| Power plant products Motion compensated gangway
Ampelmann, the offshore access specialist, has signed its first contract in China’s offshore wind industry. The company will provide its flagship A-type gangway to Guangdong Safety New Energy for the offshore wind works off Guangdong province. It secured this project with the support of its local partner in the region Leading Marine (HK) Co. Ltd.
China has ambitious targets for generating green energy. In the Guangdong area, China plans to install 10 GW by 2030, part of the plan to achieve 40 GW nationwide by that same year.
By the end of October 2021, Ampelmann will provide the A-type on the client’s new 60m service operation vessel (SOV) ‘MV Guang An Yun Wei 88’. It will be the first SOV used in the country to be equipped with a motion compensated gangway. The system will enable the safe transfer of personnel at Guangdong Yangjiang offshore wind farm, the largest wind farm in Guangdong and located 40 nautical miles offshore where turbines will be installed at a depth of around 40m.
Guangdong Safety New Energy is a subsidiary of Guangdong Yuean Shipping.
The venture with Ampelmann will be for a minimum period of six months and could possibly be extended for another half a year.
The project will mark Yuean’s first step in the offshore wind operations and maintenance sector.
Improved WTG inspection by drones
Sulzer Schmid and Enertrag Betrieb have teamed up to provide a new wind turbine blade inspection solution that integrates Enertrag Betrieb’s lightning protection systems (LPS) testing solution with Sulzer Schmid’s UAV technology and digital inspection platform. This key innovation should enable LPS testing to be carried out at the same time as rotor blade inspections, saving time for operators and owners.
According to expert studies, each wind turbine has a high probability of being struck
by lightning at least once a year, making LPS testing an essential component of wind turbine inspections.
The Enertrag process for LPS testing employs an intermittent AC voltage of up to 6000V, which is much closer to the reality of a lightning strike than the customary measurements at just 24V. The voltage is fed into the LPS located at the root of the wind turbine rotor blade which then generates an intermittent electric field around the blade. If the electric field is detected in the area of the blade tip, the lightning
protection system is functional. If the electric field does not reach the blade tip, this indicates damage to the LPS. The damage would be where the electric field stops in the direction of the blade tip.
The two companies have co-developed a non-contact testing solution by mounting the LPS measuring equipment on the DJI M300 RTK blade inspection drone and integrating the results within Sulzer Schmid’s 3DX blade platform.
The development of the prototype and its test phase has been completed and the product feasibility has been proven in a recent study.
Tom Sulzer, Sulzer Schmid co-founder and CEO, commented. “We are delighted to be working on this exciting project which develops a new ground-breaking use of our technology. With this new solution, ENERTRAG Betrieb customers can combine LPS testing and rotor blade inspections in one go.” “Non-contact lightning protection measurement by drone will become the new norm for equipment inspection,” commented Dr Konrad Iffarth, key driver of the LPS testing innovation at Enertrag Betrieb. “The new measuring method simulates a lightning strike much more accurately than current test methods could. Faulty results will be reduced, and the method will be universally applicable for all plant types.”
www.modernpowersystems.com | September 2021 | 39
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