Endiprev has played a pivotal role in shaping offshore wind power in the United States. Over the last decade, we've gathered hands-on experience on US soil, solidifying our reputation as a reliable partner for wind energy solutions. More recently, our teams supported GE Vernova in the Vineyard Offshore Wind Farm, the first large-scale offshore project in the country.

The Vineyard Offshore Wind Farm has been an exceptional project for several reasons. The first one is the fact that it is the first large-scale offshore project in the US. This represents a significant milestone in the country’s renewable energy journey. The second one is that Endiprev USA mobilized the largest number of technicians ever for a project of this magnitude. It also demanded a much more thorough preparation than any project we have ever had.

 

The Journey of Endiprev USA

The partnership between Endiprev USA and GE Vernova in the Vineyard Offshore Wind Farm didn’t happen overnight. Our team has been fortifying expertise from working in American wind power since 2016. At the same time, we have been sharing knowledge across every subsidiary of Endiprev Group, with technicians working in the wind power industry for more than 15 years.

Over the years, Endiprev USA has supported the development and commissioning of wind turbines, which has enriched our knowledge. In 2023 alone, we worked in almost 20 states in several onshore and offshore projects. When it comes to GE Vernova, our teams are not only prepared to work in several onshore models but also in offshore technologies.

Endiprev became a crucial partner, securing pioneering projects, such as the Block Island Wind Farm commissioning. To this day, our technicians remain on-site for maintenance operations on this landmark project, which served as the gateway for our business into the industry of offshore wind energy in the country. Therefore, our GE Offshore experience goes from models like the Haliade-150 to, more recently, the Haliade-X.

 

Endiprev’s preparation for Vineyard

Long before we were awarded the Vineyard Offshore Wind Farm project, we started to equip our American technicians with experience in this sector. Therefore, in March 2023, Endiprev USA started comprehensive training at GE’s factory in Saint-Nazaire, France. They immersed themselves in hands-on experience with the Haliade-X wind turbines. They started to work next to our expert European technicians, who had prior experience in offshore wind farms like the Saint-Nazaire, Merkur, and Belwind Wind Farms, among others. This was crucial to prepare our American team effectively.

 

Vineyard’s workforce diversification

Because of their offshore experience, our European technicians and teams played a crucial role in the preparation process. On one side, they intervene with project management and offshore technical skills and knowledge. On the other, they also guaranteed that there were health and safety forces and mindset on this project since several OHS awards were given to European technicians in offshore projects.

The Vineyard Offshore Wind Farm also tested our project management capabilities. Not only did we have to be prepared and ensure the good work of our technicians, whether American or European, but we also had to understand the challenges faced by our customers. Although our work wasn’t directly affected by the Jonas Act, we made sure we understood its implications. For example, by working with feeding barges to support our tasks, our customers can transport materials and equipment more efficiently to the wind farms, ensuring timely project completion and optimal operational efficiency. At the same time, we had to ensure that we were compliant with the visa process. Since Endiprev USA would get support from European technicians, this step was crucial. Our compliance team conducted a meticulous investigation of our compliance process to ensure that our employees were working safely and legally in the US.

On American soil, Endiprev USA had only to ensure good cooperation with the Unions: the IBEW, Iron Workers and Millwrights. Although we have been in touch with them since 2019, it took several meetings to understand how we could work together. On the one hand, Endiprev had skilled technicians and training experience. On the other, the Unions had state-of-the-art facilities and a great pool of candidates. Therefore, for this project, we assembled a team of around 100 Endiprev technicians, from the US, Portugal, and the Union workers.

 

Vineyard Offshore Wind Farm’s Scope

The Vineyard Offshore Wind Farm project started with work on the Marshaling harbor with the scopes of Pre-commissioning and Punch-List. In August 2023, the first rotations, of 36 technicians, of the 2 vessels were mobilized to New Bedford, with the first teams being sent offshore later that month. Union workers were mainly in charge of supporting the project on the Installation Vessel on Mechanical & Electrical completion scope.

