The Netherlands – Ørsted has deployed so-called Heavy Lift Cargo Drones (HLCD) to transport goods from a ship to all 94 turbines of the Borssele 1&2 wind farm. Last year, the company conducted tests with HLCDs at its UK offshore park Hornsea 1.
Ørsted is now deploying the drones for the first time during real operations. The advanced drones weigh 70 kilograms, have a wingspan of 2.6 meters and can carry loads of up to 100 kilograms.
The company is deploying the drones to renew the evacuation and safety features of each turbine of the Borssele 1&2 wind farm. Normally, a ship would sail from wind turbine to wind turbine and use a crane to lift each container of equipment onto the the yellow transition piece. Then the container would go in the elevator from the turbine to the nacelle, after which it would have to be hoisted to the roof of the nacelle.
Instead, the drone flies back and forth from an offshore supply ship directly to the nacelle roof. The drone flight from the ship to the turbine is about 4 minutes per turbine. The conventional method takes at least six hours. Ørsted was therefore able to complete the work 10 to 15 times faster than with the conventional method.
‘The deployment of these drones at Borssele 1&2 contributes to improving safety, reducing CO2 emissions and lowering operational costs,’ said Rasmus Errboe, Chief Commercial Officer and Deputy-CEO of Ørsted.
The company says it is actively seeking partnerships with cargo drone operators and service providers in the supply chain.
