Drones in the Energy industry

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WE’VE HELPED THE UK'S LEADING ENERGY ORGANISATIONS ADOPT DRONES

Meet George Burne

UAV Strategist – Drone Inspection in the Energy Sector

George has helped organisations like Severn Trent Water, Magnox and TEXO improve business efficiency by providing a 360° drone solution. George’s expertise lies in reducing risk, improving the data collected and cutting operational costs by using a drone solution where possible alongside traditional inspection methods.

Drone adopters across the energy sector report project times are now counted in days rather than weeks, the quality of inspection is higher, and asset down-time is much less now they can deploy drones quickly.

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SOLAR PANEL INSPECTION

With an average of 4-5 acres needed to produce 1MW of power (enough to power around 650 homes), there’s going to be a definite need for solar farms to be built on a large scale.

APPLICATIONS

Surveying and planning the build of a Solar Panel Farm
Site progress of the Solar Panel Farm
Automate Drone Flights for regular Solar Panel inspections
Detailed reports on the condition of the Solar Farm Panels
Regular solar panel drone inspections using thermal imaging cameras
Identifying cell damage and hot spots of panels not performing
Prevent Solar Farm assets from being damaged

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ONSHORE & OFFSHORE WIND FARM INSPECTION

There are 8,600 onshore wind turbines and 35 offshore wind farms in the UK currently, and with the government planning to quadruple wind power by 2030, there will be many more to come.

APPLICATIONS

Fast and detailed inspections of giant wind turbines
Drone inspections of smaller domestic wind turbines
Increased efficiency, inspect 6 times faster than by manual inspection
Reduced risk to workers inspecting the turbine
Detailed data recordings and reports for stakeholders
Plan regular inspections autonomously

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DRONES INSPECTIONS FOR WAVE POWER

The lesser-known cousin of solar and wind power generation, harnessing wave power is another important aspect in reducing our reliance on fossil fuels.

APPLICATIONS

Fast and detailed inspections open water inspections
Only one operator and drone required for an inspection
Increased efficiency and reduced risk to workers inspecting the turbine
Detailed data recordings and reports for stakeholders
Plan regular inspections autonomously

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Indoor remote radiation sensing and mapping

Flyability have recently announced the launch of the Elios 2 RAD – which already builds on a successful fleet of Elios drones. When operating a nuclear station, understanding where and to what extent radiation is present is a daily preoccupation. Elios 2 RAD offers indoor remote radiation sensing that allows you to safely measure and map nuclear radiation anywhere inside your nuclear station from a non-contaminated zone.

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*Available in 2022

Sellafield

"For us as a site, there is so much going on every day. To put scaffolding around a building, there is so many restrictions in access, the downtime on a plant when we have schedules to stick to, by using scaffolding it takes a lot of time. When we can get a drone in and out in 30 minutes, it reduces our downtime massively. It saves people going up at heights, which links to our strategic site objectives – safer, faster and cost effectiveness!”

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EDF Energy

“Using the drone has also given us an extent of condition report and simplified the process of the inspection. Inspections at height or in confined spaces now only require a quick inspection of the drone before deploying so it’s much quicker than traditional methods.”

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Networx3

"With drones we can either prevent people working in these dangerous environments, or we can use the drone as a back-up and a support mechanism for the team that’s on the ground. Instead of relying on a rigging crew and thousands of pounds a day to access a tower why not send a drone up safely and review the condition without putting anyone at risk."

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Your complete step-by-step guide to adopting drones in the Energy Sector

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More cost effective than manual inspections, only one drone operator required

Increased efficiency, conduct inspections in a fraction of the time

Produce detailed reports and data on your assets for stakeholders

How are drones being used to inspect wind turbines?

With the growth of wind power, drones are increasingly being used to scan wind turbines for defects and damage. With turbine repair being incredibly expensive, as much as £30,000 per turbine per year, coupled with the loss of revenue from days of inactivity due to damage, early inspection and analysis are essential.
How can drones be used in renewable energy?

Wind turbines will be one area where there is rapid adoption. Companies can deploy drones to get close-up, 3-D images of wind blades to find out if there are any imperfections without having to stop the turbines from turning. Today, that work is done by hooking people up to wires and hanging them off of wind turbines.
Why should you bring your drone solution in-house?

When using external drone pilots or subcontractors you’re not in charge of the quality of your data. You can be more responsive when you are collecting the data yourself. Long term it’s also much more cost-effective to bring your aerial drone solution in-house.
Are drones competing with traditional inspection methods such as rope access?

The short answer is no. Using drones allows for efficient inspections at speed where you can acquire high-quality data from high-risk environments. Once the initial inspection has been conducted such as locating a fault on a wind turbine, there will always be the need to send a rope access worker to make the mechanical fix. Think of drones as part of your toolbox which you have the power to deploy when the need suits, when you want a speedy inspection without risk and high-costs.
This sounds great, but what type of budget would I need to introduce a drone solution?

We can provide a complete drone inspection solution including all the training, hardware, software and ongoing support you’ll need from £2,000. Speak to George to find out more.

Drones in the Energy Industry

NEED SOME HELP?

WE’VE HELPED THE UK'S LEADING ENERGY ORGANISATIONS ADOPT DRONES

your industry expert

Meet George Burne

UAV Strategist – Drone Inspection in the Energy Sector