Throughout this project, our team performed several tasks related to Mechanical and Electrical Completion and Commissioning, including:

Mechanical and Electrical Completion

• Mechanical and electrical completion: tower and Nacelle including High Voltage activities.
• Installation & commissioning of the Hailo Lift.

Commissioning:

• Offshore setup and test of several systems.
• Cold commissioning.
• Scada commissioning.
• WTG energization.
• Supporting Hot commissioning.
• Commissioning Puch-list.

 

Vineyard Offshore Wind Farm Official Energy Production

Amidst the relentless dedication of our teams, the fruits of our labor began to emerge. On January 2nd, 2024, the first wind turbine started producing energy. The achievement of powering the New England Grid with the completion of the initial wind turbine string cemented Endiprev’s crucial position in this pioneering venture. This milestone underscored our pivotal role in the project’s success.

Currently, 82 Endiprev technicians are working on the wind farm. This includes 31 technicians, including the 8 Unions, in WIV (Wind Installation Vessel) and 51 technicians in SOV (Service Operations Vessel). The Vineyard Offshore Wind Farm project is situated approximately 13 nautical miles south of Martha’s Vineyard. With a capacity of 800MW, it is expected to power up to 400,000 homes annually. This is a significant milestone in the United States’ renewable energy journey as well for Endiprev.

 

Challenges and Lessons Learned

Being in charge of a major project like the Vineyard Offshore Wind Farm will pose several challenges for Endiprev. It marks the first installation and commissioning of the Haliade-X wind turbine on such a large scale, concurrent with similar efforts at the Dogger Bank Wind Farm. As a result, it demands cohesive teamwork and a shared focus on achieving common objectives. One of the primary challenges we face is the unpredictable nature of weather conditions, particularly during the winter months. Adverse weather can disrupt schedules, impact safety, and hinder progress, underscoring the need for contingency plans and adaptability. Moreover, integrating multiple technician entities—Endiprev Portugal, Endiprev USA, and Unions—adds another layer of complexity. Effective communication and collaboration across these diverse teams are essential to synchronize efforts, align methodologies, and mitigate potential conflicts.

 

The Vineyard Offshore Wind Farm project represents more than a monumental achievement for Endiprev. It symbolizes our enduring commitment to innovation, excellence, and sustainability. Being the first large-scale offshore wind farm in the US, our combined endeavors highlight Endiprev’s excellence, shaping both the nation’s maritime history and global offshore energy landscape. With each turbine generating, we propel the world towards a greener future, powered by the relentless force of wind energy.

After the great partnership in the GE Haliade 150 project, Endiprev has been giving technical support for the Haliade-X Prototype development, considered the biggest and most powerful offshore wind turbine to date.

With the need to achieve clean energy goals, wind turbine manufacturers are investing in creating the most advanced technology. To this date, the Haliade-X prototype development is considered the biggest and most powerful yet. Because of its complexity, GE Renewable Energy has been testing the prototype since 2019, and Endiprev has been supplying technical support for its successful certification.

Since its announcement in 2018, GE Renewable Energy’s goal was to develop the largest and most powerful offshore wind turbine ever. In fact, the Haliade-X started at 12MW, featuring a 60-64% capacity factor. The prototype was producing enough energy to power 16000 households.

 

Documentation & Quality Control

Due to the success of the cooperation between GE Renewable Energy and Endiprev on the Haliade 150 prototype and following projects, our team was part of the development process for the newest Haliade-X. This cooperation started with the technical documentation development for the Installation & Commissioning phase of Prototypes 1 and 2 of the Haliade-X wind turbine.

While the prototypes were being built, in the Saint-Nazaire’s factory (France), our team also performed quality control activities. We had to guarantee that the process complied with the highest quality standards.

