The project's price, availability and fast support are attractive

The cooperation between EDF Renewables Services Belgium and Deutsche Windtechnik began in early 2021 with initial spare parts purchases from the newly formed International Spare Parts Sales department. The subsidiary EDF Renewables Services is a leading provider of operation and maintenance for wind and solar power plants in Europe. The company works for its own corporate group as well as for third parties and is active in seven European countries. The initial order was only for a blade bearing to carry out a replacement of the defective component. In the end, it turned into a comprehensive job for Deutsche Windtechnik: the sale of the blade bearing as well as the work of replacing it using the company's own ground-based winch system, which is patented throughout Europe.

The defective blade bearing made quick support necessary

The blade bearing of a Senvion 3XM at the Ciney wind farm developed a crack and required quick action. Although the component was immediately available, the main crane originally planned for the project and the service technicians to carry out the work were not. For this reason, in addition to providing the blade bearing, Deutsche Windtechnik was also commissioned to carry out the replacement work. "Thanks to Deutsche Windtechnik, we were able to replace the component three to four weeks earlier than originally planned. The replacement work was very professional, well-organised and adhered to the highest safety standards. This project once again shows why we appreciate the reliable cooperation with Deutsche Windtechnik," said Céline Rycerski, 0&M Manager at EDF Renewables Services Belgium, working for the group EDF since 15 years.

Jonas Gottwald, Team Lead Spare Parts Sales at Deutsche Windtechnik, is already thinking a step ahead and is currently developing contract ideas that include the availability of components as well as the associated services: "The availability of components and responsive support for the downstream services is very important for our clients. Contracts that cover both would provide meaningful planning security for both parties". 

Using the winch system saves significant costs

The project had a positive side-effect: the ground-based winch system provided significant cost savings because it made using a large crane unnecessary. The bureaucratic approval procedure for transport was also unnecessary, and this saved valuable time. The winch system is delivered using standard transport, so there is maximum flexibility in the implementation of the project. "We were very impressed by the performance and flexibility of the winch system. Many bureaucratic steps were eliminated, and we were able to begin the work much earlier. This is ultimately also reflected in the project costs, which were calculated higher without this solution," said Céline Rycerski.

Using the GBWS beyond national borders        

One challenge that threatened to disrupt the schedule were the Belgian regulations that required an approval procedure to use the ground-based winch system. Despite the enormous amount of documentation, the system was approved by a certified test engineer immediately before use, allowing the project to be completed within the specified time frame.

Contact person for Spare Parts:

Jonas Gottwald

j.gottwald@deutsche-windtechnik.com

+49 541 38 05 38 432