"Efficiency is the most critical item in our business case. [We need] tangible strategies for controlling costs."

Summarising a commonly held view of wind energy operations and maintenance costs, this experienced wind energy farm operator is one of more than fifty wind energy professionals interviewed for the newly published ‘The Wind Energy Operations & maintenance Report’.

Operators indicate that they are crippled by order delays with component providers who are scrambling to meet demand, a lack of O&M investment by owners not committed to the long-term life of their turbines, parts that fail after seven years despite a stated life of twenty years, and more.

Such handicaps are reflected in the scattered – and often unpredictable - distribution of costs and energy output throughout the life of a turbine.

According data from a set of various types of turbines, costs are estimated in increase, on average, 253% over their 20-year lives.

What can operators do to ensure energy output and efficiency remain high beyond the initial years of operation?

Beyond this initial period of high performance, is the future of a turbine tainted with doom and gloom?  

No. The report identifies a number of signs of an upcoming enhancement in how the industry as a whole operates. These trends will provide operators with the data, tools and cooperation needed to optimise wind energy production during the entire life of a turbine.

Technology is advancing. New, more radical designs such as two-bladed rotors, direct drive turbines without gearboxes and even various vertical axis designs are now coming to market as designers seek new innovations to address this fundamental dilemma.

True costs will soon be more accessible. According to an operators survey, the portion of wind turbines still under warranty at the end of 2009 was 79%. As the most recent generation of multi-MW turbines comes out of warranty, independent O&M providers will be dealing with actual O&M costs, too, and looking for creative solutions to problem-solving.

As turbine component providers settle into the market and begin to meet the standards owner/operators now demand, they will be able to accurately project their product demand - and therefore available supply.

Operators will do their part in making data more accessible by closely monitoring performance, detailing log books, and making better use of advanced SCADA systems.

Industry bodies may start tracking costs. None of the wind industry trade associations currently track these costs; often, a preference for wind power advocacy prevents these associations from providing critical analysis. Although, EWEA has recognised this information need, and revealed that it plans to produce a report on O&M cost trends.

Finally, regulation makes data collection and reporting on O&M performance mandatory for operators in the US. The National Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) launched a voluntary data collection program on January 1, 2010 known as “GADS” that will likely evolve into a mandatory program within the next few years.

Working with DOE, NERC has launched the GADS effort due to concerns of how wind generation capacity is impacting other types of generation, since fossil units are being required to ramp up and down more often since wind is so variable.

So far, data is only being collected from wind projects in California and Iowa, but the long-term goal is for any project over 10 MW to be able to report performance down to each wind project subgroup level with a single meter.

Investors and others seeking accurate O&M data and secure, rapid supply will have to be patient. As wind grows into a mainstream power choice, data will inevitably become more available and new suppliers will respond to the needs of operators. 

More information on the true costs, challenges and solutions for wind energy operations and maintenance is available in ‘The Wind Energy Operations & Maintenance Report’ at www.windenergyupdate.com/reports.

Contact:

Pamela Muckosy

Head of Research

Wind Energy Update

pam@windenergyupdate.com

+44(0) 207 375 7554