Heavy-lift cargo drones boost operations at Borssele wind farm

Danish energy company Ørsted has started using drones to transport cargo at the Borssele 1 & 2 Offshore Wind Farm off the Dutch coast.

The 70kg drones have a wingspan of 2.6 metres and can transport cargo with a weight of up to 100kg. They are currently being used to carry critical evacuation and safety equipment for each of the turbines.

Using drones will replace the use of a vessel that would need to sail from one wind turbine to the next to deliver the equipment. A crane would be needed to lift the boxes onto a transition piece, then on the nacelle's crane before being hoisted to the top of the turbine.

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According to Ørsted, the drone flight from the vessel to the turbine takes about four minutes per turbine, while the conventional approach without drones can take about six hours. The tasks at Borssele have therefore been completed 10-15 times faster.

Rasmus Errboe, chief commercial officer and deputy-CEO at Ørsted, commented in a release: “Ørsted has led offshore wind’s journey from a niche technology to a cost-competitive and large-scale source of renewable power. We’ve done this through some big leaps by for example pioneering new turbine models, but also by continuously moving a lot of new and innovative ideas from the drawing board to real life application.

"The drones at Borssele 1&2 are a great example of this, as they will improve safety, bring down carbon emissions, and reduce the cost of operating offshore wind farms, which all further improve the commercial fundamentals of offshore wind for investors, governments and corporations.”

Besides saving time, Ørsted claims that using drones can reduce cost and improve operational efficiency. Using drones also minimises risk to workers and improves safety, while minimising down time of the wind turbines during delivery.

Ørsted has started seeking partnerships with cargo drone operators and service providers to help grow the supply chain.