Technical services for the operation of wind turbines
Together with its subsidiary, energy consult Prüfgesellschaft GmbH, energy consult provides additional technical services and inspections related to the operation of wind turbines.
In the course of on-site inspections, our experts can detect possible damage at an early stage, avoid downtimes and increase availability of wind turbines. You can reduce your risk of significant repair costs, loss of yield and safety-related complaints.
- Thomas SaljeTechnical Operational Management
This includes the following services:
During the periodic inspection of the wind turbine, the machine including the electrotechnical equipment of the control and safety system as well as the rotor blades, the tower and the foundation are inspected to ensure that they are free from defects. For example, the tower structure is examined for damage with regard to stability.
This can be corrosion, cracks or spalling in the supporting steel and concrete structures. We also check whether there are any unauthorised deviations from the approved design, such as the allowable tilting or the required earth load on the foundation.
A continued operation report provides information on whether continued operation after the 20-year service life would be viable and economically attractive. This requires an economic and a technical analysis of the respective wind turbine. Our experts prepare complete and independent expert reports for the safe and legally sound continued operation of your wind turbine with a service life of more than 20 years.
The report serves as proof of stability for continued operation and is the decision-making basis for continued operation, sale or repowering of your wind farm.
Ensuring the technical safety of electrical systems and equipment of a wind turbine is also one of the preventives measures that a wind farm operator should consider.
With our DGUV V3 inspection all electrical components that may represent a source of danger in the short or long term are tested.
We recommend testing the proper functioning of the grid protection device at intervals of no more than four years. Our electricians inspect your protection equipment
according to a fixed test protocol whilst also taking into account the specifications of the respective network operator.
Our experts can prepare an expert report after commissioning or prior to acceptance of your wind turbine, which includes all of its components. As a rule, an inspection is carried out after completion of trial operation. In this context, we check whether the defined wind turbine-specific criteria of your delivery agreement have been adhered to 100% and all technical requirements have been fulfilled accordingly
This expert report thus serves to clarify possible necessary improvements and repairs in advance, which therefore still have to be carried out by the wind turbine manufacturer free of charge under the warranty.
Our experts also inspect your turbine before expiry of warranty and forward any weak points found to the manufacturer responsible for remedying them in order to avoid serious, costly damage immediately after the warranty period has expired.
What’s more, we provide you with detailed test documentation for further clarification of your rights to service and repair work.
Regular inspections serve to identify any defects that arise in good time. In addition to inspecting the entire turbine and conducting an visual inspection, we also thoroughly check the noise development on rotating parts such as generator, gearbox or rotor.
Visual inspections of gearboxes using video endoscopy is a fast and cost-effective method of conducting gearbox checks. The gear endoscopy provides a concrete statement about the condition of the gear, e.g., of rolling bearings and gear teeth, which would not be recognisable without complex partial disassembly.
This way, damage can be detected at an early stage, downtimes avoided, malfunctions reduced and turbine availability improved.