WearCheck recently developed and launched a condition monitoring kit which is designed specifically for wind turbines, aiming to boost their reliability and reduce operating costs.

Wind power is the world's largest growing energy source thanks to advancing wind turbine technology. Wind turbines have the potential to generate enough power to meet the growing need for electricity, and simultaneously reduce consumption of water and emission of pollutants such as carbon dioxide.

So says WearCheck senior diagnostician Steven Lara-Lee Lumley.

‘However,’ she notes, ‘barriers to widespread acceptance of wind turbines include their reliability, costs of operation and maintenance of the equipment relative to alternative means of power generation.’

‘Oil analysis, along with other condition monitoring tools, offers the potential to effectively manage gearbox maintenance by detecting early damage as well as tracking the severity of the damage.  This, in turn, boosts the reliability and availability of the various wind systems. It is for this reason that most OEMs recommend routine oil analysis as part of an effective maintenance strategy.

In Technical Bulletin 58, which can be viewed here, Lumley discusses the various preventive maintenance options that are available to the wind power industry.