Orsted is carrying out an offshore cargo drone operation across its UK offshore wind fleet.

The developer and UK operator Skylift are using FlyingBasket drones to lift evacuation equipment boxes weighing up to 70kg onto turbine nacelles at Hornsea 1 & 2 and Walney 1 & 2.

More than 550 flights are planned across over 400 turbines, including missions up to 75 miles offshore.

Orsted said the programme cuts downtime as turbines remain online during deliveries. It also reduces vessel trips and emissions while improving safety by avoiding multiple crane lifts.

“Normally to deliver heavy loads like this, it would require two crane-lifting operations… and shutting the turbine down for up to six hours,” said Nina F Le, who is leading the project for Ørsted.

“Delivery by drone takes no technicians from their scheduled work, we can leave the turbines running, and each takes around five minutes – which has meant we’ve been able to achieve up to 30 deliveries a day,” she added.

Orsted has long used drones for inspections but is now scaling up to large-scale cargo operations. The company is also seeking new UK supply chain partners to expand drone services.

Source: reNEWS.biz