When the Wind Always Blows – Worldwide Operations Management
Double-digit sub-zero temperatures in Finnish Lapland. The wpd windmanager field service team from Oulu has just completed an inspection of the Kuolavaara-Keulakkopää wind farm. On snowmobiles, the service team travels through the meter-high snow back to the service base. The control room in Bremen has been informed. The wind farm is running again.
In Lapland the colleagues drive with snowmobiles to the plant.
In Taichung such temperatures are out of the question. The Changbin wind farm is also about to be visited. Climatic conditions? Outside temperatures of over 35 degrees and a humidity of over 70 percent. For the field staff, the ascent of the E-70 becomes a sporting challenge every meter. The temperature in the gondola is around 40 degrees. It’s almost done.
The worldwide wind farms are managed at the main location in Bremen. Contact persons for the international locations coordinate the cooperation. All operations at the turbines are synchronized with the central Bremen control room. The more than 2,000 plants in operation are monitored here. Major time differences with colleagues in Canada or Taiwan? No problem. The control room is manned 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Climatic Factors
„The challenges in international wind farm management naturally vary greatly – depending on the location of the wind farm,“ explains Moritz Regehr, International Management at wpd windmanager. „Climatic requirements, for example, can be a factor in technical operations management. It makes a big difference whether a park is located in Finland or in Taiwan“.
High humidity poses a particular challenge for wind farms in Taiwan.
International framework
„Political framework conditions and legal changes also play a decisive role,“ explains Philipp Baierl, International Management at wpd windmanager. „After several years of stagnation, the Polish government began to promote wind energy again at the end of last year. At the same time, we took over the operational management of a Polish wind farm for an investor. Poland became a promising market for us again and we were able to expand our location in Poznan“.
With over 4 GW in operations management, wpd windmanager is currently present not only in Germany, Poland, Taiwan and Finland, but also in Belgium, France, Canada and Croatia. Another market for wpd windmanager will be added in Spain in the course of the year, followed by Chile and Sweden. „With new markets and locations we will also be of interest to other international investors and operators as an operations manager,“ explains Till Schorer, Director Sales at wpd windmanager.
The international portfolio continues to grow.