Industry insiders predict that in the next 5 to 7 years, my country's wind power operation and maintenance market can release 100 billion yuan of business opportunities. However, what is a good operation and maintenance model, and how can we achieve the optimal combination of operation and maintenance cost input and output during the 20-year life cycle of the wind turbine? So far, there are no standard answers to these questions in China. Therefore, industry insiders call for China to urgently establish its own wind power operation and maintenance standards.

 

At present, the operation and maintenance of wind turbines that are discussed more are mainly to point out the work released after the warranty period. Around 2008, my country's wind power industry experienced an explosive growth period. The warranty period of wind turbines is mostly 3 to 5 years. Therefore, currently, more than 70% of wind turbines in my country have passed the warranty period or are about to expire.

 

In pursuit of profit, facing huge market opportunities, wind power developers, manufacturers, and third-party companies have all taken action, hoping to get a share of the pie. All three forces have their own advantages and disadvantages. Wind power developers are often well-funded and can recruit troops and build their own operation and maintenance teams, but they often lack professional understanding of wind turbine performance; wind turbine manufacturers are familiar with equipment performance, but operation and maintenance is not their main business; third parties are cost-effective Advantages, but the market space needs to be developed.

 

However, how to cut this big cake, domestic companies that are not yet proficient in the "knife technique" have not found the answer, and even rushed into the "Warring States" era of the wind power operation and maintenance market without even bothering to find the answer.

 

The Spanish wind power company Gamesa, accustomed to the delicate European style of play, is a little "acclimatized" to the melee in my country's wind power operation and maintenance market. In a material obtained by a reporter from "China Energy News", Gamesa frankly stated that operation and maintenance is an important growth point for Gamesa's business. By next year, the company's operation and maintenance business can cover 35 countries, but the expansion of the coverage of the Chinese market still exists. Great challenge.

 

In Europe, the effect of wind power operation and maintenance is not determined by wind farm owners or operation and maintenance companies. According to European industry practices, operation and maintenance work needs to be verified by an independent third-party audit, and the audit content includes multiple indicators, such as availability. In response to the differences between Europe and China, Gamesa pointed out that western countries have formed a marking system for the scope and quality of operation and maintenance, and have begun to focus on optimizing costs and improving efficiency. This trend provides OEMs with a market and development direction.

 

At present, China's operation and maintenance market is more fragmented, management is mainly on the customer side, and there are various channels for parts supply, special repairs, and component repairs. This model is a challenge to achieve the benefits and quality of operation and maintenance.

 

Lack of common standards - Gamesa explains the reasons for the melee in my country's wind power operation and maintenance market.

 

However, the problem does not seem to be as simple as the lack of a standard. A person in charge of the operation and maintenance business of a state-owned wind power company told the "China Energy News" reporter that at present, domestic wind turbines generally have problems such as uneven quality of wind turbines and poor technical skills of wind farm operation and maintenance personnel. Also, wind farm owners often just keep the wind turbines running and everything is fine, paying less attention to maintenance and upkeep. This lays a hidden danger for the future operation of wind turbines. In order to seize the market, companies engaged in the operation and maintenance business have kept the price of repair and maintenance relatively low, and there are no price standards and quality standards.

 

Zeng Simeng, service director of Vestas (China), said that in China, wind power is still an emerging industrial field. So far, there is no unified operation and maintenance evaluation index. Judging from the current practice, Chinese enterprises are all following their own ideas, and the final standard may be completed through multi-party negotiation.

 

Companies in the forefront of the wind power operation and maintenance market choose to enhance their competitiveness through "foreign certification". Beijing Tianyuan Kechuang Wind Power Technology Co., Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Goldwind, passed and obtained the German TUV NORD wind power operation and maintenance service capability assessment, becoming the first domestic wind turbine operation and maintenance service enterprise to obtain this certification.

 

The lack of standards has hindered the development of operation and maintenance business to a certain extent. A president of a third-party operation and maintenance company said that the operation and maintenance industry urgently needs an evaluation standard system, and the industry needs to reach a minimum consensus before it can settle accounts for the owners and tell them which operation and maintenance method to choose is more cost-effective and more profitable. At present, many owners are unaware of the importance of a professional operation and maintenance team, or rely on their wealth to support a group of their own operation and maintenance teams, and gradually form a "fire fighting" type of operation and maintenance team with insufficient technology and bloated personnel. , Only when the fan is broken will the parts be replaced or overhauled, but long-term operation and maintenance planning is ignored.

 

In addition, the lack of clear operation and maintenance standards will also lead to premature aging of wind turbines, increase operation and maintenance costs, and challenge the profitability of wind farms. The other side of the coin is that the weakening of wind farm profitability caused by the lack of operation and maintenance standards will prompt wind farm owners to reflect on the current operation and maintenance model, which will eventually lead to the maturity of operation and maintenance standards.

 

Establishing standards requires a process, and the expansion of the wind power market will accelerate the establishment of standards. After a long period of time, the wind power operation and maintenance market, which is in a melee, will definitely formulate a common standard in the process of continuous improvement.