O&M opinions and insights for the offshore wind industry
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Why cable failures are so costly

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Why cable failures are so costly

Cables are the achilles heel of the offshore wind industry; a majority of insurance claims are related to cable failures. Easy to break, hard to fix, as repairs always require an expensive repair vessel and spread.

In the event that an offshore wind farm loses one of its (typically) two export cables, the largest loss will be due to lost revenue, although the lost generation is probably less than 50% of potential output due to periods of low wind speeds, and also due to the fact that export cables can be specified to carry more than half of the wind farm capacity. Continue reading →

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The key to success in wind projects is the contract

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Get it right the first time and save a lot of time and money. The right and proper contract for a wind farm is the roadmap to a solid business case. This calls for knowledge, insight, understanding and, importantly, dialogue on both sides of the negotiation table from utilities and developers.

Today’s wind projects cannot rely on a standard contract from the wind turbine manufacturer. The costs of capex and opex are so high that there has to be a robust contract that secures an investment that should stretch beyond 20 years. Continue reading →