These days, one of our major corrective teams has been selected to perform large components exchange on SGRE turbines.

Since last week, Endiprev is working on a major corrective operation in two Siemens Gamesa wind farms in Portugal: Terras Altas de Fafe and Mourisca. Despite handling all the preventive maintenance there, we mobilized a special major operations team to address this unscheduled maintenance.

The scope of this major corrective works is to perform the blade bearing exchange. The substitution of major wind turbine components is a very demanding task that requires a specialized team and precision tools. A job well done can optimize the downtime and prevent a high increase in costs. In fact, that is why we have a specific team for these unscheduled works. These technicians have intensive training to reach high-quality performance while acting effectively without jeopardizing safety procedures and operations efficiency.

The process of these major corrective operations

Our major corrective teams, with five technicians, will be working on this operation for two days in each wind farm. Overall, this is a complex process that requires caution and precision, as described below:

• Blade Removal: The blade is positioned horizontally while the team loosens the bolts and removes the components with the crane. The blade is, then, placed on the ground.
• Bearing Removal: Once the blade is out, the hub rotates up so that the blade bearing is facing the sky. This way, the crane can easily handle the bearing and remove it.
• Groundworks and assembly: On the ground, our team prepares the new bearing. They remove some components from the old to the new one, and the assembly starts in reverse.

Endiprev’s partnership with Siemens Gamesa started in 2018, and we have been working in the Terras Altas de Fafe and Mourisca Wind Farms since then. This project shows that, once again, Endiprev is a trusted partner, especially when it comes to this type of scopes. At the moment, we are working with the OEM in Portugal, France, and Spain on several preventive and corrective maintenance projects, as well as in the US with continuous commissioning projects. We look forward to growing this partnership as many other projects will come up.