The Civil Aviation Safety Authority has approved Origin Enbergy’s drone program for Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations, allowing the company to expand its missions and monitor vast areas from its Brisbane Remote Operations Centre (ROC).
Origin Chief Remote Pilot, Matt Jeffs, said flying from this Brisbane ROC is a key milestone for Origin and opens up a world of possibilities for improving safety and efficiency of Origin’s operations.
“Our qualified drone pilots can now launch and operate a drone from our remote operations centre located hundreds or even thousands of kilometres away.
“This enables us to operate autonomous drone systems, including the emerging ‘drone-in-a-box’ technology, where drones deploy from and return to self-contained landing stations,” Mr Jeffs said.
Origin said these drones can also be programmed to follow scheduled flight paths, making them ideal for monitoring project progress or regularly inspecting infrastructure.
Origin has already installed drone-in-a-box units at its Darling Downs Power Station in Queensland, as well as the Mortlake Power Station in Victoria.
“After years of development, testing, and securing regulatory approval, we’re excited to launch this next chapter of cutting-edge drone operations for Origin,” Mr Jeffs said.
“Drones are a cost-effective solution for Origin, offering quick access to hard-to-reach areas and enabling visual assessments that streamline operations, improve safety, and enhance decision-making for project delivery, maintenance, and environmental monitoring.”
Mr Jeffs said Origin staff, for example, used to manually inspect air-cooling units, but now drones can handle thermal inspections remotely, saving time and swiftly identifying potential issues.
“At Mortlake, Origin is constructing a large-scale battery energy storage system. With the drone on site, we have the capability to remotely capture the progress of the project from the air.
“We plan to deploy more drone-in-a-box solutions at key sites across Origin’s asset portfolio to further enhance various aspects of our operations.
“As drone technology continues to develop and advance, we can expect to see even more innovative and exciting uses for it in the future.”
Featured image: Origin Chief Remote Pilot, Matt Jeffs, at Brisbane Remote Operations Centre. Image: Origin Energy.
