Traditional approaches to due diligence, alongside fragmented knowledge management, are slowing down the flow of new capital into renewable energy projects worldwide, leading to missed opportunities for advisers delivering valuable expertise to their clients, according to LiveDiligence, a software platform that delivers insights to renewables investors and lenders.
New requirements for climate risk assessment and other forms of ESG assessment will be high on the agenda of capital providers. (Courtesy: LiveDiligence)
The firm is calling for the renewable energy market to “reboot” its due diligence processes to ensure projects are financed and built at the rate needed to meet global growth targets.
“Historically we haven’t seen a lot of cross pollination of ideas between due diligence advisers and the tech world, leading to a lack of innovation in the sector,” said Joss Boxford, Chief Operating Officer, LiveDiligence. “Advisers haven’t been offered compelling alternatives to the status quo, despite widely recognized deficiencies in the current tools and processes.”
LiveDiligence has pinpointed four areas of focus for renewable energy due diligence advisors over the next five years:
Knowledge management: Those companies with institutional knowledge will consistently deliver higher value with fewer resources, and scale faster through efficient knowledge sharing and accelerated upskilling of new employees. Delivering insights derived from specialist knowledge at speed and scale is vital to expedite clean-energy investment.
Client centricity: With more complex deals and shorter transaction time frames, traditional static deliverables, often delivered late in the day, will no longer cut it. Deal teams are demanding faster and earlier insights to critical issues and effective interactive collaboration with their full advisory team.
Emerging regulatory requirements: New requirements for climate risk assessment and other forms of ESG assessment will be increasingly high on the agenda of capital providers, bringing further complexity to the due diligence process. Advisers have an opportunity to start on the front foot by adopting digital tools that can adapt to changing requirements, while simplifying the reporting process for clients.
Technological and market complexity: Investor scrutiny on emerging technologies such as storage, floating wind, and green hydrogen, coupled with new financing and offtake structures, are driving a focus on technical and financial risk management. The ability to support decision making will be a competitive advantage to advisers supporting the deployment of complex new projects.
LiveDiligence has been designed to simplify the process of removing investment risk to speed up project financing and deployment, while preserving the specialist knowledge that experienced advisers bring.
The platform creates a collaborative, single source of truth for technical, legal, insurance, and financial due diligence providers – streamlining traditional due diligence processes.
To date, the platform has been used to support more than 400 renewable energy transactions, by more than 700 professionals across 170 different organizations.
It goes without saying that wind turbine parts are big — make that very big.
Moving those very big parts around a construction site can be a daunting task. Moving them around efficiently can be an even greater one.
Combilift, who recently celebrated its 25th anniversary, has been helping its customers successfully handle long and heavy loads, as well as maximizing storage and safety. With that expertise, the company has been working within the wind sector for years and continues to make advances to the industry.
“Combilift has been supplying straddle carriers and MGs for long and awkward loads for around 13 years,” said Paul Short, president of Combilift North America. “Obviously, the wind industry has a lot of heavy objects that are considerably long as well as a great deal of difficult-to-handle loads. We have been handling turbine blades, the nacelles, and the towers from very much the inception of the straddle carrier products and the MG product.”
Newest load mover
Not one to rest on its accomplishments, Combilift has taken that expertise to the next level while working with wind energy companies, according to Short.
“They’ve been telling us their challenges of handling these long blades that keep getting longer and keep getting more difficult to handle,” he said. “Through working with them and listening to them, we have developed products specifically for them to make it safer, more efficient, and so they can gain more storage of these long turbine blades, whether it’s at the production plant, port side, or in storage yards near construction sites.”
To that end, Combilift has developed its newest lifter, the COMBi-LC Blade , in collaboration with Siemens Gamesa, according to Short.
“It allows us to store the products very, very densely beside each other, and there’s no lost space in the storage yard, where, for example, a straddle carrier would have to straddle the loads,” he said. “It’s keyed onto the diameter of the turbine, allowing them to be stacked very, very close together. It’s very safe in that the load is completely held and supported over its length in the way that the manufacturer would like. The efficiency is that this can be done with one or two pieces of equipment that work together by a limited number of operators. It doesn’t need rigging; it doesn’t need banksmen; it doesn’t need a crane.”