 

Service & Prototype Development

Once the factory works were done, both prototypes were commissioned and ready to be tested. Endiprev commissioned the Haliade-X Prototype 1 in Rotterdam Port, whereas the Prototype 2 was in Catapult installations in Newcastle. This phase allowed our team to de-risk and continue improving the offshore technology.

The Haliade-X Prototype 1 is, until this moment, the first and only model to keep running. We are very proud to work on such a groundbreaking project since day one. We supported GE Renewable Energy in all the O&M operations and the so expected certification process, which happened in mid-year of 2020. The certification demonstrated that the prototype complied with the highest safety and quality standards, and its design was on track to meet the full type certification. That was a great milestone for the manufacturer, and also evidence of our team’s work on the prototype development.

After receiving the full type certification from DNV GL, in November 2020, Endiprev also performed the Haliade-X optimization. The prototype was able to operate at 13MW power output. Due to this upgrade, the prototype set a new world record by producing 312MW of electricity in one day. However, the Haliade-X is going to the market as a 14MW-wind turbine as it became the first one to operate at that power in October 2021.

 

Field Technicians

Endiprev has been supporting GE Renewable Energy since the beginning of the prototype development. We created mainly technical documentation and manuals. These will help the wind turbines manufacturing and the service that teams like ours might need to perform on them. With almost 35 technicians working during the testing and commissioning process and 39000 worked hours, our team developed documentation for:

• Handling and procedures
• Electrical Safety / LOTO
• Remote troubleshooting
• Field instructions troubleshooting

 

The Haliade-X wind turbine was already distinguished as one of the best technology in the industry. It received the award as the Best Sustainable Invention of the Year by TIME magazine and the Best Wind Turbine of the Year by Windpower Monthly magazine. Because of its outstanding results, this technology will feature in the Skip Jack, Dogger Bank, and Vineyard Wind offshore projects.

Thus, the Haliade-X wind turbine can be a crucial help to deliver clean energy worldwide and accelerate the process of reaching European decarbonization goals. Endiprev is very proud of the work our teams have done in the Haliade-X prototype development. We feel prepared to keep supporting GE and take the Haliade-X to key offshore projects in Europe, Asia, and America.

The Merkur Offshore Wind Farm, in Germany, is one of the projects where the expertise and professionalism of Endiprev more stood out. Supporting GE Renewable Energy in different areas, such as documentation, pre-commissioning, commissioning, maintenance, remote control, and others, with a maximum number of 60 field technicians working simultaneously on-site, the company showed an exceptional organization and preparation ability for such a demanding offshore project.

Commissioned in 2019, the Merkur Offshore Wind Farm is one of the biggest offshore wind farms in Germany. Located 28 miles (35 km) north of the Borkum Islands, the wind farm is owned by APG and The Renewables Infrastructure Group Ltd. The project, with 66 GE Haliade H150-6MW, has a total capacity of 396MW. That is enough energy to power up to 500,000 local households. According to GE Renewable Energy, ‘Merkur’s impressive offshore wind power is part of Germany’s goal of generating 80% of the country’s electricity from renewable power sources by 2050′.

 

Being this one of Germany’s largest offshore wind farms and being a project with such diverse scope, the Merkur Offshore project demonstrates the knowledge and expertise of Endiprev in the GE Haliade H150. Endiprev was a trusted partner, able to address any adversity, and the expectations set for an offshore project this important. At a point, Endiprev had teams working in three different countries: in the factory in France, in the port in the Netherlands, and in the Merkur Offshore Wind Farm.

 

Method Statement Writing

Endiprev had been working on the GE Haliade H150 since its inception in 2012. Therefore, on this project, the team gave support in creating and modifying technical documentation, work instructions, manuals, and procedures, including LOTO and tools.

 

Pre-commissioning

Similar to what happened in Block Island, Endiprev also worked together with GE Renewable Energy during the pre-commissioning phase. Our team worked in the factory in France, where the nacelle and the E-Stack were being assembled. Our responsibility was:

• Perform electrical and mechanical completions on the interior of the turbine.
• Ensure the equipment remained in proper working order when leaving the factory.
• Carry out electrical tests to guarantee the safe working conditions of the components.
• Perform electrical inspections and quality control of GE Haliade H150 in its final stage.

