Institution news
Q: Could you briefly explain your involvement in onshore/offshore wind engineering?
Alexios Koltsidopoulos Papatzimos (AKP): I am a Research Engineer at the EDF Energy R&D UK Centre, based in London. My role is in conjunction with the completion of the Engineering Doctorate, at the Industrial Doctoral Centre for Offshore Renewable Energy (IDCORE). I am working in the fields of data management and analytics, as well as reliability, maintenance planning and risk-based operations. My work is currently focusing on existing EDF assets but is also looking at tools and methodologies that could be applied to future offshore wind farms of the Group.
Q: How critical is effective operations and maintenance to the wind industry?
AKP: Operation and maintenance costs could make up to 1/3 of the total offshore wind farm’s cost. In the current (almost) subsidy-free environment, operational costs need to be reduced to the minimum. This means that field feedback and remote monitoring information needs to be taken into account in the planning of future maintenance activities. This will allow us to optimise maintenance operations, by moving to a more reliability and risk-based way of planning operations.
Q: What do you think is the biggest challenge facing the onshore and offshore wind industry and how do you think it can be overcome?
AKP: I think that one of the biggest challenges for operators is to ensure they can still be able to be profitable with the current offshore wind bid prices in Europe. I believe that knowledge and data sharing between operators and OEMs needs to be further encouraged in order to share efficient methodologies and innovations that have helped them reduce their operational expenditure.
Q: What do you think is the most important thing to consider when dealing with/managing wind turbines as an asset?
AKP: It is vital to make sure that we are performing safe and cost-effective operations. This can be done by:
- Avoiding unnecessary maintenance and inspection operations, by fully utilising the information and data generated by the assets.
- Enhancing the predictive maintenance capabilities of the industry, allowing enough time to plan efficient activities.
Q: What are you most looking forward to by attending and presenting at the Onshore and Offshore Wind Engineering 2018 conference?
AKP: I am looking forward to some interesting discussions and knowledge sharing. I think it will be a very good opportunity to hear about challenges and how different organisations are trying to tackle them.
Find out more
Alexios will be speaking at Onshore and Offshore Wind Engineering 2018 conference on 23–24 May 2018 in Manchester. Join him and other experts from E.ON Climate and Renewables, Engie, London Array, Siemens Gamesa, SSE, Vestas Technology UK Ltd and more.></span">
Key programme highlights:
- Reduce risk in your operations and maintenance offshore by hearing case studies from successful projects carried out
- Improve turbine and blade design to reduce your LCOE with insight on the latest developments from pioneering wind organisations
- Hear from the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Working Group to ensure you are up-to-date with changes to wind IEC standards
- Meet with key players in the wind industry including operations and maintenance, design and asset engineers from operators, OEMS and solution providers
For further information, visit the Onshore and Offshore Wind Engineering 2018 event page.