Innotra Corporation presents its two-in-one LPS (lightning protection system) inspection service, which combines rotor blade imaging and lightning protection checks into a single drone-based operation for wind turbine operators.
Key insights:
Traditional rope access inspections produce fragmented, non-standardized damage reports that make it difficult to track damage development over time or pinpoint faults in the lightning protection system accurately, often leading to unnecessary full system replacements.
Innotra’s drone-based approach captures high-resolution imagery of the entire rotor blade while simultaneously performing a non-contact LPS check using an electrical field sensor and a high-voltage generator connected to the turbine hub, which simulates a lightning strike to detect faults with centimeter precision.
The method has been validated by TÜV Nord in Germany and can identify micro-fractures and corrosion in the LPS just as a real lightning strike would.
Consistent flight routes enable damage tracking over time, supporting predictive maintenance through specialized reporting software.
A single team can complete three full rotor blade inspections including LPS checks per workday, making the combined approach significantly more cost-effective than conventional methods.