Ørsted said this new delivery method would lower operational risks and costs
The drones enable “quicker delivery of tools, spare parts and welfare items”(Image: Orsted)
A trial that saw drones deliver tools to offshore wind turbines off the Yorkshire coast marked a “milestone for offshore drone operations”. The four-week trial at the Ørsted-operated Hornsea 2 wind farm, dubbed the most complex cargo drone trial to date, was considered a success, after drones made several trips to the wind farm, including one that travelled 4km beyond visual line of sight (BVOLS).
It is thought the new delivery method could reduce the amount of times a ship has to go out to service the wind farm. Ørsted said this would lower operational risks and costs.
The turbine can continue to generate electricity while a delivery is happening. Ørsted partnered with Skyports Drone Services to develop a new load-collection method using an automatic hook attached to the drone.
This meant an operator was not needed to connect the bag manually. Ørsted said this new delivery method would enable quicker delivery of tools, spare parts and welfare items so maintenance can be completed sooner and turbines can spend more time generating electricity.
Each maintenance kit contained the tools, spare parts and materials required for a specific task. The kits, weighing approximately 55–65 kg, were packed in bags and flown to different turbines before technicians arrived. After the work was completed, the drone collected the kits and returned them to the Service Operations Vessel (SOV).
Alex Brown, CEO of Skyports Drone Services, said: “The offshore environment is a challenging one – traditional turbine logistics, either through vessels or helicopters, involve time, coordination, varying levels of risk and cost. At Hornsea 2, we’ve shown the potential for cargo drones as a viable alternative that minimises these factors.
“These drones give wind farm operators like Ørsted a practical way to reduce lifting and vessel movements, get technicians working faster and maximise the time turbines spend generating.” The first BVOLS delivery to the wind farm was described as a “milestone for offshore drone operations”, after the drone travelled 4km, controlled from a service vessel.
Richard McCrilley, project lead at Ørsted, said: “This trial confirms our approach to integrating drone-enabled maintenance into our routine operations. By delivering parts and tools more efficiently and safely, we can improve turbine uptime and reduce emissions and operating costs.
“As we had a daily presence, we were able to cater for a variety of ad-hoc flight requests and get equipment sent out to support the teams. We were able to cover both planned and reactive works.
“On a personal note, it was impressive how we have moved into this logistics phase. The technology performed really well and the team worked incredibly hard in project development and execution. My sincere thanks to Skyports and the HOW02 team for their support.”
Ed Clay, head of technical strategy, future safety and innovation at the UK Civil Aviation Authority said: “The successful delivery of this trial reflects the strong collaboration between Skyports, Ørsted and the wider aviation community. By enabling increasingly complex beyond visual line of sight operations, we are helping to demonstrate how drones can safely deliver meaningful economic and operational benefits.”
Did you know you can make Grimsby Live a preferred source of news in Google, which will mean you get more of our breaking news, exclusives, and must-read stories straight away? Here’s more information about what this means and how to do it – you can also do it straight away by clicking here .