Deutsche Windtechnik's new offshore service hub enables turbine service spanning multiple wind farms with different turbine technologies

During the winter season 2020/21 (October 2020 to April 2021), Deutsche Windtechnik successfully implemented a new service concept for multi-brand deployments using helicopters for the offshore wind farms alpha ventus and Riffgat. Response times of less than three hours were achieved. At the same time, logistics and personnel costs were reduced by eight percent. The base of operations for the service work was Deutsche Windtechnik's new service hub in Emden. The building, which was inaugurated in the summer of 2020, is located in the immediate vicinity of the heliport of the coastal city, allowing maintenance and troubleshooting deployments to be initiated and carried out quickly by helicopter.

In order to make deployments even more effective, the service work was organised to encompass multiple wind farms and technologies to the greatest extent possible: Three-person service teams were assembled in such a way that different system expertise was available as needed. The traditional troubleshooting concept that was in use up until autumn 2020 specified teams with expertise in just one single system technology. Teams were previously either mobilised from Borkum by CTV (Crew Transport Vessel) or, if the deployment had to be carried out on short notice, by helicopter from Emden with a stopover on the island of Borkum. Both of these options increased the costs in the overall calculation of the projects.

Evaluation reveals significant advantages for the customer

The evaluation of the campaign based on concrete figures clearly shows that the multi-brand service hub, which was put into operation for the first time, fulfils all expectations: Response times from fault detection to the helicopter lifting off were partially under three hours, meaning that the contractually agreed response times during this maintenance interval were fulfilled without exception. This resulted in reduced downtimes for the wind turbines at the two offshore wind farms. The costs for the use of transport vehicles as well as the expenses for personnel were reduced by eight percent compared to the same period of the previous year. One important factor here is that the distance from the starting point to the place of deployment at the offshore wind farms has been reduced.

For Omexom Renewable Energies, the positive numbers clearly show that the new service concept is successful. Dirk Warnecke, Managing Director of the Riffgat wind farm, summed up the project: “Deutsche Windtechnik informed us about their plans last year. We supported them and are pleased that the innovative approach was successfully implemented in practice. Since it was possible to reduce costs, we can say that the project was successful for everyone involved."