takes around five minutes, which means it can make up to 30 deliveries a day.

Ørsted has used smaller drones for some time. The company is actively seeking partnerships with the best drone cargo operators and service providers to help grow the supply chain in the UK.