Upfront Investments in O&M Reduce Lost Power Production

DBB Jack-up, an operations and maintenance service provider to offshore wind farm owners and turbine manufacturers, today released a new report on operations and maintenance in the offshore wind industry.

The report based on exclusive research by MAKE Consulting reveals that the time lost in power production in the event of a major component replacement can be reduced by up to 60 percent. Achieving this requires early planning and investments in operations and maintenance.

With the installed base of offshore wind capacity continuing its rapid increase, the need for more efficient and effective turbine maintenance will continue to grow in the future. MAKE Consulting has researched how today’s offshore wind investments and strategic decisions will impact tomorrow’s O&M costs. The findings are presented in a report that explores significant challenges related to operations and maintenance facing the offshore wind energy industry. To illustrate its findings, the report describes in specific terms just how much a wind farm owner can save by being prepared for the event of a major component failure.

On the back of changing market demands, which will see larger turbines installed in deeper waters and further out to sea, the report claims that the supply chain in its current form and way of working will have difficulty servicing this demand. It calls for supply chain innovation to keep pace with wind turbine and offshore project development by improving operational integration.

Ole Jacob W. Nielsen, Head of Sales & Marketing at DBB Jack-Up says: “We commissioned this report because we believe there is a lack of awareness in the market about the strategic importance of operations and maintenance. We want to bring new research to light in order to help more players in the supply chain understand what they can do to meet future demands.”

“A key conclusion is that innovative thinking and long-term investment in the industry is required. Asset owners, wind turbine OEMs and vessel owners need to engage early in the development and contract stage of offshore projects,” says Ole Jacob W. Nielsen.

Thorsten Jalk, CEO of DBB Jack-Up says: “This report is significant because it highlights the need for wind farm owners to think strategically about operations and maintenance, rather than treating it as an after-thought. There is significant time and money to be saved by not waiting for a component to fail. We can’t ignore this, particularly as the cost of energy in offshore wind needs to decrease by 40 percent over the coming years.”

Press release, April 14, 2014; Image: DBB