Spending on global offshore renewable energy infrastructure over the next ten years is expected to reach over US $ 16 billion (£ 11.3 billion). This involves the creation of an additional 2.5 million kilometers of global submarine cables by 2030.

To lay and secure these cables from ocean currents, you have to plow the seabed and dump rocks and concrete “mattresses†to serve as the base for the cables – procedures that severely disrupt the marine ecosystem that so many creatures call upon. them.

Installing offshore wind farms requires many high-impact procedures, which are often undertaken without considering their effects on the delicately balanced ocean environment – on which more than 3 billion people depend for their food and livelihoods. .

Human activities, including the construction of renewable energy infrastructure, have affected more than 40% of the ocean surface, creating dead ocean areas devoid of oxygen, algal blooms that harm marine species and a devastating loss of biodiversity.

If we continue on this path, the anticipated green technology revolution risks causing an unprecedented level of damage to the world’s oceans. The new generation of renewable energy producers must assess their long-term impact on the ocean environment to assess the sustainability of their supply chains and practices.

As the UN enters its decade of ocean resilience this year, the role that autonomous technologies can play in supporting the marine environment continues to gain recognition. We cannot expect to implement sustainable technology without first instilling environmentally friendly practices in the renewable energy sector itself. This is where robotics comes in.

The cost of maintenance

About 80% of the cost of maintaining offshore wind farms is spent sending people to conduct inspections and repairs by helicopter, maintaining support vehicles, such as boats, and building platforms. -offshore forms to house turbine workers. All of these accumulate carbon emissions. Not only that, offshore inspectors must also work at risky heights and in confined spaces, both of which are dangerous.

However, a unified team of humans, robots and AI working together could maintain this infrastructure with much less impact on the environment and better safety for humans. These teams can include humans working remotely with multi-robot teams of autonomous aerial and submarine vehicles, as well as crawling or ground robots.

Transformative technology

Robotics can help humans interact with complex and vulnerable environments without harming them. Robots that use non-contact detection methods, like radar and sonar, can interact with ocean infrastructure and its surrounding environment without causing disruption or damage.

Even more advanced sensing technology known as low-frequency sonar – sound-based technology inspired by the signals dolphins use to communicate – allows structures such as underwater infrastructure and underwater cables to be inspected. in the ocean without damaging the surrounding environment.

By deploying low-frequency sonar technology using Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) – robots that drive themselves – we can better understand how structures such as submarine cables interact with the environment. . We can also help avoid problems such as biofouling, where microorganisms, plants, algae or small animals collect on the surface of cables. A bio-fouled cable can become heavy, potentially deforming its outer protective layers and reducing its useful life. AUVs can safely monitor and clean these cables.

Above the surface

Robots can also provide assistance over water. When wind turbine blades reach the end of their useful life, they are often burnt or dumped in landfills. This goes directly against the “circular economy†approach – advocating waste prevention and the reuse of as many materials as possible – which is at the heart of technological sustainability. Instead, we can use robots to repair, reuse, or recycle degraded blades, reducing unnecessary waste.

Using drones equipped with advanced radar detection technology, we can now see turbine faults as they start to grow. Instead of using field support vessels to transport turbine inspectors out to sea – costing around £ 250,000 per day – the use of robotic assistants to keep abreast of turbine maintenance helps save time, money and risk.

In addition to reducing the financial and carbon cost of turbine maintenance, robots can minimize the risks inherent to humans working in these unpredictable environments while working more symbiotically with the environment. By deploying resident robots to inspect and maintain offshore renewable infrastructure, energy companies could initially reduce the number of people working in dangerous offshore roles. Over time, we might even reach a point of autonomous operation – where human operators stay ashore and remotely connect to offshore robotic systems.

AI is another key element in building sustainable energy systems. For example, artificially intelligent programs can help energy companies plan how to safely dismantle turbines and return them safely to land. After arriving ashore, the turbines can be taken to “smart” factories that use a combination of robotics and AI to identify which of its parts can be reused.

By working in these teams, we can develop a robust and sustainable circular economy for the offshore renewable energy sector.