In Eemshaven port, our team carried out final tests to ensure the good conditions of the nacelle before being sent offshore.

 

Mechanical and Electrical Completion

Before the commissioning phase, our team performed electrical and mechanical completion activities. Those consisted of the adjusting of the loop, cabling, fiber optics installation, cabling routing for the nacelle, and floor plates reattachment works.

 

Commissioning of the Merkur Offshore Wind Farm

The commissioning was the project’s phase that required the maximum number of technicians from Endiprev. At one point, we had 50 people assigned offshore and 10 on remote control work. Since the technicians were staying permanently on the Service Operations Vessel, it was necessary a complex logistic and organizational management for a team of that size offshore.

During the commissioning, our team finalized several electrical and mechanical works to complete the structural and pre-functional systems. We also worked with the SCADA control system to supervise the communications between the wind turbines and the substation. To do that, the team performed FO patching and troubleshooting offshore.

 

Operations and Maintenance

After the commissioning, Endiprev continued to give support to GE Renewable Energy on the wind farm. We participated in the first preventive campaign as well as in the corrective maintenance works. Our team also kept performing the remote control of the Merkur Offshore Wind Farm. We monitor the wind turbines 24/7, from France.

 

Field Technicians

Since 2017, we had several teams involved in the Merkur Offshore Wind Farm project. The commissioning phase was the time when we had the biggest number of people working simultaneously. We chose a team of 60 electrical engineers and field technicians, specialized in commissioning. They lived on the Service Operations Vessel on a 14 days-work and 14 days-rest rotation scheme.

The team had been gradually preparing for the Merkur Wind Farm commissioning by going through intensive training and thorough preparation on the GE Haliade H150 components and commissioning procedures.

 

 

Throughout this project, Endiprev teams always received good feedback from GE, and the good performance of our team kept us working there until now. The Merkur Offshore Wind Farm was definitely a challenge for our team, which we successfully overcame.

The Hancock County Onshore Wind Farm, in Iowa (USA), is a project owned by NextEra Energy, with wind turbines. Siemens Gamesa (SGRE) was awarded to implement the life-extension program of the wind farm and chose Endiprev USA’s team to perform the electrical retrofit and repowering service.

With the beginning of commercial operations in 2002, the Hancock County Wind Farm is one of the wind farms that makes Iowa one of the leading U.S. states in wind power generation. In February 2020, 42% of the state’s electricity produced came from wind, with more than 10GW of installed capacity.

The onshore wind farm has 148 V47/660 wind turbines, generating a total of 97.7 MW. That is enough electricity to power approximately 33 000 homes in the Iowa state. However, with almost 20 years since their commissioning, the wind turbines were starting to become outdated by the new technology currently in the market, able to produce much more energy.

 

Overhaul Retrofit

Siemens Gamesa was awarded the contract to conduct a life extension program in the 148 V47/660 wind turbines. This program seeks to increase the lifetime of the wind turbine in 10 years, while it improves its performance. Endiprev performed the complete electrical scope of the V47 Overhaul Retrofit in Hancock County Wind Farm. On this project, our team performed the following interventions:

• Top and Bottom Box Unwiring
• Top and Bottom Box Rewiring
• Commissioning
• Transformer Terminations
• Bottom Cabinet Stator Splicing

The Hancock County Wind Farm increased its capacity by almost 10%, now being able to produce 105.1 MW. This improvement represents enough electricity to power 2 000 more houses in the state.

 

Hancock County Wind Farm’s Commissioning

Endiprev’s team was also responsible for performing the commissioning of the now upgraded 148 V47/660 wind turbines. In fact, most of the technicians on the team had a lot of experience in commissioning. They did an excellent job by quickly identifying and solving any problem.

