Remanufactured Turbines

                                 Remanufactured Turbines discussion #1                    

               

                                 The first blog entry on the discussion of our super-green energy project: using refurbished turbines for wind farms.                    

                               

            

The question of remanufactured turbines comes up in most every discussion we have about wind power. In financially marginal applications, where funding, power sales options or wind resource are limited, the use of a remanufactured turbine may be the only way to make a project “pencil out”. But where resources and conditions are adequate to support new turbines, the client must decide between new and remanufactured turbines. Considerations include: 1) Projected Life of Turbine, 2) Efficiency, 3) Operation and Maintenance Costs, and 4) Installed Cost per Kilowatt.

 

Let’s begin with some definitions.

 

A Remanufactured Turbine is a turbine where the five main moving components have been thoroughly re-manufactured to new or better than new standards. These five main components are 1) Hub 2) Gearbox 3) Generator 4) Hydraulic System and 5) Controls. A knowledgeable and experienced consultant is necessary to evaluate the condition of a remanufactured turbine and the turbine should be delivered with a detailed technical description of the remanufacturing processes and the resulting warranty.

 

A Reconditioned Turbine is one where the condition of each of the five moving components have been evaluated and repaired or upgraded as necessary. Many used turbines have been taken down or decommissioned in working condition to make room for larger turbines, freeing up an inventory of “Community Wind” sized turbines. These are sometimes reinstalled with minimal upgrade, depending on their condition and the time of take down. These decommissioned turbines create a pool of functional turbines which can be reinstalled with minimal renovation cost.

 

A Raw turbine is a turbine in “as is” condition. The inventory of raw turbines are to fodder of the remanufacturing business.

 

Next, let’s talk about cost.

 

Below are some rules of thumb for installed cost during 2007. Installed cost includes the turbine, tower, foundation, electrical interface, wiring, engineering, program management and all components necessary to make the turbine a functioning/generating unit.

Remanufactured turbine cost per kW: $1,000. (Size range 50 kW - 660 kW).New turbine cost per kW: $1,800 (Size range 1,500 kW – 2,200 kW)New turbine cost per kW: $4,000 (Size range 50 kW - 660 kW). 

You can see from the above numbers that in the community size turbine range, the cost of the remanufactured turbines is dramatically less than the new turbine. Also, in this range size, the hub heights are similar for both the new and remanufactured units, so efficiencies are similar.

 

About operation and maintenance:

 

Both the new and the remanufactured have state-of-the-art microprocessor controls for the pitch, yaw and electrical interface and readouts. If the warranties are equivalent and the supplier of the remanufactured turbine is reputable, the ongoing operation and maintenance are similar.

 

The market for “raw” turbines is volatile, and it is difficult to predict where the prices will go in the future. Raw turbine cost variations will directly affect the cost of remanufactured turbines. 

 

There is much more to say about remanufactured turbines and we will continue to discuss them in future blogs. In the next blog on this subject we will address availability, down payments to hold, and delivery timelines. Please send comments and questions.