Proven Operations and Maintenance Strategy, Technology and Equipment Demanded by Wind Operators

In less than five years, a wind turbine will likely have its warranty expire. 79% of wind turbines are set to move out of warranty. O&M costs for wind power are double or triple the figures that were originally predicted in the financial models used to secure investment and finance. 0.019 euro per kWh is the average real cost of O&M compared with estimated costs from a leading wind...

Leading operators suggest that now is the time to plan for ways to boost ROIs and increase profit margins by planning ahead and accurately forecasting O&M costs. Greater investment in O&M can have proven positive returns.

Based on the ambitious installation plans over the past few years wind energy has arguably become the dominant renewable energy in Europe and with the example of the UK offshore market moving into full production, the number of turbines in production now mean that owner / operators are looking at reducing O&M costs to see significant gains in profitability.

With wind energy clearly not having any dependence on fuel costs, a robust, repeatable and cost effective O&M strategy can have an immediate impact on an operator’s bottom line.

As a result we are seeing a fundamental change in the way the Utility companies and IPPs are changing their shift away from the availability figure and moving towards establishing a process that is repeatable, consistent and that has an ease of knowledge transfer.

Operations and maintenance of wind energy in this Europe is costly, technically challenging and potentially a brief investment if your staff can not be retained.  In order to do set yourself up for success the following challenges must be faced:

  • Improving margins through OPEX efficiency
  • Identifying and mitigating underperformance
  • A full understanding of third party service providers
  • Data Analysis
  • Staff – analysts and on site technicians
  • Offshore Specific considerations for nearshore and farshore operation
  • Access to Engineering Expertise

Wind Energy Update’s O&M Summit 2010 deals with these issues and more. This exclusive meeting can supply your business with the critical intelligence and tools you need to build cost effective, time efficient offshore wind power plants.  With Iberdrola I&C, EDP Renewables, Siemens, Vestas, GE Energy, RE Power Systems AG, Accenture, PWC, Ynfiniti Engineering Services and many others set to share their installation and permitting experience.  Find out more at:  www.windenergyupdate.com/Madrid

For more information on this press release, contact:

Tom Evans

Head of Sector

Wind Energy Update

+44 207 3757 247