The wind farm, about 120 miles west of Washington, D.C., in Grant County, is one of the largest wind farms in operation in the eastern U.S., featuring 132 Gamesa G80 2.0-MW turbines.
Gamesa Technology Corp Inc., has secured a 10-year, full-service operation and maintenance (O&M) agreement with NedPower to service its 264 MW Mount Storm Wind Farm in West Virginia’s eastern panhandle. The companies did not disclose the value of the contract. The OEM has been providing O&M services under a five-year services agreement that went into effect when the project became operational in 2008. That O&M agreement ends June 30, 2013; the new 10-year full-service agreement takes effect July 1, 2013.
Gamesa offers an O&M service portfolio, and currently has over 2 GW under service contracts in the United States. The O&M agreement includes the Gamesa Premium Availability (GPA) program, launched two years ago. GPA is a continuous improvement program aimed at increasing reliability, reducing risk, and lowering the cost of energy. GPA includes a full range of turbine platform upgrades, from operational and software improvements to small correctives, logistics optimization for large correctives and innovative preventive maintenance solutions. These design and service process improvements maximize turbine availability and can reduce wind farm operational expenditures by as much as 10%.
The agreement guarantees “Run Time Availability” in line with NedPower’s energy production goals, keeping the turbines online and getting them back into full service quickly after any maintenance; downtime affects wind turbine revenues. The NedPower project has been a collaboration with each company dedicating resources to enhance best management practices in operation and safety.
Gamesa and NedPower worked to develop advancements in safety management, and to integrate those concepts and techniques into the daily operations of the wind farm. One illustration is an improved fall-arrest system, jointly engineered and evaluated by the two companies. This joint collaboration has led to a strong health and safety record at the site.
Gamesa Technology Corp.
www.gamesacorp.com/en
Filed Under: News, O&M, Projects
