Making wind energy maintenance more efficient

In this, first of four articles, we look at how ActSafe Powered Ascenders are making wind turbine maintenance quicker and more efficient.

We are all familiar with the adage “time is money”, and in offshore wind energy nothing could be more true. Getting people and material onsite quicker and allowing work tasks to be completed more efficiently can save thousands of euros per annum. ActSafe Powered Ascenders are helping to make wind turbine construction and maintenance cheaper by enabling personnel to get themselves in difficult to reach places and manage tools and components more easily, saving both time and material costs.

Personnel access and work positioning

In wind energy, it is imperative that maintenance and construction personnel can reach their place of work. The technicians need to be able to perform tasks, as efficiently as possible, to reduce work time and get tasks completed during available weather windows.

Although many tasks can be performed from existing access platforms, there are still some areas of a wind turbine that are difficult to reach. These include;

1. The interior of the transition piece
2. The exterior of the nacelle
3. The exterior of the spinner
4. Wind turbine blades
5. The exterior of the tower
6. Some areas of the interior of the tower.