Maintenance

Sandia National Laboratories in the US says autonomous machines could keep blades operational for longer and drive down the costs of wind energy

The drivers sent images to the company’s engineers, who then dispatched appropriate staff to fix issues

Osoji Solar seems to think so – it says its dust-cleaning devices could significantly boost solar efficiency

The DNO says its sustainable paint provides an alternative to polluting, white spirit-based options

A new report suggests these technologies could dramatically speed up inspection of turbine blades and power transmission equipment

Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) has started using innovative 3D laser scanning technology mounted on helicopters to survey its overhead electricity network. The distribution company uses the equipment, referred to as LiDAR, to scan how close trees are to power lines – this data is then used to carry out preventative works designed to […]

Innovate UK has awarded £1.2 million to help develop technologies for the autonomous inspection of offshore wind farms. The funding will be used by Perceptual Robotics, ASV, the University of Bristol and VulcanUAV to integrate drones, a computer vision lab and an autonomous boat into a cohesive and effective maintenance system. The project aims to […]

The Humber region is to host a new £2 million centre for offshore wind operations and maintenance. It will be based at the University of Hull, with its researchers working alongside the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult’s innovation team. The five-year partnership will see a series of research and innovation projects developed to improve the […]

A consortium of robotics experts is receiving a £4 million boost to develop wind farm maintenance technology. The Holistic Operation and Maintenance for Energy from Offshore Wind Farms (HOME-Offshore) will use the grant to create autonomous systems that can remotely inspect the condition of subsea power cables, identify problems early and repair them relatively quickly and easily. The project […]

The maintenance on the Norwegian gas pipeline has ended, according to npower’s daily market report. The ending of Langeled’s repairs has increased output to -20mcm and higher flows are expected from tomorrow. There are unplanned restrictions on the pipeline but these only impact a total of 17mcm. Overall, the gas system is still down, with […]