At wind energy sites around the country, turbine managers are dealing with broken machines that need to be repaired at what is most often an extremely high cost. In Sigel Township, Michigan, for example, one wind turbine has finally been repaired after it was taken out of service for months.
According to to the Huron Daily Tribune, one wind turbine at DTE Energy’s Thumb Wind Park broke down in March when a blade fell off the structure, however the company confirmed that the machine was back up and running by the first week in June. The renewable energy company said that it was alerted to the broken turbine on March 11, and an ensuing inspection found that one of the blades had been damaged.
Inspectors found the turbine resting on the ground after falling off during what was determined to be a “low-wind” period. The turbine is one of 40 that are a part of the wind farm in Sigel Township, which is one of three towns that are a part of DTE’s Thumb Wind Park. An inspection of the rest of the machine was performed by the company as well as experts from GE, which supplied the turbines.
“We’re going to be meeting with them at the end of June, and they’ll tell us what the root cause was as well as why we don’t have to worry about it happening again,” DTE Energy spokesman Scott L. Simons told the media outlet.
According to the news source, Simons also took the opportunity to speak on a new turbine that has been erected in Echo Wind Park, located outside Elkton. Having successfully repaired the broken turbine, the company said it will now focus on installing another 70 machines – all constructed by GE, as well – by the end of 2013.
“So we’re moving right along,” he said of the continued work.
More downtime for managers
Although DTE is back up and running, the Moorhead Public Service in Minnesota recently had to take it’s turbine offline to perform needed maintenance, the Fargo-Moorhead Forum reports.
According to the media outlet, the turbine, known as the Zephyr, suffered from gearbox failure in January, and regional officials have been planning to replace the gearbox since. The MPS planned to use a bidding process that would have ensured the maintenance was completed by May, but between the harsh winter and the recent rains in the region, the structure has been sitting idle.
This will remain the plan until the ground is sturdy enough for a crane to move in, the news source stated. Officials say that the work should be completed by the end of June, or by early July at the latest. Repairing the gearbox will likely be a costly endeavor for the company, with some estimates putting an entire overhaul of a single turbine at about two-thirds the cost of a new turbine.
Such repair projects are a clear sign that the design of wind turbines can be improved to include an accurate forecast of when the product will fail, which can result in huge savings and less asset downtime.