 

Field Technicians

Endiprev selected a team of 24 experienced technicians. The Hancock County Wind Farm project began in September 2019 and ended in February 2020, with a total effort of more than 16 000 hours worked. These technicians, who worked under very extreme weather conditions, were able to finish the project with zero recordable injuries, contributing to very satisfactory Health and Safety indicators.

In this team, Endiprev brought together several European and American technicians to boost the exchange of knowledge between them. Therefore, the Hancock County Wind Farm project was an ongoing training process, for the American technicians to gain more knowledge on the field and observe the experience from the other colleagues. This exchange allows Endiprev to keep the same high-quality standard in the service any of our teams perform.

 

 

Hancock County Wind Farm Challenges

Our team recognized from the beginning that the Hancock County Wind Farm was going to be a project with several challenges. One of the biggest ones was the very cold temperature, with a range between 0º and -30 ºC. That was something new to our team, and it made the execution of our work harder, even with the appropriate PPE, equipment, and materials provided. Additionally, the extreme weather conditions lead to another challenge: keeping the team’s motivation levels high. Nevertheless, our team did an excellent job by supporting and pushing each other to outstand their work to Endiprev values.

 

Without any doubt, this was a very important milestone for Endiprev USA not only because it was one of its major projects, but also because it strengthened the relationship between Endiprev and Siemens Gamesa in the USA.

The Whitelee Wind Farm, located in Scotland, is one of the most important projects in Endiprev’s portfolio. It is the second-largest onshore wind farm in Europe and one of the first large-scale wind farms close to a center of population. Over the years, Endiprev has performed commissioning, corrective, and preventive maintenance services on the wind farm.

In September 2010, Alstom (which is now part of GE Renewable Energy) secured an order worth over 200 million euros from Scottish Power Renewables (SPR), to build a 217 MW extension to the Whitelee Wind Farm. Adding to the 140 Siemens turbines, this extension turned the wind farm into the UK’s largest onshore wind farm. Its 215 Siemens and Alstom wind turbines generate up to 539MW of electricity, enough to power approximately 300000 homes. For a young Endiprev, with only three years on the market, this project proved the confidence that the OEM had in our way of work.

 

Commissioning Onshore

Our team started working on the Whitelee Wind Farm after the first extension in 2012. Alstom chose Endiprev to support the commissioning of 75 wind turbines: 69 ECO 100 (3MW) and six ECO 74 (1,67MW).

We had already worked with Alstom on other onshore wind farms all over the world, mainly in Europe and the USA. That was one of the reasons why the OEM trusted us with this project. At that time, Endiprev had a maximum of seven field technicians and engineers working on-site, completing the work in 2013.

 

Post-commissioning

Towards the end of the commissioning, the Endiprev team also performed a rigorous test run on the recently installed wind turbines. A test run usually takes a week or 100 hours. However, on the Whitelee Wind Farm, the test run was performed for 20 days (equivalent to 500 hours of work), to guarantee that all of the 75 wind turbines were working perfectly. This demonstrates the complexity of this project.

 

Operations and Maintenance

Throughout 2013 until 2017, Endiprev had always a team on-site to support Alstom on the several preventive campaigns. This was a recognition of the great work our team did in the commissioning, associated with the expertise on how the wind turbines worked. In 2017, Endiprev performed a major retrofit campaign. This specific intervention consisted of:

• Boundary point installation.
• Replacement of the beam in the main structure of the machine.
• Replacement of the support structure of the hydraulic system.
• Reinforcement of the pitch gearboxes.
• 5-year maintenance.

 

In 2018, the company signed a long-term contract to work from then on in the wind farm. Alstom handed over to Endiprev to handle the preventive and corrective maintenance campaigns.

 

Field Technicians

Endiprev selected a team of technicians that had worked in other commissioning projects of onshore wind farms for Alstom. Over the years that Endiprev has been working there, we had a maximum of 17 field technicians working simultaneously on-site. All of these technicians had the Wind Turbine Safety Rules (WTSR) certification. In fact, some of them were AT (authorized technicians) and CT (competent technicians).

