SPONSORS OF THE OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE FEATURE
Service and Maintenance is a part of the global wind industry that is often overlooked. Although it is not as exciting or as glamorous as the construction phases, it is an essential element that serves to underpin the economics of the supply chain for the future. Whilst construction phases begin and end, the service and maintenance phase will endure for each and every turbine for the full length of its design life and often beyond. As such, the requirement for service and maintenance grows exponentially. This phenomenon is further magnified by the ever increasing number of turbines per new wind farm.
SUBSTANTIAL UNDERTAKING Although the service and maintenance contracts will serve as important income streams to the turbine manufacturers, it is almost certain that they will also rely on third party contractors to keep up with the total demand and to allay the risk of not fulfilling their contract obligations.
The scale on which service and maintenance will need to be delivered, therefore, presents a number of considerable challenges. Firstly, the availability of trained and experienced manpower and secondly, (for the offshore part) the number of suitable work vessels capable of long periods at sea with minimal support and the capacity to undertake potentially large and complicated scheduled and unscheduled operations.
A ‘TICKING TIME-BOMB’ The result is a ‘ticking time-bomb’ whereby demand will very quickly outstrip supply and service and maintenance programmes will rapidly fall behind schedule. This will ultimately result in technical failures, decreased availability, increased downtime and loss of profits to the utilities. The key driver behind the business case for renewable energy is to bring the cost per KWh down to a more affordable level. Without a dramatic re-orientation of the supply chain, it is difficult to envisage how this is likely to be achieved.
LONG TERM COMMITMENT Although service and maintenance activities are typically more labour intensive and less profitable than construction and installation activities they do represent the longevity element within the collective business plan.
Service and maintenance technicians are also a completely different breed to that of installation technicians and as such, an appropriate recruitment and training regime is essential.
PROPORTIONATE AND IMMEDIATE SUPPLY CHAIN REACTION REQUIREMENT The solution, therefore, lies with the current supply chain to react proportionately and to react immediately to this inevitable and substantial market demand. Failure to fulfill the service and maintenance requirement will mean the failure of the market to deliver sustainable energy and the vision of a renewable future will be assigned to the museum of nice but over-expensive solutions.
Stuart Thornton Global Wind Service
(a Fred. Olsen Related Company)
www.globalwindservice.com
www.windenergynetwork.co.uk
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