Orsted is deploying heavy-lifting cargo drones to deliver safety evacuation equipment to turbines across four UK offshore wind farms this summer, in what it says is the largest offshore drone delivery programme undertaken outside the military.
Working with UK operator Skylift and using FlyingBasket platforms, the team has already flown more than 550 sorties to over 400 turbines, including at Hornsea 1 and Hornsea 2, which rank among the world’s largest offshore wind farms, and at Walney 1 & 2.
Each drone lift carries a box of critical safety equipment weighing up to 70kg from a service vessel to the nacelle, over 100 metres above sea level. Orsted notes this programme is also the first time drones have been used at such distance from shore for an extensive delivery schedule, serving turbines as far as 75 miles offshore.
Why choose drones?
Safety evacuation equipment is typically delivered to wind turbines using cranes and manual handling, but Orsted says that shifting to drones has enabled them to improve safety, cut costs, and reduce the time it takes to deliver the necessary equipment.
As an added benefit, deliveries using drones can take place while turbines remain online, avoiding shutdowns and reducing the number of vessel transits – with the potential to lower emissions linked to offshore logistics.
Nina F. Le, who is heading the project for Orsted, noted, “Normally to deliver heavy loads like this, it would require two crane-lifting operations to get the box to the top of the turbine. It would also take 3 people and means shutting the turbine down for up to 6 hours, so we could only deliver one box a day. Delivery by drone takes no technicians from their scheduled work, we can leave the turbines running which means no lost power generation and each takes around 5 minutes which has meant we’ve been able to achieve up to 30 deliveries a day.”
Orsted frames the campaign as a step-change for offshore wind logistics: the largest attempted at offshore wind sites to date, spanning more than 400 turbines and hundreds of flights. The company has long used smaller drones for inspections and is now scaling cargo operations at pace.
Le added, “At Orsted we want to use our industry leading position to help push forward innovations that reduce costs and maximise efficiency and safety in the offshore wind sector. Drone cargo delivery is an important step in that direction.
“Orsted has used smaller drones for some time for inspections of the turbines and is now leading the industry in deployment of cargo drones on a large scale. The company is actively seeking partnerships with the best drone cargo operators and services providers to help grow the supply chain in the UK.”
