I would mention two major topics here. First, the development of carbon blades is well extended among all OEMs. During the last ten years we have seen that wind turbine blades keep growing longer, and the use of carbon is critical from a structural point of view when building blades that now by far exceed 100m in length. The development times for these new blades is extremely short and thus challenging for R&D, considering the complexity of the structures and the requirements they must meet to operate in very demanding environments. Secondly, I think that keeping in shape existing assets that have been in operation for about half of their lifetime becomes more and more relevant. The huge investment of erecting a new wind farm makes it a must to ensure that the health of the assets remains and operation is optimized. However, blades are constantly subjected to mechanical fatigue and exposed to threats like lightning and erosion. So, the correct service strategies for existing assets are of capital importance. The use of condition monitoring not only for new blades but as a retrofit in operating turbines will be necessary to ensure that field failures are captured in due time and excessive maintenance OPEX and downtime are avoided.

The combined experience of our team in the fields of lightning physics, electrical and mechanical engineering, test and validation, etc. adds up to more than 100 years of knowledge. When we engage in a project, we put everything we have on the table to make sure that the outcome is not only something that can be certified, but something that will simply work. We understand the needs, we understand the challenges, and we understand the constraints our customers see every day. Developing lightning protection systems for wind turbine blades is a complex exercise of different engineering disciplines combined. With the right competences and commitment in place, the result is a solution that meets the demands of the tough environment out there. We keep improving, and we keep adapting. Natural environments are changing, and we must be ready to face those challenges.

Lightning issues are not new, and it is not new that the wind power industry has been affected by it and in high need for efficient solutions that ensure durability and reliability of the assets. 

The lightning protection standard for wind turbines has been in constant development for the past 15 years and it is moving towards its third edition. There is a constant need for improvements in this field and for more accurate knowledge about the physics of the phenomenon and its way of affecting wind turbines and blade specifically.

There is a real need for moving forward with the transition to green energy, and that will be translated into an unprecedented population of wind turbines that will face these challenges all over the world. 

But the energy transition will find challenges in terms of the reliability of the machines and blades. On top of design or production related challenges, there are the ones related to the natural environment to which the blades are exposed, with turbines being erected in still more challenging locations. 

This is where we make a difference. Only through a deep understanding of the underlying physics of lightning, how lightning and thunderstorm weather interact with wind turbines, and a vast accumulated expertise in electrical engineering can we tackle these challenges and overcome them with efficient lightning protection system designs.

Blade performance in the field is a critical challenge. The operational cost of wind turbines with larger blades and technology that is more complex to maintain (i.e. repairs in carbon structures) can simply be sky high if we do not have eyes onsite to make fast decisions and prevent failures from developing into something that requires a full blade swap. When we look at the offshore case, it is even more dramatic. The cost includes not only inspection and repair, but sending ships and crews, the downtime of this workforce when they are offshore due to weather conditions, the downtime of the wind turbines themselves when they must be stopped due to damaged blades, etc.

Our expertise focuses on one of the critical challenges of the industry: lightning. Larger wind turbines are more exposed to lightning simply by the size of the assets. Moreover, the lightning environment in an area where the wind turbines will operate changes by the very presence of these tall structures, and an increased amount of lightning strikes, which wouldn’t have occurred without the turbines, takes place in the form of upward lightning. This is translated into the need for efficient lightning protection systems that are exposed to strikes more often and may require more regular inspection due to this higher exposure and that are well coordinated with the blade designs and materials. It is also translated into the need for accurate monitoring systems that can help asset owners prevent damages develop into catastrophic failures.