Wind farms are an increasingly common landscape element in many regions. And with good reason. After all, wind turbine generator systems are one of the cleanest sources of energy available. However, just like other machinery, they too must adhere to strict safety requirements. Progressive safety solutions from B&R give wind turbine manufacturers
all the tools they need to meet these demands.
Wind turbines must be designed to operate safely under all possible conditions, including extreme weather events. Regulations are in place to govern all aspects of wind energy generation. They also serve as guidelines for manufacturers. Certification according to the IEC 61400 standard for wind turbines or the “Guideline for the Certification of Wind Turbines” from Germanischer Lloyd (GL) provides a seal of quality for the rotating giants.
The primary focus of the GL guideline is on defining all conceivable load scenarios that might occur over the planned lifetime of a turbine. Any conditions that fall outside these scenarios can result in undefined turbine behavior. In the worst case this could even present a hazard to personnel and equipment. The purpose of a safety solution is to ensure that this never occurs.
This is the reason for an important update in the latest version of the 2010 Edition of the GL guideline requiring a modern safety system in line with ISO EN 13849 “Safety of machinery”. More specifically, it requires an evaluation of all critical components with regard to safety. The 2010 Edition replaces the previous 2003 Edition with a transition period until 2015.
B&R’s integrated safety technology is a sleek and elegant way to meet all of the requirements and provide maximum safety. The system is rated Performance Level e according to ISO EN 13849 and SIL 3 according to IEC 61508. As robust as it is effective, B&R safety technology can easily handle even the most demanding environments. This is confirmed by the GL certification for maritime use.
