Our team of experts have identified for you 3 main risks to be aware of:
1. Cosmetic damages
Small defaults often link to erosion; they will directly impact the blade’s aerodynamic and can lead to a loss of production of about 1%.
Many contracts do not carry the obligation for the contractor to perform cleaning, resurfacing and/or painting of external parts, including blades; having a direct impact on aerodynamics.
2. Wear & tear events
Wear & tear events are to be understood as minor peeling, air pockets & crack formations on the surface of the blades and account for about 60% of damages claimed. Most turbine manufacturers won’t be held responsible if those events occur, as in most cases it isn’t a structural default and not an emergency. Small cracks aren’t a priority for manufacturers as the priority is always given to big components failures.
However, they have to be taken seriously as it can easily become a larger issue and hide bigger damage. In the end, those events will also have a direct impact on your wind park performance, power curve & load of your rotor.
3. Major events
This can be summed up most of the time as lightning strikes. Those are now more often than not excluded from O&M contracts and yet they are amongst the most important failures that can occur. Insurance cover needs to be carefully reviewed to cover the contractual shortfall. Not doing so can cost from 10K€ to 50k€ per event.
Bladesolver: a unique solution to protect your blades from every risk
Bladesolver is one of our in-house services specifically designed to cover shortfalls of O&M contracts with regards to blades and consists of 4 steps:
- Risk assessment audit: performing a risk analysis of your asset at the beginning of your contract,
- Risk categorization report: providing you with a report and solutions to reduce risks,
- Implementation: chosing the right solution for every given blade, over the contract lifetime,
- Monitoring & upgrade: monitoring your blade activity and providing you with new technologies to improve your wind farm production.
To discover Bladesolver in detail, click here.