Drones used in search and rescue tests at wind farm in the North Sea

At a wind farm located in the North Sea, drones have been used in search and rescue tests. The trials aim to show how the use of unmanned aircraft can play an important role in the renewables sector.

Drones used in search and rescue tests at wind farm in the North Sea

The Search and Rescue trials that involved the use of drones took place at the 309-megawatt Rentel offshore wind farm by DEME Offshore and Sabca, a Belgian aerospace firm.

The drones were used during the trials that focussed on turbine inspections, environmental surveys, and parcel deliveries said DEME Offshore in a press statement.

During one of the search and rescue test operations, an automated drone used a thermal camera to locate the target before dropping a lifebuoy into the sea.

“We are convinced that these innovative, advanced technologies, which focus on fully autonomous operations without the need for any vessels and people offshore, have a game-changing potential to increase safety, lower the impact on the environment in the O&M phase of a project and reduce the overall costs,” Bart De Poorter, general manager at DEME Offshore, said in a statement. The term “O&M” refers to operations and maintenance, reports CNBC.

In recent years the use of drones in the energy sector has increased significantly. Last year, we reported on a Solution Development Partnership with DJI and Shell Oil Company to create, test, and deploy DJI Drone Technology at its Deer Park Manufacturing Complex to improve efficiency and worker safety during industrial inspections and emergency incident response.

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