Wind Turbine Operations and Maintenance Users Group
The operation and maintenance, or "care and feeding" of wind turbines has become a primary topic of concern for wind plant owners and operators. Much as with other forms of generation, owners/operators are focused on issues such as warranties, service contracts, liability, maintenance schedules and challenges, and operational processes and procedures. For almost twenty years, there has been an extensive knowledge base gathered on these topics. From the days of multi-kilowatt machines to today’s multi-megawatt machines, much has been learned about wind turbine operation and maintenance.
UWIG organized the Wind Turbine Operations and Maintenance User Group to serve as a resource to utilities, developers, and independent operators as a comprehensive information resource and support group. The O&M User Group serves as a forum and collective virtual knowledge base for participants to exchange information on the issues most relevant to wind turbine owners and operators.
In 2008, the user group revamped its scope to better serve the needs of the membership. Patterned after the Combustion Turbine Operations Task Force (CTOTF), this new scope features a forum dedicated to sharing of information on actual problems and experiences from the operations of wind turbines and wind power plants. These roundtables address a particular brand of turbine. At this time, roundtables are operated for owners/operators of GE, Vestas, Siemens, Clipper, and Mitsubishi machines. Others will be formed in response to member requests.
Who Can Participate?
Membership in the O&M User Group is open to employees of UWIG member companies who have an equity interest in a wind plant, are currently operating or have under construction a wind plant, or have a valid contract for delivery of wind turbines or a wind plant. This ensures that owner/operators are talking to owner/operators and facilitates a frank and open exchange during the roundtables. Employees of UWIG member companies who do not meet these criteria can participate in the user group as interested parties, attending the plenary session of meetings and having access to presentations made in these and in other open user group forums.
User Group Meetings
A key benefit of this user group is the meetings, which are held twice a year and are coupled with a technical tour of a turbine manufacturing facility, maintenance facility, or wind plant. The meetings begin with a Plenary Session open to all user group members and interested parties, including invited vendors. The topics for the Plenary Session are items of general interest, primarily technical topics dealing with the operation and maintenance of wind turbines and wind plants.
The afternoon session consists of vendor product-specific Roundtable Forums for members only. The format includes open discussions, moderated by a Roundtable chair, centered on a specific wind turbine component or manufacturer of a component, or a specific manufacturer or model of wind turbine. The Roundtable provides the opportunity for frank and open discussion among users, who share information, knowledge and their experiences.
Informal discussion at the Roundtables is encouraged through the presentation of case studies, user experiences describing a problem and how it was solved, or literally a "show-and-tell." To ensure the confidentiality of these Roundtables, no formal minutes are taken and all parties participating must sign a non-disclosure agreement.
Topics covered in the meetings include:
Turbine specific
- Towers and foundations
- Yaw systems
- Main bearings
- Generators
- Pitch systems
- Gearboxes
- Lubrication and cooling
- Instrumentation and controls
- SCADA
- Power electrical and converters
- Certification and testing
- Warranties and service contracts
Plant-specific
- Substation
- Collection system and transformers
- Site maintenance (roads, vegetation)
- Environmental management
- Training and safety
- Security
Facilitating Communication among the Members
The O&M User Group also operates a listserv where members can post and answer questions, share experiences and distribute information. Each roundtable also operates a listserv for its membership.
Providing Value for Turbine Owners/Operators
The UWIG Turbine Operations & Maintenance Users Group is the only truly independent forum for the sharing of operational and maintenance issues. With no ties to any vendor or supplier and free of any commercial influence, this users group is facilitating an open and candid discussion on the care and feeding of wind turbines and collecting a body of knowledge regarding plant operations and maintenance.
For More Information
For information on participation requirements or opportunities to present at a meeting, send e-mail to info@uwig.org.