Company insight
Turbine refurbishment key to decarbonised power
Houghton International improves the performance of electro-mechanical assets around the world, working with wind turbine operators, OEMs and maintenance providers to increase power generation, reduce unplanned downtime and extend equipment lifetime. Chris Robson, sales director at the company, explains more.
This can be done by proactively looking after the most valuable turbine components, with solutions that seek to repair and extend the lifespan of these parts and avoid long-distance, carbon- intensive and expensive transport. On one day in November 2022, more than 20.896GW – 70% – of the UK’s electricity was produced by wind, and that record was broken shortly after on 30 December when 20.918GW – 87.2% – was generated by UK-based wind turbines. Britain produced a record amount of wind power in 2022, the National Grid revealed on 6 January. Wind produces on average over 25% of the UK’s energy needs annually and there are now more than 11,000 wind turbines onshore and offshore with an installed capacity of over 25GW. And this capacity is set to boom further, driven by energy security concerns and the cost of natural gas. The UK Energy Security Strategy 2022 has set a goal of 95% low carbon power by 2030. To meet the sixth carbon budget, we will need a fully decarbonised power system by 2035.
W
ind power is big business and is under pressure to reduce costs and carbon footprint.
As wind energy becomes more popular and the turbines that supply it grow in size, the repairing of damaged turbines will become increasingly important.
turbine manufacture, installation, operation, repair, refurbishment and replacement. A growing number of MPs have come out in favour of a reversal of the restrictions on new onshore wind farms, and according to the Offshore Wind Industry Council approximately £155bn of private sector investment is expected in offshore wind by 2030.
“If the UK is to be ‘clean energy sourced’ by 2035, we’ll need to construct thousands of new wind turbines while keeping the current capacity running.”
To achieve this, the Government intends to quadruple offshore wind capacity to 50GW and the renewable energy industry also believes onshore wind capacity needs to increase to 30GW by 2030. This rapid expansion of wind energy in the UK means more wind
The expected life span of a commercial wind turbine is 20–25 years according to Wind Europe and the unit will need continual repair and maintenance during that period. The ‘workhorse’ component in a wind turbine is the generator. During a turbine’s lifespan, the generator will
World Wind Technology /
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require repair and maintenance and will quite often be replaced as it deteriorates due to age. Costs, logistics, lead times, manufacture and repair capacity, work force and skills are all factors in achieving this replacement quickly and efficiently. With a large proportion of existing turbines reaching the end of their OEM warranty periods, evidence from industry research points to the economic advantages of generator refurbishment, as the manufacturing and transportation of a full replacement has very high environmental as well as financial costs. Plus, the recyclability of wind turbines is under close scrutiny today – with the Covid-19 pandemic over, the Russia– Ukraine War in a period of stasis, and COP27 having taken place, climate change is at the top of the news agenda. ETIP Wind calculates that wind turbines are 85–90% recyclable on average, with components like the gearbox, generator,
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