Ørsted has begun large-scale drone cargo operations across its UK offshore wind portfolio, aiming to improve efficiency and reduce emissions during maintenance procedures.
The initiative, run in partnership with UK-based operator Skylift, uses FlyingBasket heavy-lift drones to transport evacuation equipment weighing up to 70 kilograms to turbine nacelles. The operations are currently underway at the Hornsea 1 and 2 and Walney 1 and 2 offshore wind farms.
More than 550 drone flights are planned, covering over 400 turbines, including locations up to 75 miles off the UK coast.
According to Ørsted, the drone deliveries help reduce turbine downtime, limit the need for vessel trips, and improve on-site safety by eliminating the need for multiple crane lifts. “Normally to deliver heavy loads like this, it would require two crane-lifting operations… and shutting the turbine down for up to six hours,” said Nina F Le, who is leading the project for Ørsted.
“Delivery by drone takes no technicians from their scheduled work, we can leave the turbines running, and each takes around five minutes – which has meant we’ve been able to achieve up to 30 deliveries a day,” she added.
While Ørsted has previously used drones for inspection purposes, the company is now scaling operations to include cargo delivery and is exploring further partnerships within the UK supply chain to support future expansion of drone-based logistics.
