Rotor blade inspection & LPS measurement with drone
Not only more accurate, but also more efficient
The next generation of turbines is planned with hub heights far in excess of 150 m and rotor diameters of up to 160 m. For safety reasons, turbines of this size can only be realized with rope access technology at great effort. The rope access technology is therefore replaced by a special drone, so the height of the wind turbine or the length of the rotor blades no longer play a role.
The new LPS measurement system in use since 2022
Thanks to the spectacular image quality and the autonomous flight pattern, a higher detection rate of defects is possible. With the technology of the renowned cooperation partner Sulzer Schmid, the surface of rotor blades of any size can be completely photographed in a fraction of the time and with high-resolution imaging and a wide detection field. The highlight: The rotor blade experts, after an introductory and artificial intelligence-based analysis of the images, are of course further involved for the evaluation of the photographs. The advantage of this smart symbiosis is obvious thanks to years of experience in evaluating inspection data and classifying defects.
Your advantaged at a glance: Realistic, comparable, smart
- More efficient inspection and route planning ensures less downtime (and more money in the wallet)
- High-resolution imaging and wide detection field ensures higher fault detection rate
- Realistic lightning protection testing: The innovation is that ENERTRAG Operation measures at 6000 V, which is much closer to a real lightning strike than the previous 24 V during a resistance measurement by rotor blade inspectors
- Robust measurement method that meets the legal requirements of operators and insurers
- Smart symbiosis of inspectors and special drone technology thanks to years of experience in defect assessment and classification of inspection data
- More weather-resistant and thus more predictable: drones can fly at up to 10 m/s and even in very cold temperatures
Buy a licence, be independent: The drone inspection is also available in a licence model
There are two ways to benefit from our drone inspection: Have it carried out by our trained experts from ENERTRAG Operation or become a pilot yourself with the drone inspection in the licence model!
Important information about the licence model can be found here:
Press release: "ENERTRAG Operation offers drone inspection as a licence model by 2023"
Further information (Links & Downloads)
Cooperation partner
ENERTRAG Operation offers the rotor blade inspection including lightning protection measurement by drone in collaboration with its cooperation partner Sulzer & Schmid Laboratories AG from Switzerland.
Learn more about our partner:
TÜV NORD confirms: Quality of the new method for measuring lightning protection on wind turbines using a drone from ENERTRAG Operation convinces
TÜV NORD evaluated the quality of the procedure developed by ENERTRAG Operation and Sulzer Schmid Laboratories AG for lightning protection testing on wind turbines by means of drones and confirmed its quality with its test of January 25, 2022.
Customer's opinions
First customers are convinced of the quality of our drone inspection. Convince yourself too and contact us to learn more!
Stefan Babis, Managing Director, Stadtwerke Buxtehude: "ENERTRAG has been our technical operations manager since the beginning and we work very well together - a very reliable partnership. We want to drive the energy transition forward. Therefore, the aerial flight with the drone to check the blades is an innovative technology that we are happy to use."
Sascha Wirth, Technical Director, Blue Elephant Energy GmbH: "It is impressive how quickly the drone completes the flights and how detailed the results are. In addition, occupational safety is improved, as the probability of an accident occurring at work is
significantly reduced. We are satisfied!"
