Renewable Energy Technology Features SGS Article on Ensuring Reliable Operations of Wind Turbines

Geneva, the 12th April 2012. The article explains the significance of regular in-service inspections conducted by a reliable third-party company, to minimize the risks of costly downtime and repair periods and to ensure successful functioning of a wind farm.

Renewable Energy Technology, issued by Cavendish Group, is a monthly magazine aimed at senior professionals in emerging markets of renewable energy industries. The February 2012 edition of the magazine features an article by Olaf Robenek and Nils Dreischerf, wind turbine inspectors from SGS, entitled “Ensuring Reliable Operations of Wind Turbines.”

In the article, SGS’s experts explore the necessity of regular in-service inspections for wind farm projects conducted by an experienced third-party company. In-service inspections are the most effective method for ensuring the successful performance of a wind farm, since they can detect the imminent failure of a wind turbine’s critical components at an early stage, thus minimizing the risk of costly repair periods. With regular in-service inspections, the downtime of a wind turbine can be considerably reduced, which in turn facilitates the profitable operation of a wind farm with sustainable operational costs and the anticipated return on investment.

With an increasing number of installed wind turbines and the potential for major failure of critical components, the necessity of in-service inspections should not be underestimated. However, in-service inspections only represent a value-added service to the customer when they are conducted by a reliable third-party company. The advantages of hiring an independent inspection, verification, testing and certification company not only derives from the dedication applied by its skilled personnel, but also from its economic independence from the stakeholders.

In-service inspections, including thermographic inspection, vibration measurement of the drive train and oil analysis, endoscope inspection, blade inspection, rotor imbalance, blade pitch, angle measurement and rope access, involve a series of activities in which the various components of a wind turbine are regularly inspected and monitored throughout its entire operational lifetime.

Using a range of diverse inspection methods and analyses ensures that any unexpected degradation from normal conditions is detected as early as possible, in order to prevent consequential damage to the wind turbine.

SGS, the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company, is well-positioned to provide a comprehensive portfolio of in-service inspections for wind farm projects on a regular basis. Having an international presence with more than 70,000 employees and over 1,350 laboratories, SGS is familiar with the local environment, circumstances, languages, laws and regulations. To learn more about this topic, you can download and read the complete Renewable Energy Technology article – Ensuring Reliable Operations of Wind Turbines.

About SGS Renewable Energy Services
Based on its first-rate experience and expertise, SGS offers third-party consultancy, inspection, verification, testing and certification services for renewable energy projects including wind and tidal energy projects. For each phase of a project lifecycle, SGS Renewable Energy Competence Center offers a wide range of renewable energy services designed to minimize failure rates in operational renewable energy projects in order to improve the financial viability of the assets. In this way, SGS’s services bring benefits not only to project owners, but also to financiers and the underwriters, all of who have a stake in renewable energy projects.