End-of-Warranty Inspections Key for Windfarm Owners

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The impending end of the warranty periods for wind turbine-generators was one of the major points of discussion at the O&M Summit USA 2011, held this week in Dallas, Texas. Presenters from companies such as Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) (Charlotte, North Carolina), E.ON Climate & Renewable North America LLC (Chicago, Illinois), and Horizon Wind Energy LLC (Houston, Texas) were just a few windfarm owners that were present for the third annual event.

Click on image at right for a breakdown by region of wind assets that will experience warranty expiration by the end of 2012.

With warranty periods lasting approximately two to five years, speakers stressed the need for all asset owners to take advantage of the time before a warranty expires and have an independent inspector evaluate assets. Upwind Solutions Incorporated (Medford, Oregon) is one such company that performs inspections for asset holders.

Wood Group, NAES Corporation, Wanzek Construction and Barr Fabrication Field Services were a few of the 180 attendees at the convention.

Warranties will expire for approximately 32 gigawatts of wind generation by 2012. Speakers stressed that full turbine warranty inspections could reveal gearbox damage, bearing damage, wiring issues, hydraulic leaks and blade damage. This is quite crucial to wind asset owners, as items such as a gearbox can cost more than $300,000.

Field services groups and asset owners were not the only ones present at the conference. Companies such as Vestas Americas (Portland, Oregon) and GE Energy (Atlanta, Georgia) listened intently about warranty programs and how to work with OEM. Presenters also stressed how important it is not to wait until the last minute to have these inspections done, as a warranty inspection at a facility could lead up to a large warranty claim to the OEM and take some time to process.

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