Blades are a critical wear component of wind turbines, and they suffer all kinds of damage. Storms, lightning, leading edge erosion: the longer your wind turbines have been exposed to the elements, the greater the likelihood that damage has been done. Any of this wear and tear could lead to catastrophic failure, or could degrade the performance of the generating asset. For renewable generation to be efficient, wind turbine blade inspections should be completed throughout the life cycle of the these valuable assets.
Drones: Alternatives to Traditional Turbine Inspection
Traditional inspection is done either by repelling down turbine blade on ropes, or as a ground-based inspection using high-powered ground-based cameras. But these options have some issues:
The repelling method of turbine inspection poses such a high risk to the technicians, and by extension, such a high cost to the asset owner, that most renewables companies consider other options.
Ground-based inspections can offer some good insights, but your knowledge is incomplete. You can’t capture the turbine from every angle, from high altitude, or as close-up a vantage point as you may need to in order to catch every structural defect.
These shortcomings point to why drones have become the go-to method for turbine blade inspections within the last decade.
Drones lower the overall cost of inspection and protect technicians from excessive risk. UAV inspections help owners prioritize repairs to keep assets in good working order. Drone inspections are highly effective at catching wind turbine blade defects early and fixing them before they become more costly.
When you partner with Exo for wind turbine blade inspections, you have access to recommendations from our expert technicians, as well as the vast amount of data collected from our UAV wind farm inspections. Data management using Exo Link gives you measurable, clear reporting you can make real improvements. “
