An interview with Steffen Lehmann 
 

Deutsche Windtechnik and the ENGIE Group have a Europe-wide cooperation agreement for the maintenance of wind turbines in Germany, Belgium and Poland. Engie is one of the most important market participants in renewable energies worldwide and is the market leader in France for wind and photovoltaics. This summer, ENGIE Germany commissioned Deutsche Windtechnik to retrofit 24 wind turbines that use different turbine technologies with its internally developed ADLS system. We asked Steffen Lehmann, project manager for ADLS implementation at ENGIE Germany, what the deciding factors were. 

ENGIE and Deutsche Windtechnik already know each other. What is your assessment of the collaboration so far?  
We have been working together in the area of wind turbine maintenance for several years. ENGIE Germany is required to equip a number of its systems with ADLS by December 31, 2022, so it made sense to include Deutsche Windtechnik in our considerations. We are currently in the implementation phase. Deutsche Windtechnik is also supporting us with the necessary site inspections and approval issues.  

Which criteria were most important for you in your search for the right ADLS? 
The most important factors for us were to have an economical solution and to have as few interfaces as possible when installing the ADLS and operating the turbines. Flexibility in the technical implementation also played a role. For example, it wasn't enough to have the signal available at a central interface, it also needed to be available directly at the nacelle. We also expect a certain degree of flexibility from our partners when drafting contracts.   

How important was it that our ADLS can be installed across technologies and wind farms?  
ENGIE operates wind farms from different manufacturers. For this reason, it is important for us that the ADLS can be used for all types of turbines. This enables us to roll out the system across several wind farms and achieve volume effects, for example. There are also synergy effects with neighboring wind farms owned by other operators who use the Deutsche Windtechnik solution.