The Offshore and Consulting Section of the independent service provider Deutsche Windtechnik is now also responsible for the maintenance and servicing of the substation at the Butendiek Offshore Wind Farm.
The contract, which came into effect on 01.06.2014, includes extensive maintenance, inspection, monitoring and service work for the entire construction. Since experts at Deutsche Windtechnik provided support work during the construction, transport and erection of the substation in close cooperation with the wind farm operator, OWP Butendiek GmbH & Co. KG, and the manufacturer, Cofely Fabricom GDF Suez, the servicing concept was developed and validated practically “on site”. In addition to the commissioning of the substation, Deutsche Windtechnik is also currently monitoring production of the rotor blades and the construction of the nacelles for Butendiek.
After the substation had been successfully transported to the Butendiek Wind Farm in May and the platform was welded to the foundation, electrical systems were gradually started in the substation. „Our current work in the course of ongoing cold commissioning is merging step by step into maintenance and service work. By the time hot commissioning is started we will be familiar with all components of the construction and will have optimized and tested all service processes ensuring smooth operation right from the start – and that pays off!“ explains Carl Rasmus Richardsen, Managing Director of Deutsche Windtechnik Offshore und Consulting, with regard to the strategy of early cooperation.
Maintenance and Servicing of Offshore Substations
The quality of service work on substations is essential for the business efficiency at the offshore wind farm: as the bottleneck for power transmission, its smooth operation must be ensured at all times. Maintenance work at the substation at sea requires a wide range of professional skills from engineers, technicians and fitters, since various tasks have to be coordinated and completed per assignment. In addition to typical maintenance work to the primary transformation technology and the switchgear, professional support also has to be provided for secondary technology at the substation. Power supply generators, air-conditioning, communications technology, HSE facilities, building technology, helicopter pad and lighting are just some examples.