$40billion worth of turbines will come out of their warranty period in 2012, or to put it another way somewhere between 20,000-40,000 turbines will need their future O&M strategy accounted for reported by wind energy update.

London April 01, 2012

Wind energy Update report that regardless of the outcome for the PTC, Utilities and Independent Power Producers (IPPs) who own assets operating in North America will have to closely evaluate their Wind Farm aftercare strategies in a constant effort to lower operational expenditure (OPEX).

Power generation and consequently selling that power has, and always will be, an energy company's prime directive. Efforts to increase yield or reduce downtime (scheduled or unscheduled) are already forefront in wind energy operators business plans.

But the options for maintenance are not equal. As Wind Energy Update's recent end of Warranty wind farm O&M options report states "Corrective maintenance of gearboxes often takes 14 more days than preventative maintenance!". That is potentially two weeks additional lost revenue, and something which can be avoided through implementing a low-risk O&M strategy.

By taking the time to gather useful data, talk and share studies of operational success a business has a far greater chance to identify not only as many end of warranty options, service providers and products by also to establish the ones right for them.

Wind Energy Update, organizer of the North America's Wind Energy Operations and Maintenance Summit, are delighted to welcome over 300 wind experts comprising of Utilities, IPPs, Developers, Manufacturers, Contractors, R&D experts, Consultants and Service providers confirm their attendance at their latest North American event.

E.ON Climate & Renewables, AES Wind Generation, Iberdrola Renewables, Duke Energy, EDP Renewables, Infigen Energy, Edison Mission, TransAlta, Wind Capital Group, Puget Sound Energy, enXco, Outland Energy Services, Run Energy, GE, Acciona, Siemens, Enerco, NERC, Praxis, Hytorc, Foundation Engineering, Complete Wind, GasTops, David Brown, Gearbox Express, and Alltite are just a few of the North American wind industry companies who will meet this April in Dallas to discuss, debate and appraise the latest O&M strategies to reduce costs, optimize efficiency, and improve overall ROI.

Tom Evans, Wind Energy Update's MD explained, ‘It matters not that the media generate a negative globally outlook, businesses still want to win contracts, increase efficiency in their processes and keep their turbines running. Asset owners are extremely eager to reduce the cost of energy from their wind farms – with the next generation of performance enhancement and risk avoidance solutions coming to market, the end of warranty market is as exciting as it's ever been!"

The focus of the event is how to utilize the latest industry experience, proven technology and O&M strategies to maximize generation and reduce costs in North American wind farms. Topics include:

*O&M markets and trends for 2012 and beyond
*End of warranty options (EOW)
*Performance optimization
*Retrofit technology, Upgrading & Repowering
*Advanced Monitoring Technologies
*Life extension of critical components
*Major Part Failure & Repair
*Grid Integration & Curtailment

The event promises to deliver wind O&M strategies for wind companies whether they are big or small, or new or established.

For more information on this event, speakers, agenda and workshop, visit the website:http://www.windenergyupdate.com/operations-maintenance-usa/