Operations & Maintenance
RSS feedNews & in-depth analysis of wind farm and turbine operations & maintenance, including turbine & blade failure, access, monitoring & control systems, health & safety, refitting, repowering, wind monitoring and site security.
Turbine output drops steeply after ten years: US research
The performance of newer US wind turbines degrades at a slower rate than that of older projects, with a relatively abrupt decline in output after ten years of operation coinciding with the withdrawal of federal support, according to a new study.
Vestas sees red as Covid-19 hits balance sheet
The Covid-19 crisis made little impact on new installation work on Vestas-supplied projects in Q1 2020, but the challenges caused by the pandemic saw profits slip into losses.
Big turbines push down O&M costs
Advances in turbine technology have improved reliability, reducing unscheduled downtime and cutting service costs. While offshore projects remain more expensive to operate, economies of scale will play an increasing role as arrays featuring hundreds of units become the norm.
News and Analysis
Six-hour negative pricing rule damaging offshore wind revenues
Germany's negative electricity price rules have caused an estimated €50 million in losses for offshore wind projects in February 2020 alone.
France eyes floating 'leadership' in new energy plan
France has confirmed plans to boost its capacity base and become a “world leader” in floating offshore wind under its multi-year energy plan (PPE).
Wind unaffected: EDPR shrugs off cyberattack
The cyberattack which targeted the EDP group on 13 April did not affect production at EDPR’s wind farms, nor did it compromise the company’s technical network.
Emerging offshore markets facing skills shortage
More than 77,000 workers will be needed to build the nearly 31GW of new offshore wind farms expected to be commissioned in emerging markets by 2024, according to new research. But recruiting and training these workers could be difficult.
Ørsted keeping tabs on Covid-19 impact
Ørsted’s under-construction wind farms are progressing according to plan despite the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. It continues to monitor how the virus will affect its operations.
In depth
Material considerations: covering up the cracks on turbine failure
The Material Failure Investigation Group of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) has been listening to, and acting on, presentations on the subject of wind turbine failures for the past two years.
What to do with turbines after they leave support system
With around 6,000 turbines due to leave the support system in 2021, Germany's environment agency has assessed the country's readiness to recycle this potential flood of turbine components, and at what cost.
Windpower Monthly review of 2019 -- part 2
The next generation of new turbines continues apace in the second half of the year, but financial woes among many of the industry's western OEMs also bite. Here are the top articles from the latter half of 2019.
Windpower Monthly review of 2019 -- part 1
A spate of technology launches dominated the first half of the year, with a new generation of prototypes also being installed. Here are the top articles from the first half of 2019.
Look and listen for blade defects
The latest theories and current practices of rotor-blade monitoring and maintenance in the 100GW US wind market were subjected to lively and informed debate at the Windpower Monthly forum in Austin, Texas.
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