With O&M costs accounting for close to a quarter of the lifetime running expenses of wind turbines, industry sentiment has shifted dramatically in recent times.

Today wind executives are focusing increasingly on how they can run their turbines to produce more power.

With O&M costs accounting for close to a quarter of the lifetime running expenses of wind turbines, industry sentiment has shifted dramatically in recent times.
"Asset managers are under increasing pressure to achieve ambitious increases in the value of assets long term."
"This means they are now looking to front line O&M professionals to provide the extra megawatts they need," explains Kerr Jeferies, Project Director at Wind Energy Update (part of FCBI Energy Ltd.) which will be hosting the 3rd Annual Wind O&M Canada 2016 on 29/30 November 2016.
"What weve found, after speaking with hundreds of leading wind executives and O&M specialists, is that the ‘hunt for the next MW comes down to two critical, yet simple, targets: maximizing turbine availability and the wholescale reduction of O&M costs," adds Kerr.
And significantly, Ben Fowke, CEO of top ranked utility wind provider, Xcel Energy, recently told analysts that his organization was ‘taking action to reduce O&M expenses to help maximize the value of its long term wind investments.
Fortunately, a number of Canadian and US O&M trailblazers are leading the way in establishing innovative new maintenance/repair solutions and exceptional best practice across several areas.
Wind Energy Update is pulling out all the stops to deliver the number one forum for wind energy executives by drawing together this wealth of expertise and critical insights. Every session - from CMS and Blade/Gearbox Maintenance to HSE and Warranties, and more - will be covered by more than just case studies.
"Were placing a new focus on expertly moderated roundtables, panels and peer-to-peer Q&As to ensure that the industry gets a chance to review every major claim and innovation. And were very excited to announce our first batch of brand new speakers and look forward to revealing more over the coming weeks," he says.
New speakers from organizations such as Enbridge, EDF EN Canada, Moventas, Aercoustics, Timken, SFM Wind, Gram & Juhl, CSS Wind, e-Hazard and more, will deliver all the tools needed to deliver on OPEX goals, to maximize turbine availability, to boost AEP, to optimize human resources, to eliminate waste, to master mechanical and electrical failures and to fully integrate and achieve value from innovative data driven solutions.
Critical topics on this years agenda include:
• Post Warranty Service Options: Well examine your options for smoothly transitioning out of OEM turbine warranty and understand how to build the infrastructure you need for long-term service support and satisfy key stakeholder interests with Ian MacRobbie, General Manager, Enbridge & Alex Couture, Director of Generation, EDF EN Canada.
• Condition Monitoring: Well see how CMS retrofit solutions have actually served to detect failure symptoms, prompt decisive action and deliver of investment costs with Jeff Walkup, VP Sales & Operations, Gram & Juhl
• Blade Maintenance: Well resolve the seemingly age-old dilemma of ‘when/how do I best look after blades when you combine the very latest integration of preventative O&M scheduling and predictive analysis solutions in a full wrapped (and final) blade management strategy
• Harsh Weather Operations: Well evaluate major owner case studies which shed light on efforts about how to get to grips with cold weather and ice conditions and the effects on critical turbine operations, repairs, servicing and ice prevention.
• Gearbox Oils Mismanagement: Well evaluate the latest in oil technology management with a cross section of owners, OEMs, Gearbox Specialists and Oil Vendors to better diagnose oil health and mitigate the number of costly exchanges you currently perform with Ivan Brlecic, Operations Manager, SFM Wind.
"This truly is a cant-miss-event for any wind executive or O&M specialist looking to achieve the extra MW," concludes Kerr.
For more information go to: http://www.windenergyupdate.com/optimization-maintenance-canada/