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Transport drones revolutionize maintenance of Baltic Sea wind farms!
RWE uses transport drones in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania for efficient deliveries to offshore wind farms, guaranteeing time and fuel savings.
Transport drones revolutionize maintenance of Baltic Sea wind farms!
In an exciting development for the future of renewable energy, RWE has announced the use of transport drones in offshore wind farms. This innovative technology promises to significantly optimize the maintenance and operation of wind turbines. RWE has already demonstrated the technical feasibility of the drones in more than 80 test flights in offshore wind farms, particularly in the Baltic and North Seas. The company plans to further expand the use of these drones, taking an important step towards efficiency and sustainability. According to information from NDR The drones can transport up to 10 kilograms of cargo and autonomously cover distances of over 40 kilometers in less than 30 minutes.
What does this mean for the technicians on site? By using transport drones, the time required to visit turbines is reduced by at least 1.5 hours. Traditionally, ships need at least an hour to reach the offshore wind farms. This time saving not only has a positive impact on efficiency, but also helps to reduce ships' fuel consumption and reduce the workload on technicians.
Drone test flights and their successes
The drones have already demonstrated their capabilities as part of a multi-phase pilot project carried out by RWE in collaboration with partners such as Skyways, Skyports Drone Services and Ampelmann Operations. The last series of tests took place on the island of Rügen, where a drone flew autonomously over 40 kilometers from the port of Mukran to the Arkona offshore wind farm and carried out an automated cargo drop. RWE has thus launched the first repeated series of Beyond Visual Line of Sight deliveries in Germany, a significant advance in the use of drone technology for offshore logistics tasks, such as RWE reported.
A total of three test series were successfully carried out in 2024 and 2025. Not only smaller payloads of up to 4 kilograms are used, but also larger transports of up to 30 kilograms on short-haul flights between service ships and wind turbines. These deployments demonstrate the full potential of drone technology, particularly in terms of logistical optimization in the maintenance and operation of offshore wind farms, such as Boltwise highlights.
The future of offshore wind power
RWE currently operates a total of 19 offshore wind farms and has four more under construction. In its efforts to expand drone technology globally, the company not only wants to make the operation of the wind farms more efficient, but also relieve the burden on employees and significantly reduce the environmental impact of logistics. With a new offshore wind farm due to be operational by the end of 2026, the industry is facing exciting times. Meanwhile, several potential investors have reported to the provisional insolvency administrator, meaning that employees' salaries remain secure for the time being.