Wind Turbine Maintenance Costs
Maintenance costs for wind turbine projects can take up a sizeable chunk of the annual budget, with O&M costs for new turbines easily constituting more than 20% of the cost per kWh produced over a turbine’s lifespan. It is believed that the maintenance costs for modern machines are in the region of 1.5% – 2% per year of the original investment. To keep maintenance costs low in the long-term, scheduled maintenance throughout a turbine’s life cycle is crucial. IHS Markit said in a report that the O&M costs of a U.S. utility-scale wind energy farm were approximately $48 000/MW in 2016 and that the average age of installed turbines was six years old.
The importance of scheduled maintenance of wind turbines
This is a method to ensure that your wind turbines are kept in consistent working order. Wind technicians should do the following two to three times per year:
- Lubricate the moving parts on components, such as gearboxes and bearings
- Check connections on numerous devices within the system
- Resolve any concerns that may develop
Dictate maintenance costs through long-term or short-term technicians on-site
You can crunch the numbers to see what would make the most sense for your project’s O&M costs by weighing whether it might be better to have permanent technicians on-site or whether you would only want them on-site on a short-term basis. Our technicians are available to perform the following services on your project across the country:
- Laydown yard support
- Shipping and receiving support
- Construction support
- Scheduled and unscheduled maintenance
- Inspections
- Retrofits
If you would like more information on our maintenance services or manpower augmentation for your wind turbine project needs, ANEMOI is here to assist you – get in touch today.