GE has expanded its Wind Services portfolio in Europe to include Production Based Availability Guarantees (PBA) as an option for new and existing operations and maintenance contracts on all GE 1.5 and 2.5 megawatt series wind turbines. Available later this year, GE’s production guarantees have been designed with the goals of its customers in mind; ensuring that wind turbines are available during the high wind periods, which can be the most profitable for turbine owners.
GE’s installed base of 17,000 wind turbines has been an industry leader in availability over the last several years. In 2010, GE’s North American 1.5 megawatt wind turbines achieved 98.6% fleet-wide time-based availability, with a global average over 98%. Wind turbine availability is an important measurement of how well a wind farm is operating and is representative of the amount of time a turbine is able to produce power.
GE’s PBA Guarantee takes into consideration availability, while at the same time balancing peak production on turbines wind farm-wide. While keeping time-based availability high will continue to be important, factoring in key performance trends gives GE’s wind services team a better perspective on how to best operate a site.
In addition, the performance formula employed by GE’s highly-trained technicians allows flexibility to intelligently schedule turbine maintenance. GE can tailor site services, such as routine maintenance, troubleshooting, and repair, based on owner/operator profitability goals.