Vigorous Growth

This rapid increase is mainly due to the markets in the USA, in Spain and in China; in these countries alone, the capacities were expanded by a total of 12,000 MW. This corresponds to 60 % of the newly installed capacity. Germany is lagging behind India at slot five for new capacity, with new plants contributing an additional 1,666 MW. And yet, with a little more than 22,000 MW of total output installed, Germany is still the number one in the wind energy market. Just how long remains to be seen - the USA is close on Germany's heels and could soon take over the market leadership.

The tempestuous growth of the industry is also increasing the need for all-round services in wind energy. Through the partnership between the Industrial Services of GL, WINDTEST and Hélimax Energy Inc., the Canadian market leader for engineering and advisory services, a high-performance global provider in the wind energy sector was born at the end of 2007.

The spectrum of services offered by Hélimax ranges from site identification through supervision of commissioning and up to ongoing support of plant operation. In addition, the areas of wind-resource evaluation, wind farm design, energy-yield estimates, environmental impact assessments, due diligence services and operation optimization.
 
During the conception, construction and commissioning of wind farms, diverging interests can cause the progress of project management to falter. Delays in the development of wind farms are generally associated with additional costs, however. When the disputes drag on, the operating companies and investors have to revise their profit expectations downwards.

The Business Segment "Renewables" of GL also offers valuable support in cases of disagreement. In cooperation with the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR Solve) in London, GL is offering the mediation concept ProjectMediation plus (shared relationship and project risk management) for banks, investors, engineering offices and manufacturers in the field of offshore wind energy. Here the aim is to detect project-threatening conflicts between all participants at an early stage and to provide sustainable solutions.

Calculating Profitability
Operational support is also provided by Germanischer Lloyd in estimating the outlay for wind turbines. The costing of the operation, maintenance and average availability of wind turbines is of decisive significance in the planning process, to obtain an accurate assessment of the expected profi tability. GL has been offering the economic analysis of wind farms since 2007. The "Operation and Maintenance Model" software, produced by the research institute ECN of the Netherlands, is used for this purpose. It permits an analysis of sites, service concepts, access systems and other technical factors. GL subjected the software to thorough testing, and has also certified it.

Once a wind turbine has been installed, it is important to monitor the operation and condition of the plant over the course of its service lifetime. Condition monitoring systems (CMSs) continuously supply the operator with data on the current state of the wind installation.

Especially in the case of offshore plants, but also with onshore installations, timely information on changes in the operational parameters can help to prevent production outages. Condition monitoring systems register all the relevant operational parameters and contribute greatly towards the efficient operation of wind turbines. The function of a CMS is certified by GL on the basis of an updated standard. Amongst others, the standard's amendments consider the condition monitoring and identification of system components, such as rotor blades. The standard is regarded as a foundation for the development and installation of CMSs in wind turbines. In addition, the standard mandates the use of performance data, e.g. the analysis, interpretation and storage, as well as the procedures necessary when the specified limit values are exceeded.

The purpose of a condition monitoring system is to predict the incipient damage at turbine components, keep the damage to a minimum, and thus avoid subsequent damage to other components. Maintenance procedures can be planned, which helps to avoid shutdown periods. As a consequence, the availability is improved and maintenance costs can be reduced.