Operations & maintenance
Inspection gadgets T
he history of offshore wind isn’t a particularly long read – it has only been around for about 30 years, with the first commercial offshore windfarm having been built off the coast of Vindeby, Denmark, in 1991. In the US, the first offshore wind farm – the Block Island Wind Farm, just off the coast of Rhode Island – was only erected in 2016, just a few years ago. However, now that the industry’s early days are behind it, its focus is shifting from new installations to the maintenance and operation of existing turbines. And when it comes to maintenance and turbine inspection, offshore wind turbines are exposed to a considerably more challenging environment while also being far more difficult for operators to reach. As a result, the industry is constantly looking into new technologies to make these processes easier, more comprehensive and safer for the maintenance personnel who have to carry the work out. Across the sector, one of the technologies that operators are
looking into are drones that can monitor turbines for flaws and faults as they develop, increasing the speed at which these faults can be detected and helping to reduce maintenance time in turn. This technology can be further enhanced by pairing it with autonomous or semi-autonomous systems, which can enable drones to carry out a number of tasks without the direct control of an operator, streamlining the monitoring process. “Ultimately, cost savings and safety are the two things that operators are seeing value in,” explains Michael Corsar, chief technology officer at Innvotek, an innovation consultancy with an engineering team focused on robotic and automation solution development. A study published in Results in Engineering found that replacing rope-access inspection with drones can reduce costs by up to 70% and decrease revenue lost due to downtime by up to 90%.
Wind farm operators are using a combination of drones and AI to autonomously and semi- autonomously monitor wind turbines for damage or defects, offering faster, more accurate and safer methods of inspection. Nicholas Kenny speaks to Michael Corsar, chief technology officer at Innvotek, to learn more about what this technology can offer the industry.
World Wind Technology /
www.worldwind-tec
ind-technology.com
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spinetta; jimny.lova/Shutt
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