Wind farm owners representing 12 percent of global turbine assets have founded a new peer-to-peer online platform called o2owind International, meaning owner-to-owner, dedicated to the exchange of knowledge and experience on operation and maintenance issues. The o2owind forum is the first initiative of its kind aimed at fostering wind farm O&M best practice through a collaborative approach.
Wind energy giants such as EDPR, Vattenfall, RWE, DONG Energy, and Acciona Energia have already joined this exclusive network, along with numerous other wind turbine owners.
“When it comes to troubleshooting the O&M issues they encounter, wind farm owners are not competitors,” said Mårten Nilsson, who is heading o2owind. “On the contrary, they are in the same boat, and that’s why adopting a collaborative approach to problem solving makes a lot of sense. Our members recognize that the most valuable information for turbine owners is the hands-on experience held by their peers.”
Members share the common objective of optimizing turbine yields, and many specialized discussions revolve around issues with main components such as rotor blades, gearboxes, or substations. With o2owind members owning more than 60 percent of all offshore turbines in the world, the platform is also strong on offshore O&M. Although the topics treated on the forum are mainly technical, they can also be connected to major investment decisions.
O2owind takes down the usual barriers to information exchange that get in the way of the performance optimization of wind assets.
“Compared to other industries, wind still has some teething issues that are difficult to change when we operate in isolation,” said Sverre Trollnes, manager of operation and maintenance at Statoil.
According to Alan Henderson, head of technical asset management at RWE Innogy, “Low yields and costly stand-stills have plagued the industry for too long, with no long-term gains for anyone. We need to collaborate to reach the goal. It’s that simple.”
The strict member selection criteria are designed to weed out noise and maintain a high level of expertise throughout the network.
“I consider the o2owind group as the best forum to share experiences with other wind farm owners regarding technical problems and their solution from the point of view of the owners,” said Cristobal Couret, director of production at Acciona Energia.
— Source: o2owind
For more information,
go to o2owind.com.
