Welcome to the June issue of Wind Systems magazine! This month we’re focusing on the maintenance side of O&M as well as condition monitoring, two key aspects of the wind energy industry. It’s crucial for a wind turbine to reach the optimal level of its performance to maximize gains and cut operating costs. Wind turbine O&M services are important as they reduce the number of wind turbine breakdowns and losses caused due to downtime.
According to “The Wind Energy Operations & Maintenance Report 2016” by Wind Energy Update, the industry has advanced over the last 20 years in terms of turbine performance. This is attributed to a number of factors, including advanced controls for load mitigations, full power converters for improved grid code compliance, and better sensors for more accurate control and monitoring, among others. This strong growth in wind power capacity in recent years has led to a dramatic increase in the number of turbines approaching the end of the OEM’s warranty period. Additionally, post-warranty service costs have fallen on increased competition and technological advances.
OEMs typically provide three-quarters of post-warranty service contracts. But in the United States where the wind industry market is extremely price competitive, a growing number of independent service providers (ISPs) are competing for a piece of that pie. Some operators are even opting to use in-house O&M services over the OEMs and ISPs.
A recent market research report published by Transparency Market Research estimated the total value of the global wind turbine operations and maintenance market to be $9.3 billion in 2014. According to the report, the wind energy market will expand at a favorable 8.8-percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2015 through 2023, rising to a total value of $20.6 billion.
For this month’s company profile, we spoke with Michael Feldstein at Surface Technology Inc. to learn more about how his company is meeting the demands of the wind energy market with its composite electroless nickel (CEN) plating technology wherein the wind turbine components are made more durable and can withstand the extreme climates in which they operate. We also spoke with Ruben Guerrero from Lighthosue Global Energy for this month’s conversation. There, you’ll learn more about how the company entered the wind energy market and what the industry can expect from Lighthouse Global moving forward.
You’ll also find two technical articles in this issue — one on the growth in the use of drones to inspect wind turbines by SkySpecs co-founder and CTO Tom Brady and the other by Patrik Ölund, the head of research and development at Ovako AB, that explores the advantages of using a stronger, cleaner class of steel in wind energy applications.
As always, thanks for reading!
Texas remains the leader for total installed capacity and reported construction activity, and it accounted for over 54 percent of construction underway during the first quarter. The Plains region of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska came next with 18 percent of construction activity, followed by the Midwest at 12 percent.
Two awardees were selected in the certification testing category, which is dedicated to turbines with a rotor-swept area less than 200 square meters. Primus Wind Power Inc. of Lakewood, Colorado, will receive $150,000 in funding to conduct certification testing on its 400-watt AIR30 model turbine. Bergey Windpower of Norman, Oklahoma, received an award for $152,558 to conduct certification testing of the Bergey Excel 15 turbine.
Wind Energy and Drones Are an Easy Fit
A technology known as “geo-fencing” keeps a drone within global positioning systems (GPS) boundaries prescribed by the user or as mandated by air traffic control laws. 
Traditionally, price-focused hedging solutions have been commonly used to try to address this, but this newly created proxy revenue swap offers an entirely new form of revenue risk management for the wind power industry. Similar in concept to a tolling agreement or capacity payment, this novel structure swaps the floating revenues of a wind farm — those driven by the hourly wind resource and power prices — for a fixed annual payment. This transaction is the first in a robust pipeline of future wind financings and would also be feasible in other wind farm markets globally beyond the United States. 
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“The traditional crowbar solution used in DFIG topology presents a poor response to the voltage sags,” said Ingeteam’s director of research and development, Carlos Gironés. “This is because the machine side converter is disabled when a voltage sag appears in the stator terminal until the inductor generator flux is stabilized. Thanks to new software and hardware implemented in our crowbarless solution, the machine side converter is available at all times during the voltage sag, achieving injection times required by the most restrictive grid codes.”
According to DNV GL, no major challenges have been identified through the JIP’s study. Analyses of system performance examining site-specific cases from JIP partners have shown that Win Win is able to meet the operator’s key performance requirements that include injection volume targets as well as reliability and minimized downtime.
The United States makes up the largest portion of GE’s global installed base, but in recent years, the company has seen strong global growth in regions such as Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Following the acquisition of Alstom’s renewable energy unit last year, GE expanded its European presence and added additional capacity in Brazil. GE Renewable Energy now has at least 1 GW of power installed in countries including Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, Spain, and the U.S.
As part of the two turnkey orders, Inox Wind will deliver, install, and commission 35 units of Inox Wind’s 100 rotor diameter turbines. It has also been contracted to undertake operations and maintenance services of the projects for a multi-year period post-commissioning.
