GERMANY: Costs related to faulty wind turbines have hit Siemens’ results, forcing the wind division into a loss for both the fourth quarter and 2014.
The German manufacturer said it was impacted by EUR 223 million in charges for inspecting and replacing main bearings in onshore turbines, as well as repairing blades on both onshore and offshore turbines.
Head of the Siemens energy business Lisa Davis said: “The charge is related to inspecting and replacing bearings due to the early degredation in certain turbine models. We believe this is related to recent batches of bearings and we are in discussions with the supplier.”
[…]
In addition to the write down due to turbine faults in the latest quarter, the wind division’s performance was adversely affected by a lower profit contribution from the higher margin offshore business. The division’s margin slumped from 11.1% to negative 4% in the latest quarter.
The report is prefaced by an entertaining feature article on Aussie warmonger Tim Flannery.
Wondering what models Ontar-I-owe is continuing to ruin real estate and natural vistas erecting these bird killing monsters across the province?
Mmmm, losing 4%.. We obviously have not installed enough windmills!!
Groups opposed to industrial-size wind farms are looking to intervene in a landmark appeal that begins Monday against one of Ontario’s largest wind-energy projects.
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/turbine-foes-hoping-weigh-huge-wind-farm-appeal-153009346.html
Apparently, the main bearings are what limits the performance of wind turbines:
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/08/26/bearings-the-achilles-heel-of-wind-turbines/
The most common wind turbine designs we see, ie. the “aircraft prop engine on a pole”, are not the best choice for engineering and maintenance reasons. This design was chosen about 30 years ago for politically correct reasons as the ‘high profile’ symbol of the greenwashed revolution, and was aggressively marketed by the Vesta company from Denmark.
Better turbine designs were set aside at that time, however the technology advances regardless.
These Pole Mounted or Flat Roof vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT)are designed for remote site applications where generator fuel is expensive.
Have very little vibration
Will not kill birds
Will catch wind from any direction
Produce little noise
http://www.everwindpower.com/
Before the trolls jump to unfounded conclusions as usual, remember that I do not advocate grid connected wind power. The grid should be powered by hydro and nuclear.
Quite right. The vertical axis is superior to propeller types in just about every way in terms of engineering.
and would change the bearing “loading” when not turning:-)))
Which contributes greatly to bearing failure, as just a small portion of the bearing carries the whole “load” and causes the races to “dimple”. This is a problem in machinery as well when it sits ideal for long periods of time.
so the answer is plain journal bearings?
or better yet “magnetic bearings!
You mean wind turbines aren’t reliable? Who knew?
http://watchdog.org/119206/willmar-wind-turbines/
This is why we will have thousands of wind turbines out of commission in the coming years with no money to repair them:
–Unfortunately, some operators have experienced field failures much earlier than expected with some single SRB designs, which significantly reduced service life. Unplanned main shaft bearing replacement can cost wind-farm operators up to $450,000 to replace and have an obvious impact on financial performance.–
http://www.windpowerengineering.com/design/mechanical/bearings/increasing-bearing-reliability-main-shaft-support-systems/
It’s funny but the “Environmentalist” are so quick to come down on the Alberta oil sands tailings pond that killed some ducks. Protesting oil tankers that will be carrying oil off shore to Asian countries, then there is the pipe line.
I don’t see them protesting about these giant killers of birds. So many species that there is not enough room on this page to name them all. Their flight paths being compromised by death.
To build “ONE” of these giant wind turbines cost millions and guest whom is paying for them the tax payer. They get subsidies also another kick in the ass. Then they only last about 1 yrs. So what do you do with monsters after?
And what about the beauty of Ontario down the tubes with all these ugly wind mills.
The propeller-style turbines were chosen because they are more efficient at capturing the energy in the available wind, and spin faster, which is desirable for running a generator. Having said that, if I were to desire to install a bunch of wind turbines on my land, I’d build a flock of low-tech Savonius-type rotors, because they can be made very cheaply, and yet be durable. Per-unit efficiency guaranteed to be less than the prop jobs, but in terms of generating capacity per dollar spent, I would be ahead of the game. Kind of like 100 bicycles will haul more people than a Chevy Volt, for the same kind of dollars.
Made and error in my comment Nov 16th at 8:53 pm. The number of yrs. Wind Turbine’s last is 15 yrs.
better yet “magnetic bearings!
Exactly! A magnetic bearing carries the axial load and the roller bearings only have to deal with side thrust. All of the generator and gearbox is on the ground, where it provides an anchor. It’s a superior design, but it wasn’t ‘sexy’ like the tall props.
They are also very efficient at killing birds of flight thousands of all kinds. Where are the protesters when you need them…..wild life is being killed and they don’t care!!
I guess it depends whom is paying them……right!
That was the idea behind the VWAT design. They can be built ten times cheaper, last longer, and are far more easily serviced. One gets more kWh output per dollar$ invested with VWAT.
propeller-style turbines were chosen because they are more efficient at capturing the energy in the available wind
Which was great in theory, but didn’t pan out in application. The momentum effect with a rotating cup anemometer is significantly less than with a ten meter turbine. The ‘wind studies’ grossly over-predicted the energy available. The turbine modeling was faulty and overoptimistic. Like we haven’t seen that elsewhere in the greenscam world.
The VWAT is also superior in changing winds, both in terms of velocity and direction.
Yeah, it’s VAWT…
So what do you do with monsters after?
Not much of them is recyclable, the eco-muffins are very quiet about that too.
An actual inconvenient truth
I have a use for those monstrosities after they fail, think of them as the modern replacement for the yardarm or gallows.
Some actions are so destructive to society that only death is a fitting punishment.
Watching well connected Liberal insider rent seekers going bust
as the hugely subsidized power from windmills scam industry goes
down the toilet should be a pleasant past time. Wonder if any of
these bright lights will try to sue for the cost of power needed to
keep these whirligigs turning all the time to postpone bearing
failure.