Use of drones in offshore wind farm inspections

Abstract: With the increase in global investments in offshore wind energy and the rapid implementation of wind technologies in hazardous deep water environments, operational inspection of wind turbines and related infrastructure plays an important role in the safe and efficient operation of offshore wind farms. In recent years, much attention has been paid to the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and remotely piloted unmanned aerial vehicles (RPAs) commonly referred to as "drones" for remote inspection of renewable energy infrastructure, i.e. photovoltaic farms and onshore wind farms. Drones have significant potential also in in offshore wind energy. Inspection with drones allows for to reduce not only the number of flight operations (involvement of aircraft and flight crews) and the transport of personnel carrying out the maintenance and repair of offshore wind turbines. With drones is possible carry the equipment transported for hazardous inspection work. The involvement of UAVs also reduces the plant downtime needed to detect faults and collect diagnostic information from the entire wind farm. The benefits of inspection technology in the offshore wind energy industry based on drones are confirmed by the previous tests, and the prospect of offshore energy development encourages further work with the use of UAVs. At the same time, it should be borne in mind that any unexpected failure of the drone system during its mission may interrupt control works (during inspections), and thus reduce the electricity generated by wind turbines. The article presents the potential of drones in the process of inspecting wind farms, including offshore wind farms, presents examples of UAV models used for inspections, indicates methods of conducting inspections with the use of drones and highlights a significant reduction in the costs of the operation of offshore wind farms as a result of limiting the use of manned aviation (helicopters and flight crews) and the elimination of the risk associated with the involvement of personnel to perform inspections of wind farms at sea. The potential of unmanned floating platforms as part of cooperation with UAV in the process of inspecting offshore wind farms was also indicated. Keywords: wind energy, offshore, drones, wind farms, drone inspections, maritime inspections, marine aviation, offshore, offshore wind energy, safety air operations, risk analysis