With over 90% of turbine blades being damaged to some degree in transit, GEV Wind Power has identified a gap in the market and developed an innovative factory-to-site Quality Assurance Programme to offer clients peace of mind during the transit of wind turbine blades and generators. The new scheme assists in maintaining the industry’s exacting…
GCube insures Xcel Energy for North Dakota Wind Farm
GCube, a global underwriter for renewable energy initiatives, has signed a contract with U.S. power company, Xcel Energy, for a 200-MW wind project in North Dakota. Xcel Energy currently has 5,794 MW of wind power on its systems. The development in Courtenay, North Dakota forms part of plans to expand its wind portfolio by about…
GCube unveils Weather Risk Transfer device for the wind industry
GCube, an underwriter for renewable energy initiatives, has launched a new Weather Risk Transfer device for the wind and hydroelectric energy sectors, providing project owners and stakeholders with a means to mitigate the financial impact of resource volatility. While intermittency is a given for the renewables sector, as the proportion of clean energy generation in…
Trends in repair services
Companies that insure wind turbines would like to influence the trends here. For instance, they suggest, get more than one quote for a repair job and don’t feel obligated to accept the one from the OEM. Other industries consider one quote inadequate. What’s more, ISPs might react faster to an offline turbine than would an OEM.…
GCube Insurance launches first unscheduled U.S. wind maintenance protection plan
GCube Insurance, a renewable energy underwriter specialist, has launched Beyond Balance Sheets: Unscheduled Maintenance Protection. This unique, first-to-market service enables financial directors and risk management teams to more effectively manage their long-term operations and maintenance (O&M) budgets and rapidly reduce the requirement for excess working project capital. Project owners now take an increasing interest in managing…
How can you protect against loss from downtime?
As wind farm owners and operators look to increase efficiency and reduce costs, unplanned outages can still put a halt on plans. Business Interruption (BI) insurance is one means of risk mitigation. A comprehensive policy offers financial protection in the event of unanticipated downtime. However, project owners should still consider self-insured mitigation options. Sometimes owners…
Ontario’s Grand Bend Wind Project reaches financial close
Northland Power Inc., the Aamjiwnaang First Nation, and Bkejwanong Territory (Walpole Island First Nation) announced the closing of project financing for the Grand Bend Wind Project, with all of the equity contributed to the project and all debt required for the project now fully committed by the project lenders. The 100-MW project, located near Grand Bend,…
Greensolver launches blade inspection service
Greensolver, an independent wind and solar farm asset manager, recently launched its wind turbine blade inspection service, which provides developers, investors, and utilities a cost-effective way to rapidly assess and monitor the condition of their equipment. The launch of the service marks a milestone in the evolution of the operations and maintenance market and, for…
Good news for new tech and ideas: Lloyd’s Register Energy’s Technology Qualification aims to reduce its risk and uncertainties
Recently launched is a new risk-based Technology Qualification Guidance Note that helps to minimize risks and uncertainty of novel designs, concepts, or applications not covered by existing rules, industry codes or best practices. As easy to reach hydrocarbon resources are exhausted, companies are increasingly looking to challenging frontiers to retain reserve levels or boost new…
What drives insurance risk in the wind-energy market?
Each wind-farm project carries a different level of risk mostly due to the many original equipment manufacturers, (many no longer in business) and a wide variety of turbines in the field. From an insurance standpoint, the variety makes it difficult to compare one claim to another. To tackle these concerns, two primary coverages are considered:…
Keeping thieves out of wind-farm sites
Turbine towers are targets for theft during the construction phase and at existing wind farms. Thieves scavenge wind-farm sites looking for copper and construction equipment. Understanding the threats and incorporating security measures can reduce theft and decrease losses for wind-farm developers and owners. Most wind-farm theft occurs during a waiting period prior to installation. Copper…
STRIKEnet lightning verification reports to be delivered by Weather Fusion
Starting April 1, 2014, Weather Fusion LLC. will be the exclusive distributor of Vaisala STRIKEnet lightning verification reports to the U.S. insurance industry. Claims managers, claims adjusters, and investigative forensic engineers will be able to purchase STRIKEnet lightning reports from the same source they have come to rely on for hail and other severe weather…
Taming insurance claim costs by investigating failures
Wind-power projects represent significant capital investments of many millions. So it’s no surprise that, average claims for wind-turbine failures run between $200,000 and $600,000. With such hefty claim costs, it is important for insurers to understand the root cause of failures to reduce future risks. To fully understand the loss-adjustment process, renewable energy insurance company,…
Romax says mitigating risk is key to wind farm development
In the wind-turbine industry, understanding failure modes and identifying the root cause is key to being able to assess wind turbine drivetrain damage. With this knowledge comes the ability to reactively solve problems while implementing a strategic view of preventative or predictive maintenance. It’s now well documented that unpredicted wind turbine downtime can cause significant…
GCube says blade damage and gearbox failure top chart for most common US wind energy claims
GCube, a provider of renewable energy insurance services has published a report summarizing the most common wind energy insurance claims made in the United States. The data based on 2012 US reported claims, shows that blade damage and gearbox failure account for the greatest number of losses – accounting for 41.4% and 35.1% of the…
Wind Talk: Insurance and the wind energy industry
In the Wind Talk podcast, we have Lauren Berry, vice president-inland marine and one of the leads on Travelers Insurance’s clean energy practice. Travelers’ offers tailored, comprehensive renewable energy solutions. Lauren will shed some light on wind energy insurance coverage and owner/operator risks. Travelers can help businesses engaged in the Commercial on-shore wind industry for…
Rethinking repairs: Look beyond the OEM
Wind energy claim submissions are often submitted with just one quote for repairs. This exclusive quote typically comes from the original equipment manufacturer (OEM). In other industries, such a submission would be considered inadequate. After all, it is common practice to obtain multiple quotes to ensure the repair is charged at a fair market price.…
Lack of battery energy storage standards threaten wind and solar projects, says GCUBE
As pressure placed on cutting the cost of clean energy increases, savings must not be found at the expense of an ongoing investment in critical design and construction specifications, the development and implementation of new industry standards, and the evolution of established checks. That is according to GCube Insurance Services, the leading provider of insurance…
The excessive and essentials in the risk management world
T.J. Rolfing / Account Executive / Holmes Murphy & Associates / www.holmesmurphy.com Simplicity is not a concept associated with selecting insurance for a wind project. This is mostly due to the immaturity of the industry, substantial capital investments, and legal contracts. Because of these constants, certain coverage and limits are required but not needed, while other…
Planning the end of warranty inspection
Jason Shelby/General Manager Service/UpWind Solutions Inc./www.upwindsolutions.com If there is one piece of advice you should take away from this article, it’s to plan your End of Warranty (EOW) inspections to ensure there is enough time to inspect all turbines, analyze results, and file claims well in advance of the end-of-warranty date. This cannot be stressed…