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.
‘Robot scarecrow’ sees dramatic drop in wind farm seabird poo
Blasting seagulls with strobe lights and loud noises can prevent offshore wind infrastructure being covered in guano – or seabird poo – according to a year-long trial at the Galloper wind farm off the east coast of England.
O&M budgets 'slashed' during Covid-19 pandemic
Asset owners have slashed their operations and maintenance (O&M) budgets amid the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, raising fears of continuing price pressures on manufacturers looking to generate income from both turbine sales and service contracts, according to new analysis.
RES Group fined nearly $550,000 after fatal accident
Three US companies have been fined more than half-a-million dollars for negligence after one worker died at a Washington wind farm and another was seriously injured when a trench collapsed.
News and Analysis
SGRE signs first multi-brand offshore service deal
Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) has secured a contract to service the 32 Senvion turbines at the 203W Trianel Windpark Borkum II project in the German North Sea. It is SGRE’s first offshore service agreement for another manufacturer and the first offshore deal to maintain Senvion turbines since it acquired assets from the German manufacturer.
Floating wind to 'accelerate to 70GW by 2040'
Global floating wind capacity could grow from less than 100MW today to 10GW by 2030 and then to more than 70GW by 2040, but challenges remain, according to new analysis.
Equinor tests South Korea for floaters
The Norway-based oil major is probing South Korean waters to find out whether building an 800MW floating offshore project off the country's south-east coast is feasible.
German production record 'masks sector challenges'
Wind power generation reached record levels in Germany in the first half of the year, according to new figures from the country’s transmission system operators (TSOs). However, German wind energy association BWE warned that not enough projects had started construction or been permitted during the period.
Watchdog to look into reasons for rise in offshore injuries
The G+ Offshore Wind Health and Safety Organisation is ‘disappointed’ by the rise in injuries tied to lost workdays and promised to look into reasons behind the rise. However, the number of incidents requiring medical treatment was the lowest recorded so far.
In depth
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.
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.
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