Drones Revolutionize Monitoring at Origin Energy

Origin Energy has received regulatory approval from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) to operate drones Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS), allowing the company to monitor power assets remotely from its Brisbane Remote Operations Centre (ROC).

Matt Jeffs, Origin’s Chief Remote Pilot, highlighted this milestone as transformative for safety and efficiency.

“Our qualified drone pilots can now operate drones from the ROC, even when located hundreds or thousands of kilometres away,” Mr Jeffs said.

This innovation includes the use of autonomous "drone-in-a-box" systems, which deploy and return to self-contained landing stations and can follow scheduled flight paths to monitor infrastructure and projects effectively.

Origin has already installed drone-in-a-box units at Darling Downs Power Station in Queensland and Mortlake Power Station in Victoria. These drones offer a cost-effective solution, enabling:

Efficient Inspections: Thermal checks on air-cooling units now take minutes, replacing labor-intensive manual inspections.

Progress Monitoring: Drones capture aerial views of ongoing projects, like the battery energy storage system under construction at Mortlake.

Enhanced Safety: Remote visual assessments minimize the need for personnel in hazardous locations.

Origin plans to deploy more drone-in-a-box systems across its portfolio, leveraging this cutting-edge technology to streamline maintenance, project delivery, and environmental monitoring.

“As technology advances, we anticipate even more innovative applications for drones in our operations,” Mr Jeffs said.

Origin’s adoption of BVLOS drone operations sets a new standard for efficiency and safety in the energy sector, marking a significant step in the integration of advanced technology to optimize infrastructure management.

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