The condition of a wind turbine is assessed through an on-site inspection that is informed by the analytical assessment. This allows for specific weaknesses, defects or potential problems to be checked. Physical monitoring also looks for unusual wear or damage to components and equipment. Load-bearing and safety critical components require particular attention, with some types of wind turbine having their own design flaws or production issues that could lead to premature defects.
Physical checks are performed on the turbine blades, the supporting structure and the foundation to look for signs of corrosion and cracking or to audibly listen for suspicious or unusual noises from the gear and bearing assemblies. Significant damage can lead to the immediate shutdown of an asset, often incurring costly downtimes ahead of maintenance or repair.
However, these checks tend to locate minor damage caused by corrosion, fatigue or weathering, allowing the defect to be fixed before it gets any worse. Different parts require different levels of monitoring and maintenance, with turbine blades and cables requiring higher levels of inspection and care. Physical monitoring also refers to monitoring the surrounding environment, and how this may influence the turbulence and wind speeds used in the analytical assessment.
Manufacturers are working on new designs to help reduce these costs by creating turbines that require fewer service visits and, consequently, less downtime. However, costs for repair and replacement parts are more difficult to ascertain as they can be influenced by the age and condition of the turbine, frequently increasing as the asset ages.
In addition, as very few turbines have reached the end of their life expectancy, there is little data on these costs later on the lifecycle, while many older turbines are smaller than those currently on the market. Wind farm operators are faced with business decisions as their assets age — whether to continue operation, repower or to decommission.
These decisions are affected by the physical condition compared to the theoretical lifetime of the turbines. On-site inspections and monitoring tools help evaluate these factors to ensure wind farms operate safely within their design lifetime. This lifetime can be extended or shortened, depending on damage caused by environmental factors and fatigue. Certain components, such as the blades, require extra monitoring and maintenance and technologies, such as BladeSave, can simplify this process for the operator, allowing for the continual remote monitoring of wind turbine blade life.
If a wind farm is operated within the parameters of the design lifetime and conditions and maintenance is carried out regularly, they can operate beyond the design life. In many cases, the wind conditions at a site create lower loads than anticipated, meaning that turbine structures are free from significant damage. In these instances, repairs are minor and relatively inexpensive while a lifetime extension assessment could determine that a turbine can continue to operate beyond the original design life.
Wind turbine blades last an average of about 25 to 30 years. When they are replaced, the old blades become a challenge, from transporting them out of the field to finding a place to store the blades, which can be longer than a Boeing wing.
Finding an environmentally friendly and economical way to dispose of the blades will become a growing problem. In the U.
Over the next two years, an estimated 35, of those blades will be decommissioned and need somewhere to go. Last year G. Renewable Energy, a division of General Electric, announced that it would begin recycling the blades by shredding them into raw material for use in cement manufacturing. In the Netherlands, one city turned the old blades into a playground. Only by putting oneself in danger. Besides the unpleasant noises and distracting motion, wind turbines are not safe.
They are high-voltage electrical devices with large moving parts. It is estimated that for every turbines, one blade will break off see Larwood, In the winter, heavy sheets of ice can build up and then fall or be thrown off. Access to the land around wind turbines is usually restricted, even to the landowner.
Are bigger turbines more efficient? No, they are just bigger. Output depends on wind speed and the combination of blade diameter and generator size. Use of copyrighted material adheres to Fair Use. Benefit About NWW. This turbine has the potential to generate 67 GWh of renewable electricity each year which is enough to power over 16, homes. The Haliade-X is a game-changer for the wind energy industry. This is capable of powering clean and renewable wind energy to around 9, homes.
You might have noticed how the longest wind turbine blades are found on offshore turbines. This is due to various factors including the visual and noise pollution that wind turbines produce.
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