Operators and OEMs look to proactive blade maintenance strategies as a route to better yields

With longer blades, faster tip speeds and harsher operating environments, early-years blade erosion is a growing challenge for onshore and offshore wind farms. This is driving new approaches, with in-warranty repairs, preinstalled blade protection and new, more durable solutions becoming more common.

The wind industry has reached a tipping point.

Early years blade erosion is becoming a more common phenomenon and operators and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are now adopting new strategies to avoid costly downtime and operating with sub-optimal, eroded blades, which can impact on annual energy production. 

In the last decade, we have seen blade lengths increase substantially, bringing tip speeds over 200 mph.

In parallel, offshore operators are looking to more distant sites, which bring higher wind speeds, but also higher average rainfall and heavier sea states, leading to faster times to significant blade erosion, yet shorter weather windows for repair.

To read the full content, please download the PDF below.