Multiple operator options
This innovative piece of equipment can either be driven by an operator or controlled remotely, according to Short.
“There is an operator cabin, or it can be fully remote controlled,” he said. “For traveling long distances empty, the operator can enter the cabin and be enclosed in an air-conditioned or heated space, or they can, when they’re maneuvering the blade from production out through narrow alleyways or where they’re storing them in between other blades, they can do this by remote control and have full visibility of the product or the blade moving through the yard.”
The need for such a load mover becomes clear as blade lengths for offshore turbines continue to grow, reaching sizes of 115 meters or longer, according to Short.
“We’ve designed this for a number of blade lengths for the offshore wind industry as the blades are getting longer and longer,” he said. “We have a history of handling the shorter blades, but this is the newest version for handling longer ones, and it’s designed specifically for handling turbines. It’s a product designed to make manufacturing blades more efficient in handling these loads. It’s inherently safe by how it holds the load, how it supports it, and also safe for how it’s mounting to the blade.
It’s using its own mounting system to handle the blade, so there’s nothing that is touching it or damaging the surface. It’s being supported as the manufacturers designed so that they have a product that’s high quality through its material handling process.”
The COMBi-LC Blade load mover is designed to work with any model of blade. (Courtesy: Combilift)
Works with any model blade
Although Siemens Gamesa worked with Combilift on the design elements, Short said the load mover is designed to work with any model of blade.
“Siemens Gamesa is the launch customer, and they’ve already ordered numerous units of these for different sites around the world, and as their research and development is continuing to produce bigger and better blades over time, we are confident that our over-spec Combi-LC’s will continue to be able to provide a safe and efficient way of transporting them for many years to come,” he said. “However, the load mover is available for anyone handling these wind-turbine blades for offshore wind farms, in the stock yards, port side before they’re loaded onto ships — anywhere that you handle these products efficiently. It’s available to anyone that needs it.”
Combilift’s latest innovation for the wind industry is just an example of how the company has a history of listening to its customers in order for them to do the most efficient work possible, according to Short.
“We don’t design products by sitting in a dark room coming up with ideas,” he said. “We listen to our customers. They tell us their challenges, and then we work with them and partner with them to bring a product that’s going to make their business safer and more efficient. It’s a collaboration. We want to make it safer for the manufacturing environment, and we want to make it safer for the operators who are working in the environment of the manufacturer, and we want to have a sustainable view of everything we manufacture, and, obviously, wind energy is a sustainable source for the future as well.”
Making good products better
That collaboration with customers is something Short said Combilift takes pride in because it often makes existing products even better.
“Normally, a customer has been using one of our products, or they see a product of theirs that could be modified to handle what they need, or there are challenging situations close to something that we do, but we start with a blank sheet,” he said. “We see if something in the portfolio will work or can be modified. If not, if it’s very unique, like handling a 150-meter wind blade, we design something from the ground up with that customer.
The COMBi-LC Blade load mover can either be driven by an operator or controlled remotely. (Courtesy: Combilift)
It’s very much a partnership; it’s a collaborative process, so it’s step-by-step working with them, coming up with a design, making sure that it’s going to fit within the manufacturing facility, and then listening to their operators on some of the handling challenges they’ve had in the past, and making sure we don’t incur them. If we can use their expertise to build something better, we will.”
Another point of pride for Short and Combilift is being able to employ people locally in Ireland — to date, those employees number 800-plus.
“We have customers here like Siemens and all around the world buying our products because of our engineering expertise and because of our manufacturing expertise,” he said. “Keeping everybody employed is a very, very proud part of our business. There’ve been many awards over the years for safety and innovation for which we feel honored, but I think having such a number of people employed in a rural area in Ireland is something the owners take great pride in. We run apprenticeship programs here to keep people interested and keep them coming through the business. A proud part of the business as well is the education of local people to join and have a career in the future.”
Innovative from the beginning
That success is even more impressive with the knowledge that Combilift is owned by two people from the area.
Combilift started in 1998 by Martin McVicar and Robert Moffett. Moffett had designed and built the Moffett Mounty, a truck-mounted forklift, now commonly seen on Home Depot or Lowe’s trucks all over North America and around the world.
