Power operators around the world rely on Intertek’s Total Quality Assurance services and innovative technology to improve performance and reliability of assets, so their facilities are performing at optimal capacity.
Intertek supports wind power industry manufacturers, owners, developers, and operators with critical services including asset management, forensics and root cause analysis, engineering, product and system certification, structural analysis and inspection, field inspection and labeling, independent verification, and monitoring.
Through our industry-leading responsiveness and turnaround times, we bring improved reliability and safety to our clients, with reduced failure-related down times.
Much of the wind generating fleet is less than a decade old, and therefore the impact of equipment age on reliability and performance has not manifested in a significant way.
However, as this large fleet of wind assets age, it is expected that the units will degrade in terms of reliability and performance. Some studies have estimated that wind turbines like other rotating equipment tend to lose 1.6+/-0.2% of their output per years.
Our experience as well as literature research confirms that most operators suffer from a lack of detailed failure and reliability data on wind turbine generators. From a design perspective, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 61400 standard estimates the life of a wind turbine to be a minimum of 20 years.
Main challenges of performing reliability studies as well as having a long-term O&M plan are:
- Sample size of failure data
- Complexity of components
- Wind and site-specific variability
- Inconsistent operating practices & operator training
- Technology advancements
- Condition monitoring and predictive maintenance
- Warranty and service contracts
We strive to help companies manage their wind assets by providing performance and condition insights and solutions. This is achieved by offering unparalleled engineering service, using industry best practices driven by the latest technologies, and innovative strategies.
Around the globe, our projects have raised the performance of our clients’ assets, so their facilities are performing at optimal capacity.
