UNLIMITED HARVESTING How long can wind turbines operate?

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1 UNLIMITED HARVESTING How long can wind turbines operate? Dieter Fries, Ingenieurbüro Fries Photo Jan Oelker, WP Boulay 1

2 MY EXPERIENCE From 1989 until 1999 General sales agent of Micon, later NEG Micon Owner of wind turbines 225 & 500 kw since 1994 Owner s engineer for an 80 MW wind farm in Egypt from 2005 to 2014 Since 2008 Head of the wind turbine owners forum and Member of the Board of the German Wind Energy Association Since 2013 co-owner of Enercon E 82 2,3 MW (This project was repowered.) Dieter Fries, Ingenieurbüro Fries 2

3 BWE COMMITTEES AND WORKING GROUPS Bundesverband Windenergie Committees Experience and know-how Working Groups Special issues Forum of Owners Structured for manufacturers Investment Owner and owner forums Wind farm management Financing Manufacturer and supplier Legal issues Planning of wind farms Technical experts Wind assessment Science Air navigation lights Foundations Radar problems Public relations Environment & wind energy Grid integration Rotor blade Continued operation of WTGs Market transformation Forum independent maintenance Enercon NEG-Micon Nordex Senvion Siemens Wind Power Vestas Dieter Fries, Ingenieurbüro Fries 3

4 DESIGN LIFETIME FOR WINDTURBINES Standard design lifetime 20 years Possible extension of lifetime due to lower wind speeds at the site Additional lifetime for periods when the turbine was not operating i.e. longer repairs, grid problems In Denmark more than 50% of the wind turbines are operating after 20 years Design lifetime 25/30 years for new designs Dieter Fries, Ingenieurbüro Fries 4

5 REASONS FOR REPOWERING Better economy with improved turbine designs Improved wind conditions with higher towers Improved efficiency with larger rotors Technical problems with existing wind turbines End of design lifetime Dieter Fries, Ingenieurbüro Fries 5

6 REASONS FOR CONTINUED OPERATION Detailed knowledge about wind conditions and results Adequate tariff Reliable profits No investment risk Ecological advantage due to longer period of use Dieter Fries, Ingenieurbüro Fries 6

7 MONTHLY AVERAGE WHOLESALE PRICES IN THE CWE REGION Dieter Fries, Ingenieurbüro Fries 7

8 ECONOMY OF WIND TURBINES Based on annual yield and tariff 4 cent / kwh Annual yield MWH Annual earnings EUR (4 Cent/kWh) Maintenance Spare parts and consumables Land lease Commercial management Technical management Unexpected costs Surplus Dieter Fries, Ingenieurbüro Fries 8

9 CONCLUSIONS Surplus increases with larger annual yield for each WTG Lower marginal costs due to the relative share of fixed operational costs Fixed costs are estimated at 40-60% Dieter Fries, Ingenieurbüro Fries 9

10 OPTIMISING MAINTENANCE COSTS Qualified technical management with evaluation of different maintenance concepts Basic O&M contract Own teams for smaller maintenance tasks Specialised service providers i.e. inverters, transformers etc. Independent service providers Use of secondhand spare parts which are available for turbines up to 2 MW Dieter Fries, Ingenieurbüro Fries 10

11 PRICES FOR SPARE PARTS 600 kw An example. It is worth checking the availability. Component OEM Price 2003 (EUR) Used parts 2015 (EUR) According to condition 3 Rotorblades with lightning protection Drive train Generator 600 kw Refurbishing of generator Controller WP Water cooler Yawmotor and gear Dieter Fries, Ingenieurbüro Fries 11

12 WAREHOUSE WITH USED SPARE PARTS Dieter Fries, Ingenieurbüro Fries Photo Wind Nielsen 12

13 FUTURE DEVELOPMENT We need a sufficient tariff for wind energy 4 Cent / kwh Reduced operation during low market prices as possible strategy Loss of production Decreased maintenance costs due to reduced wear? Dieter Fries, Ingenieurbüro Fries 13

14 THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION Dieter Fries, Ingenieurbüro Fries 14