German company Nordex has formed a partnership with aviation expert Lufthansa Aerial Services to facilitate drone-supported inspection of its wind turbines.
The manufacturer said the deal will offer customers of its services division the ability to continuously monitor rotor blades using the latest drone technology.
“One important area of application for drone technology is the close-up inspection of rotor blades without the need for rope teams,” the company said.
“Rotor blades have to be inspected regularly as they are exposed to the wind, weather and considerable strains and in this way might develop wear from erosion,” it added.
Drones could help operators develop repair instructions, while also providing data to monitor the aging of turbines to determine when rotor blades should be inspected to prevent outages, Nordex said.
“The market potential for commercial drone use in the wind energy sector is growing rapidly,” Lufthansa Consulting managing director Andreas Jahnke said.
Image: Nordex
Drones to swarm for Nordex
Pact with Lufthansa Aerial Services to facilitate turbine inspections
By EBS