True cost of wind turbine operations & maintenance

Data analysed in ‘The Wind Energy Operations & maintenance Report’ suggest that average operations and maintenance (O&M) costs run at approximately $0.027/kWh or €0.019/kWh per kWh.

This may sound like a small investment, but profitable wind farms require operators to run a tight ship. The report quotes an operator saying “Just a 1% improvement in O&M makes a huge difference on the bottom line”.

Some of the component failure cost trends exposed in this new report include:

• Until recently, wind O&M cost trends had been decreasing, although there is still scatter in even in more recent studies. This general trend of decreases in O&M costs could be attributed to the expansion in overall wind farm size and the resulting efficiencies of larger scale operations and broader fleet maintenance plans.
• Wind turbine O&M costs are subject to often unanticipated increases overtime. In fact, these costs are estimated to increase, on average, 253% over the 20-year life of the various wind machines.
• Average values of O&M costs are $0.027/kWh or €0.019/kWh per kWh.
• One data trend line in the report’s analysis suggests that O&M costs actually go up over the time period of consideration, especially when the new data is considered. This is also supported from anecdotal data suggesting an increasing trend in wind O&M costs.

• High O&M costs associated with gearboxes, generators, drive trains and blades have been virtually universal across major brands – though there are a few exceptions with recent upgrades and success stories.

It’s no surprise that the majority of R&D continues to focus on the big three components which generate the largest failure costs - the tower, rotor blades and gearbox.

“Gearboxes are still the Achilles’ heel for the wind industry, and can cost up to $500,000 to fix due to the high cost of replacement parts, cranes (which can cost $75,000-$100,000), post installation testing, re-commissioning and lost power production,” says one long-term veteran O&M technician.

More information on the true costs, challenges and solutions for wind energy operations and maintenance is available in ‘The Wind Energy Operations & Maintenance Report’ at www.windenergyupdate.com/reports.

Contact:

Pamela Muckosy

Head of Research

Wind Energy Update

pam@windenergyupdate.com

+44(0) 207 375 7554