RWE Renewables has invested in a machine learning tool to improve offshore wind vessel to turbine transfers that could save the industry £1 million per installed GW every year.
Developed by UK-based SME Cognitive.Business, the tool enables highly accurate, localized assessment of safe conditions for vessel to turbine transfers at operational offshore wind farms, supporting the management of one of the most hazardous aspects of offshore operations and helping to reduce losses estimated at £25 million per year across the industry.
This product has been developed through the WAVES (Wind Accessibility Verification for Enhanced Safety) project funded by the Offshore Wind Growth Partnership (OWGP). The OWGP identified WAVES as an exciting innovation in the offshore wind sector – eliminating the variances of human decision-making from technician transfers and improving health and safety. By enhancing the accessibility of an offshore wind farm and reducing under-utilized resources, the WAVES solution could save the industry £1M/GW every year.
Cognitive.Business is developing the WAVES technology as part of their advanced analytics software suite of DiscoveryTM. The solution combines complex met-ocean data, with vessel tracking data, within an automated machine learning model to create a highly accurate predictive tool that can be applied globally to any offshore wind farm.
Following a series of trials, RWE has placed an order for WAVES to support in its ongoing drive for crew-safety.
“The problem is seriously complex, but it is faced daily by operational staff under immense pressure to deliver. The invaluable support from OWGP and RWE has provided the time and operational insights required to produce a solution that is beyond expectation.”
Ty Burridge-Oakland, managing director at Cognitive.Business.
“Making safe crew transfers is vital to our operational business. The WAVES solution integrates powerful A.I. technology with our own operational data and has been shown to provide an improved transfer decision metric compared to the industry’s standard. We believe that WAVES will enable us to better predict acceptable transfer windows, improving the safety of our technicians, and enabling us to optimise our O&M activities.”
James Vause, offshore production manager RWE Renewables.
“It’s really encouraging to see an innovative UK SME like Cognitive.Business achieve such early success with their WAVES solution through their OWGP-funded project. It is a great example of the OWGP in action and a reflection of the industry’s commitments to developing and growing the UK’s innovative supply chain.”
Andrew Macdonald, programme director, Offshore Wind Growth Partnership.
