Gamesa, a global technology leader in wind energy, will attend the III Manten-er trade fair, which begins in Valladolid, with new offerings in the area of operation and maintenance (O&M) services for the wind energy market. These developments include the European and international launch of Gamesa's business for reconditioning major turbine components (gearboxes, generators and blades).
The new service, which the company already provides to Spain's leading wind farm developers, extends the useful life of wind turbines by upgrading and replacing internal turbine parts with the most up-to-date technologies, thereby enabling owners to optimise and lengthen the lifespan of their machines. This service enables operators to improve turbine yield and the productivity of their wind farm projects while reducing operation and maintenance (O&M) costs.
Advantages of a dual role as manufacturer and maintenance provider
"In the current economic and industry environment it is crucial to cut maintenance costs, and our dual role as a manufacturer and maintenance provider gives us an edge. Companies like Gamesa, with beginning-to-end involvement in the industry - from the design and validation of components to their manufacture and maintenance - have the ideal know-how and are best placed to incorporate improvements in design and processes when refurbishing major components, including other technologies," said Emmanual García de la Peña, Gamesa's Global Major Components Reconditioning Operations General Management Director.
"Maintenance services are becoming highly sophisticated.Lowering the cost of energy (CoE) entails designing and manufacturing ever more powerful turbines, which in turn requires greater technological complexity and a higher degree of expertise and training among interdisciplinary teams. This know-how leaves us well placed to be leaders in overhauling major components," said García de la Peña.
Optimising response times
Gamesa offers other advantages in the area of reconditioning major components: optimising response times, thanks to the availability of replacement parts in stock for a range of major component models; moreover, its WebMega and SMP tools enable the company to anticipate and schedule needed changes to major corrective work during low-wind periods. Similarly, customers of Gamesa's O&M services can track the diagnostics and status of their machines' reconditioning processes in real time.
During the trade fair -- sponsored by Gamesa and organised by the Castile and León Association of Wind Energy Developers (APECYL) - the company will showcase other state-of-the-art services in the area of operation and maintenance. These include its GPA (Gamesa Premium Availability) programme, which took two years to develop and features improvements in service design and processes, achieves improvements of 10% in the OPEX of the assets and aims for availability rates of 99%.
Contracts with more than 130 customers worldwide for O&M services on 15,000 MW
Gamesa's full-service approach in the wind industry is rounded off with its operation and maintenance (O&M) services business, a division staffed by a team of more than 2,500 professionals with an international presence servicing 15,000 MW of turbines for more than 130 customers.
Gamesa has a proprietary services structure augmented by the operational support of a network of specialised providers in operation and maintenance, who give the company additional reach to address its customers' needs in all wind markets throughout the world. At the same time, Gamesa offers full-service O&M solutions for turbines made by other manufacturers plus customised financing plans tailored to each client, with the aim of offering greater added value to its customers.
Gamesa is also at work on programmes to maximise energy output, enhance availability and reduce operation and maintenance (O&M) costs in order to lower the cost of energy to 20% by 2013 and to 30% within the next five years.
The company plans to expand its footprint in this market, adding value and recurring revenue streams to its core business with the goal of doubling its turbine maintenance volumes to 24,000 MW within the next three years.