He developed that truck, built it, sold it globally. However, in 1997, Moffett and his family sold the business to a public company. Before it was sold, Moffett had hired 17-year-old Martin McVicar for a summer internship, where he worked on the plasma cutter on the shop floor and drilling aluminum blocks.
McVicar was asked to design a part for the machine, which he successfully did. Three years later, he was head of engineering at Moffett Engineering. When Moffett Engineering was sold in 1997, McVicar was head of R&D. Having no desire to work for a public company, McVicar later approached Moffett with the idea for Combilift.
“They formed the business in 1998 and built the first Combilift multi-directional powered forklifts,” Short said. “And from there, 25 years later, that’s where we are now. We have a range of over 48 different products, most of them available in engine-powered or electric. We employ 800 people in our factory in Monaghan, Ireland, and about another 150 around the world. Our business is built on listening to customer challenges, customer problems, and then we find solutions for them, and they turn into products that we can sell around the world.”
Siemens Gamesa is the launch customer, and the company has ordered several COMBi-LC Blade load movers for different sites around the world. (Courtesy: Combilift)
Future means more growth
Short said he only sees more growth for the future.
“We see the potential in North America,” he said. “I think our customers know where the big projects are going, and we have been a big part of the powered solution around the world. There’s a lot of untapped resources offshore in terms of the wind and wherever that’s going to be made available and regulations are going to allow, we see it growing quite rapidly as a very sustainable power source for many, many countries.”
And that growth will allow Combilift to continue to develop innovative products for a variety of industries, according to Short. “We definitely see ourselves coming up with more products — listening to our customers as they develop more and more innovation in their industry, so those partnerships are going to continue,” he said. “What that will lead to we only know by the betterment of the industry, but we’ll be there to partner with all those manufacturers and innovators within that industry to help them with their material end.”
What does Pearce Renewables do for the wind sector?
Dees: Pearce Renewables focuses on the wind turbine — PMs, CMs, major correctives, demo, blade repair. We are not an EPC contractor — but we’ll do some site remediation, and anytime there’s a big flood, we have the ability to go in and do BMPs. In the MCE world, we’re probably the largest ISP out there. In terms of headcount, we’re the largest provider in the wind sector. Our services business focuses on PMs and CMs. Our MCE team handles anything from blade bearing to hub replacements and complete repower replacements, if needed.
We also do turbine demos in which we take the turbine apart, cut the towers down, and do a full decommissioning. We do everything under the sun for blade repair. We can take the blade off, repair it, and do rope access, basket work, and condition monitoring. We have some wind farms where we do full care and custody. We can either serve as the O&M contractor for the owner or we can deploy a maintenance program. At the end of the day, we’re responsible for production as well as monitoring the system.
What does it mean to be an independently authorized GWO training provider?
Dees: It lets us internally train all of our technicians to the high Global Wind Organization (GWO) training standard. We like to know that, with our program and being independent, our guys are all trained the same way, which makes it easier for them to work together. We have the confidence that they’re qualified, certified, and have the skills to rescue each other in the event of an incident or emergency. Having the GWO certification lets us work with that program while fitting those standards to our specific site contexts. When you’re not independent, you have to use somebody else’s curriculum regardless of whether that meets your specific needs. We’re able to make tweaks and adjustments that best suit our requirements, ensuring that our techs get the best safety and technical training.
Hornbeck: In other words, combining independence with the GWO authorization allows us to improve the training. They’re proof that we meet the highest standards and that we’ve passed all the rigorous audits. After meeting those standards, if we want to improve on, say, bolt torquing, we have the freedom to train employees and provide what most other training providers don’t offer. It’s that little extra that instills confidence in customers, who understand that our team is trained specifically in bolt tightening under the top industry standards. This degree of industry recognition lets our customers know we’re the best and safest provider available.
What are some of the benefits of standardizing training practices across the wind industry?
Dees: The most significant benefit of GWO standardized training is that everyone’s getting the same training and everyone knows how to use the same equipment. If you’re up a tower with your client and you’re all trained through the GWO standard, you know that they have enough training to get you down-tower safely if something were to happen.
That’s first and foremost.
When you get on site, you know the team has had electrical training, so they should know how to bottle out an electrical component. They’ve got torquing training, so they know how to use torque wrenches and hydraulic torquing. Everyone’s been trained to the same standard. You’re not out there with a greenhorn who’s never done anything before, making them a safety hazard. Following these standards allows us to ensure complete risk mitigation.
