O&M and upgrade |
O&M will be ever more critical as offshore wind transitions from supplementary to primary role
Boston Consulting Group and PEAK Wind have released a report providing a strategic roadmap to enhance the operational performance and profitability of offshore wind farms through optimised operations and maintenance practices. The report, Unlocking value through operations and maintenance - seven levers to boost offshore wind profitability, emphasises the critical role of O&M as offshore wind farms transition from supplementary green energy sources to primary energy providers. It identifies the significant untapped potential in optimising existing operational fleets, which can lead to greater value creation and support the growing role of wind energy in global energy systems.
“Efficient management of offshore wind farms is now more crucial than ever to ensure their financial viability during the operational phase. Achieving stable and predictable business outcomes requires a simultaneous focus on
both revenue and cost” says Matti Scheu at PEAK Wind.
The authors highlight seven key indicators of a mature and future-proof O&M function: 1. Balancing innovation with standardisation. 2. Transitioning from production-based to revenue-based availability metrics. 3. Redefining fitness-for-purpose across all project phases.
4. Continuous improvement of the production system.
5. Optimisation of synergies across portfolios and collaboration with neighbouring sites. 6. Designing data integration and learning models. 7. Early focus on lifecycle management. “The offshore wind industry is at a pivotal point where operational performance constitutes an ever-larger proportion of the net present value of projects. By refining O&M practices, developers can unlock significant value and enhance project
viability,” Robert Hjorth, Managing
Director and Partner in BCG’s Oslo office, added. The report also discusses the evolution of turbine technology and the necessity for a shift towards more robust predictive and revenue- focused O&M strategies. The insights provided in the report are “expected to drive significant improvements in operational efficiency and profitability for offshore wind projects worldwide,” its authors say.
Wärtsilä signs long term O&M agreements in Africa
Wärtsilä has signed a five year maintenance agreement covering 169.5 MW of power generation capacity at two Moroccan power plants. The plants are owned and operated by the Office National de l’Electricité et de l’Eau potable (ONEE), Morocco‘s public utility responsible for the production, transmission and distribution of electricity. The new agreement is a renewal of a previous five-year contract for the two power plants, located in Tan Tan and Dakhla, in southern Morocco, which both employ Wärtsilä 46 engines.
The scope of the agreement includes supply of spare parts, major overhauls, and full technical support. It will minimise the total cost of ownership of the plants, says Wärtsilä.
Operators value maintenance agreements because “they ensure the efficiency, reliability and availability of the power plants,” comments Patrick Borstner, Director, Operations Africa at Wärtsilä Energy.
The Tan Tan and Dakhla plants are expected to be used to balance renewable energy production with sustainable fuels. Morocco is utilising an increasingly large share of renewable energy, and the Wärtsilä engine technology can reach full output in a matter of minutes to balance the intermittent supply of renewables. Morocco also has an ambitious hydrogen development plan, and the Wärtsilä engines could be converted to operate on this fuel eventually.
ONEE/Wärtsilä maintenance agreement signing. From left to right: Julien Brachet, Mohamed Sadouk, Zakaria Choubi, Abdallah Boukind, Hamid Lkadi, Babacar Diouf and Patrick Borstner. Wärtsilä 46 engine in the background. ©Wärtsilä
Concrete plans for Nigeria Meanwhile, in Nigeria, Wärtsilä reports the signature of a ten year operation and maintenance agreement for a captive power plant providing electricity to a new Nigerian cement producing facility. The cement plant is owned by Mangal Industries and located in Kogi State. The power plant is critical to the facility’s cement production since the site is remotely located, with limited access to the electricity grid. It employs five Wärtsilä 34DF dual fuel engines delivering an output of 50 MW. The O&M agreement is designed to ensure that the facility can reliably maintain its cement production target of three million metric tons per year. “We are reliant on the power plant for our operations…Not only will the agreement provide
20 | July/August 2024|
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the assured reliability we need, but it also gives us cost predictability,” said Fahad Mangal, Managing Director, Mangal Industries Limited. The ten-year agreement started immediately, with the facility commencing operation in Q2, 2024, running on liquid fuel initially. The facility will switch to natural gas operation when the natural gas pipeline is commissioned. The power plant’s dual-fuel engines can be operated both on liquid fuel and natural gas and could be converted to operate with future low- or zero- carbon fuels when they become available. “Wärtsilä now has more than 400 MW of installed capacity for the cement industry in Nigeria, and we are operating three captive power plants in three different states,” commented Patrick Borstner, Director, Operations Africa at Wärtsilä Energy. Nigeria is experiencing increasing demand for cement for its many infrastructure projects, and there has been a domestic supply gap. With this new plant, Mangal will partly address this issue.
Wärtsilä 34 DF engine. ©Wärtsilä
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