A recent report commissioned into offshore wind energy found that the costs of keeping offshore turbines online ranges from €100,000 to €300,000 per year Vs an allocated €45,000 per turbine for onshore portfolios. With the latest round 3 projects typically 60km+ from shore, reliability, optimisation and cost reduction are becoming top priority for wind farm owner/operators.

New advances in wind turbine technology are dramatically increasing the potential for improved turbine efficiency and optimised performance.  However the rapid advancement of the industry and the constant need to constrain the supply chain to meet demand O&M costs continue to skyrocket.

It has been proven that just a one percent improvement in operations and maintenance can make a huge difference to the bottom line of a wind portfolio. With wind farm ROI believed to be minus 21 percent, it is becoming imperative to identify the where the savings and efficiency improvements can be made.

Wind Energy experts gather in Hamburg to collaborate on crucial O&M solutions

In light of the unique challenges the wind industry is facing, international wind energy owner/operators, market leading OEMs and global wind consultancies are gathering together on the 24-25^th January to discuss how to achieve the maximum output from a portfolio by refining O&M strategies.

Some of the key topics for discussion include:

• Applying knowledge from onshore O&M to offshore O&M
• Analysing condition monitoring data to successfully improve turbine efficiency
• Navigating post-warranty O&M options – OEM, third party or ISP?
• Solutions designed to drive down OPEX costs
• Determining the return on investment from condition monitoring systems

This operator-focused conference will provide a unique networking forum not only for the owner/operators of onshore and offshore portfolios but also for leading OEMs and ISPs innovating in operations and maintenance to not only share their successes in O&M but also to share their challenges strategies for future growth.

Join DONG Energy, Statoil, Vattenfall, SSE, EnBW, Eneco, Vestas, Siemens, GE, GL Garrad Hassan and many more wind energy market leaders at the upcoming O&M Operator Forum on the 24-25^th January 2012 in Hamburg, go to: http://www.windenergyupdate.com/operations-maintenance/