German multinational energy company Rhenish-Westphalian Power Plant’s (RWE) has elected to try drone technology for its offshore environmental monitoring operations.
The pilot will be conducted at the Kaskasi offshore wind farm in the North Sea, which now has the honour of being the first wind farm in Europe where a drone will be deployed for offshore environmental monitoring.
The power company said they like the drones for their low CO2-emission, and because they are a less intrusive alternative to traditional methods of observing birds and marine mammals, which are based on airplanes and ships.
As the company further explains, the drones are part of a multi-pronged approach where RWE uses state-of-the-art monitoring technologies as part of its SeaMe (Sustainable Ecosystem Approach in Monitoring the Marine Environment) project.
“As a global leading player in offshore wind, we feel responsible for building and operating our wind farms in harmony with nature,” saidThomas Michel, the COO at RWE Offshore Wind.
“We are committed to continuous improvement. With the SeaMe project, we are embracing new technologies that enable us to simultaneously monitor a range of different factors. That way, we can gain an even deeper understanding of the interactions between offshore wind and the marine ecosystem.”
The goal of the project is to develop a holistic understanding of the interactions between offshore wind farms and the ecosystem. Alongside the drone, an AI-powered fish detection system with video cameras is being operated on an autonomous underwater vehicle.
Furthermore, high-resolution video cameras have been installed on turbines and underwater to monitor birds and their behavior. Water samples are being analysed for traces of environmental DNA.
The project began in autumn 2024, initially with onshore testing and preparation of the various technologies for offshore deployment. It has now entered its next phase, starting simultaneous data collection at RWE’s Kaskasi wind farm off the German coast.
For the drone part of the job, the company has partnered with BioConsult, an ecological research and consulting company that has its hands on the Primoco UAV One 150, which is the drone of choice for these missions.
“The long-range drone (Primoco UAV One 150), operated by BioConsult SH, can stay airborne for up to 15 hours,” RWE explained.
“It is fitted with an optimised HiDef video system for autonomous operation, ensuring consistency with historical data as the camera provides the same coverage and resolution as conventional aerial surveys. During its initial test, the drone flew approximately 500 meters above the Kaskasi offshore wind farm, neighboring wind farms, and a reference area at sea.
“The recorded footage will be analysed in the coming weeks using artificial intelligence and human quality control. This method offers a less intrusive and low-emission way to monitor birds and marine mammals, such as porpoises, removing the need for human observers at sea or the use of airplanes.
According to BioConsult SH, using the drone can reduce the carbon footprint of monitoring by up to 90 percent.
And we will let the energy company shed further light on the nitty gritties of the project in the below statement:
The project takes a holistic view of the marine ecosystem by simultaneously recording both physical and biological parameters, including aspects often overlooked in traditional monitoring programs. This includes phytoplankton (microscopic algae) and zooplankton (such as small animals), which play crucial roles in the food chain.
Additionally, physical parameters such as temperature, salinity, and oxygen levels are measured to explain changes in species distribution and abundance. These parameters are collected using the autonomous underwater vehicle.
Water samples are analysed for environmental DNA (eDNA) to determine which species are present in the wind farm area. Unlike conventional methods that involve collecting and removing animals from the sea, the SeaMe team focuses on the genetic traces left behind, such as faeces, skin cells, mucus, or other cellular residues shed into seawater.
Comparing the found DNA sequences with a database of known species enables scientists at the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity (HIFMB) and the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) to identify the originating species without collecting the animals.
Initial analyses of samples taken near Heligoland have identified 143 different species – from phytoplankton and zooplankton, to worms, crabs, fish, and marine mammals, including the harbour porpoise native to the German North Sea.
To successfully realise the ecosystem approach, all field data is consolidated, employing new assessment methods, efficient data management, and intuitive visualisations. The Danish company DHI is working with all research partners to develop a user-friendly data portal, which will soon be accessible via the SeaMe website.
The three-year project is carried out in collaboration with prominent partners including the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity at the University of Oldenburg (HIFMB), the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), BioConsult SH, the Danish company DHI A/S, the Norwegian company Spoor, the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) and the Danish start-up Anemo Robotics.
All tests take place at RWE’s Kaskasi offshore wind farm, which is located 35 kilometres off the coast of the German island of Heligoland. With a total installed capacity of 342 megawatts, the wind farm is capable of supplying the equivalent of approximately 400,000 German homes with green electricity.
From Heligoland a dedicated RWE team efficiently monitors, operates and maintains the wind farm, and also provides support for the SeaMe project.