It’s tough. Our job is done 800 feet in the air, so it’s critical that the technicians have that sense of safety. If you’re up there with someone who doesn’t have the proper training — or just the basic tower climb training — you could be facing serious repercussions if something happens. It can take a while for an emergency response — especially if you’re waiting on the fire department or emergency call-out service. They may be hours away in some cases.
By being trained to the same standard, everyone can get down safely with a baseline general understanding of how to use the tools correctly.
Hornbeck: Along with that safety and qualified work, standardization elevates the expertise we send to the job site. It reduces cost and reduces time, enhancing our ability to take care of our customers. It increases productivity, meaning job speed-to-completion is faster. It’s a significant improvement overall.
What was required to become a training provider?
Dee: Before we acquired our wind division, Pearce partnered with an outside company for GWO training. We used their curriculum exclusively and followed their guidelines, which mirrored those provided by the GWO. Eventually we built our own training curriculum based on the GWO guidelines.
Understanding that, the auditing process is extremely rigorous, almost like an ISO certification on the backend. GWO has to watch each trainer deliver the modules individually; they watch trainers do the actual hands-on portion as well.
On the backend, they’re auditing all your paperwork: Is everything in place? Do you have a system to track it? How do you get your certifications? Where do they reside? How do your techs access the training? It’s quite a process. It took us three months just to prepare for the audit. During the one-week audit itself, they identify any non-conformities — from the minor to the serious. After you correct them, the auditors sign off, send all the info to GWO, and ultimately the organization issues the certification.
Hornbeck: What’s good about that process is they also critique our instructors. They literally watch our instructors teach classes and look at our equipment to make sure it meets or exceeds industry standards.
At Pearce, we always aim to exceed standards. We’ve built our curriculum to double the minimum requirements wherever possible. Our audits were very successful, and we enhanced our understanding during the process. Our team is proud of this accomplishment.
How does this affect how Pearce interacts with its clients now? What’s changed since you’ve had this happen?
Hornbeck: Our clients prefer to use independent authorized trainers instead of a GWO trainer under the auspices of another company. They know that independents have the freedom and the trust from the GWO to train above the standards.
How does being a GWO training provider better enable you to address the industry’s workforce development challenges?
Dees: At Pearce, we’re a manpower-driven company. Having the GWO certification gives us the ability to accelerate training and increase our manpower, not just for our wind techs but all of our techs. It drives our career path. Part of our retention program is giving technicians an opportunity for a career in the renewables industry. The only way we can do that is to provide them a career path. So, as a tech, they come in, they get basic safety training, and they go out in the field, work with their peers and with lead techs, and get more time on the turbine.
Having all the standards in place allows us to chart a path forward for our technicians, providing them the training they’ll get along the way to advance and succeed. While everyone wants to earn a good living, we understand the motivational impact of career growth.And if you use just the GWO training pieces, you can see that when you get BST, you’re a Tech 1. Once you have Basic Safety Training (BST) and Basic Technical Training (BTT), you’re a Tech 2; you get BST, BTT, Advanced Rescue Training (ART), and soon you’re at that Tech 3 level. All technicians are shown a career path presentation when they’re hired so they can see the potential. We pay for many team members to pursue OEM training so that they can learn about commissioning new technology.
Hornbeck: It gives them a sense of pride. The technicians are proud to hold these certifications. It’s a great thing for morale and workforce retention. They have clear goals to work toward.
What else is happening in training at Pearce?
Hornbeck: We’re growing. We’re adding new training modules all the time. As an independent, we can add new training modules quickly and efficiently to keep career development going.
Dees: We’ve outgrown our Tehachapi facility in California, and we’re in the process of getting a second facility in Dallas, Texas, up and operational. The goal is to have two full-blown GWO training centers by Q1 2024. We have a 40-foot trailer in Tehachapi that we use; it also will be GWO-certified. We can now travel to sites where we have techs and perform GWO training through the travel trailer. This is a great step, but we’ve got even better things coming. We’re just getting started.
Newest load mover
What does it mean to be an independently authorized GWO training provider?
What was required to become a training provider?
