Intertek to discuss the importance of risk-based equipment life optimization for wind assets during American Clean Power event
18 Aug 2021
Santa Clara, CA - Intertek, a leading Total Quality Assurance provider to industries worldwide, is pleased to announce that during the American Clean Power O&M and Safety Virtual Summit held Aug. 23-25 it will be discussing how a risk-based equipment life optimization program can help wind asset owners and operators maximize efficiency and asset life while reducing costs and safety risks.
Managing generation assets in today’s volatile electricity markets and regulatory environment is a challenge to all power plant owners. Decisions must frequently be made on capital expenditures and maintenance budgets that are prudent given projected market opportunities. Optimizing expenditures requires knowledge about current and future market conditions as well as detailed knowledge about each critical component of a wind generation unit. End of warranty, renegotiating service contracts, repowering, and purchase of older assets are all decisions that asset owners make. The underlying assumption in all these decisions is reliability and availability.
Wear & tear of components, manufacturing defects, inconsistent maintenance practices, and component aging are major concerns. Asset management decisions need to balance plant costs against projected revenues and profits, which are directly related to plant availability. A risk-based Equipment Life Optimization Program (ELOP) enables owners and operators to strategically plan and manage wind power plant asset life. We present analytical as well as condition assessment studies performed at various sites to demonstrate the value of having a program to asset management.
Nikhil Kumar, Managing Director of Asset Integrity Management (AIM) at Intertek, commented; “Utilities that have either built or acquired older wind assets are increasingly dealing with unscheduled maintenance as their assets age. The transition of responsibility from the manufacturer to the operator and then owner results in inconsistent asset management, and Intertek’s programmatic approach has been instrumental in aligning maintenance activities, inspection planning, and budgetary spend with reliability expectations for our clients.”
Nikhil Kumar is an expert in power plant cost analysis, generation reliability, risk assessment, and economic analysis. Nikhil serves on the ASME RAM committee, AWEA O&M committee and as a Senior Grid Integration Advisor for USAID’s Greening the Grid Initiative in India. He was the recipient of Energy Systems Integration Group (ESIG), 2020 Excellence Award.
About Asset Integrity Management (AIM)
Effective AIM programs manage corporate assets to gain maximum value from those assets while safeguarding personnel, the community, and the environment. AIM strategies are an ongoing activity, managing risk and safety throughout the life cycle of an asset, while adjusting to current and future challenges that may impact the asset's and the owner's stated goals. Intertek provides specialists and engineering support in all areas of Asset Integrity Management, including design, process safety, mechanical integrity, inspection and maintenance, operational and process support, corrosion, metallurgy, and risk analysis. Learn more: www.intertek.com/aim
For Media Information
Please contact:
Niki Schroeder
Global Marketing Manager
E: niki.schroeder@intertek.com
For Technical Information
Please contact:
Nikhil Kumar
Managing Director, Asset Integrity Management
E: nikhil.kumar@intertek.com
About Intertek
Intertek is a leading Total Quality Assurance provider to industries worldwide. Our network of more than 1,000 laboratories and offices in more than 100 countries, delivers innovative and bespoke Assurance, Testing, Inspection and Certification solutions for our customers’ operations and supply chains. Intertek Total Quality Assurance expertise, delivered consistently, with precision, pace and passion, enabling our customers to power ahead safely.