GEV wind power completes on-turbine trial of maintenance habitat

GEV Wind Power said it has completed the first set of onshore trials for its wind turbine blade maintenance Habitat. The Habitat was installed on Power Climber and Kaeufer access platforms in varying weather conditions and ranging between 30 metres (98 feet) and 100 metres (328 feet) high to demonstrate deployment in a real-life environment.

Offering a 24-hour working window, the Habitat allows technicians to conduct essential repairs on remote wind turbines to reduce maintenance turnaround times. “Our Habitat plays a key role in facilitating O&M operations in this rapidly developing industry, whilst providing cost-saving benefits which are vital throughout the entire supply chain,” Alastair Gadney, projects director for GEV Group, said in a statement. “These trials are a huge leap forward in not only reinforcing the concept of the Habitat, but also proving how it can be applied to a range of turbine and access platform sizes. We are also exploring different configurations of the Habitat, from a simple wind break to a more complete waterproof solution.”

The company said that the trials also allowed GEV technicians to test the company’s bespoke blade maintenance App Intuitive Reporting and Inspection System (I-RIS), which communicates management data in near real-time via satellite to a web-based monitoring and reporting tool.

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2015/11/gev-wind-power-completes-on-turbine-trial-of-maintenance-habitat.html