Inspecting during substation downtime: 56 turbines, no power, no extra downtime
On a project in the UK, our team inspected 56 wind turbines in five days in conditions that normally stop drone inspections: no power on site, and turbines locked with their blades in random positions. The work was done safely, with high quality and without affecting energy production.
About them
The wind farm was going through a planned substation outage, which meant there was no power to reposition the blades or to recharge drone batteries.
The challenge
- Drone inspections normally need the turbine stopped with one blade pointing up (12 o’clock), which is only possible when the wind farm is energised.
- The turbines were locked in random blade positions, so a normal inspection would have needed extra downtime.
- With no power anywhere on the wind farm, recharging batteries on site was not possible.
What they did
Dot (on a DJI M350) captured consistent, perpendicular images of all three blades in a single flight, even with the blades in random positions. DJI power banks allowed continuous battery rotation and uninterrupted flights for all five days.
- 01
Initial situation
Most inspections would have needed the 12 o’clock position and extra downtime.
- 02
Our approach
Inspect in any blade position with full coverage, using Dot technology.
- 03
AI data processing
Damage detection and classification, plus repair priorities.
- 04
Results
High-quality images with full coverage and no added downtime.
The results
- 56 turbines inspected in five days during a complete power outage.
- No additional inspection window, so no lost generation.
- Full coverage despite random blade angles.
- Continuous operations thanks to off-grid power.
When this approach helps
With technologies like Dot, operators can inspect during planned substation outages, in low wind when repositioning blades is difficult, and without creating extra downtime windows or losing generation.
Combining flexible flight planning, autonomy and solid field logistics made the inspection fit the site’s schedule, not the other way round. It improved resilience, reduced costs and gave more flexibility in scheduling.
At a glance
- Location
- Wind farm in the UK
- Conditions
- Planned substation outage, no power on site
- Solution
- Dhalion Dot on a DJI M350, with AI data processing
- Power
- DJI power banks for battery rotation
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