 

The Whitelee Wind Farm Project

For a young Endiprev, the Whitelee Wind Farm represented a big challenge that helped the company grow. This project involved the majority of Endiprev’s field team, which meant that dealing with logistics, planning, and daily operations for so many people was a challenge at the time.

 

Ten years later, we are now performing autonomously the preventive and corrective maintenance on the Whitelee Wind Farm. We prove to Alstom that Endiprev is a partner of continuity, committed to delivering high-quality service and excellence in the wind power industry and a strong relationship with the OEM.

The Block Island Offshore Wind Farm is a project developed by GE Renewable Energy. The company chose Endiprev as a partner to assist in the commissioning and maintenance services on the first offshore wind project in the United States.

While European countries were well acquainted with the benefits of offshore wind, the United States was lagging on that field. However, the country changed its course on the offshore wind industry, when Deepwater Wind had the Block Island Offshore Wind Farm up and running, in December 2016. The first offshore wind project in the U.S. had five GE Haliade H150-6MW wind turbine generators installed three miles south-east of the island. Endiprev was a partner with a profound knowledge of the GE Haliade H150, with a vast experience in the industry.

 

Pre-Commissioning

Endiprev’s success and expertise in the Block Island Offshore Wind Farm were due to the knowledge on the Haliade H150. We had worked on the wind turbine since the inception of the product in 2012. Altogether, our teams have already worked more than 65,000 work hours in these wind turbine generators, until 2017. Our technicians worked around the clock together with GE Renewable Energy to get the offshore wind farm running, even during the pre-commissioning phase. We worked and supervised the production and assembly of the nacelles on the factory until they arrived in the U.S.

 

Installation Offshore

During the installation of the five GE Haliade H150 wind turbine generators, Endiprev’s technicians performed mechanical and electrical completion tasks. The scope was to assure the customer received the service with the highest accuracy standard.

 

Commissioning Offshore

Endiprev’s team had, in fact, proven expertise on the GE Haliade H150 like no other. We were involved in the test and validation phase of the H150 platform’s prototype, in Le Carnet (France). We performed all tests to certify the wind turbine generator. With this profound knowledge, combined with the pre-commissioning on this project, our team was able to solve several issues during the commissioning phase of the Block Island Offshore Wind Farm. This phase also consisted of doing a full test run and remote monitoring of the generator.

 

Operations and Maintenance

Six months after the commissioning, Endiprev performed a major repair operation, exchanging 26 magnets in the turbine. The company was also responsible for performing the on-site preventive and corrective maintenance from January 2017 to September 2017.

 

Field Technicians

Endiprev selected a team of technicians with a high level of experience in the GE Haliade H150. These 24 technicians also had experience in offshore commissioning, with a zero-accident record, exclusively assigned to this project. They worked more than 15,000 hours on the Block Island Offshore Wind Farm, between the commissioning and the maintenance work. Once it was three miles from land, the Endiprev team did the daily commute from the wind farm to Providence Port, rather than staying on the Service Operation Vessel, like usually happens.

 

 

Project Challenges

As the offshore wind is still a young industry there, the country doesn’t have yet specialized domestic infrastructures to operate in these projects. Therefore, it needs to subcontract these services to other countries. This was a complex challenge we had to overcome on the Block Island Offshore Wind Farm, due to the Merchant Marine Act (known as the “Jones Act”), otherwise threatening the viability of the entire operation. The “Jones Act” demands the transport of people or goods between American ports by ships built, owned, and operated by American citizens. Consequently, the vessel that transported the GE Haliade H150 wind turbines had to stay offshore during the commissioning.

 

The Block Island Offshore Wind Farm, now owned by Ørsted, was a demonstration project. It was the kickoff for the development of the offshore wind industry in the United States. After the success of this project, about 30 offshore wind projects are in motion in the country.