3-D Service Wind Power Brochure (PDF– 255kb)

As the market for wind generation continues to rise, so does the need to service and maintain the equipment responsible for generating clean, safe, and affordable energy. 3-D Service is rapidly emerging as a leader in wind turbine service and maintenance.

Did you know that wind power is the world’s fastest growing energy source? This rapidly growing technology is based on transforming the kinetic energy of the wind into electrical energy that can be harnessed for practical use. The demand to diversify power sources and cure the addiction to oil is leading many regions to take advantage of the fuel-free abundant resource. The advantages are remarkable including over 2,000 skilled, long-term jobs, which is expected to skyrocket through manufacturing jobs soon to be available nationwide and other sources of income such as royalty payments to landowners and even short-term construction jobs. Aside from the economic advantages to the work force, wind energy also powers the economy without generating hazardous wastes or depleting natural resources. Some have the misconception that choosing environmentally correct energy costs more, but in actuality wind power is now competitive with mainstream power technologies. Over the last twenty years costs have dropped more than 80%. In 1980 the cost of wind power was approximately 30 cents per kilowatt hour, but now the cost is less than 5 cents/kWh. If environmental costs were included, wind energy’s competitiveness would increase further because of its low impact to the environment.

These advantages have caused the global wind power market to increase by 43% in 2005 alone, producing a total of 11,769 megawatts (MW) of new wind generated power worldwide. The United States was responsible for 2,431 MW of that total, which was a 37% increase and was worth over 3 billion dollars in new generating equipment throughout 22 states. This ranks the United States as the country with the most new wind power. Projections for 2006 predict growth to be even bigger with installations topping 3,000 MW. This steady growth is due to Congress’ first time expansion of the wind energy production tax credit before it was due to expire and has caused the industry to look forward to several record-breaking years in a row. The entire power generation industry is finally beginning to tap into wind energy’s enormous potential. In March, General Electric (GE) signed a $27 million, multi-year contract with the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to develop a new offshore wind power system over the next several years, benefiting the U.S. coastal regions that have high energy prices. The $8 million project will apply new technology of reinforcement fabric for the blades to allow them to be 6% longer and produce 12% more power. Another contract was signed between FirstEnergy and Gamesa Energy USA for the largest wind power project in Pennsylvania. The 23-year agreement includes the purchase of 80 MW of wind power from the Allegheny Ridge Wind Farm, a new wind power generation project being developed near Altoona, PA. The Allegheny Ridge Wind Farm site is planned to have 40 turbines rated at 2 MW each for Phase I and is expected to be operational as early as 2007. This project will be the largest wind farm in Pennsylvania once it is built and one of the largest in the entire Mid-Atlantic region. Gamesa is also building three new advanced technology plants in Bucks County for the production of wind mill blades and towers and the assembly of nacelles, which house the wind turbines. These will join with the existing blade plant currently being built just a few miles away from the project location. FirstEnergy anticipates having more than 360 MW of renewable wind power to offer companies, which exceeds any other company in the Mid-Atlantic region. As the market for wind generation continues to rise, so does the need to service and maintain the rotors, turbines, generators, drive trains or gearboxes, and electronic controls responsible for generating clean, safe, and affordable energy. 3-D Service is rapidly emerging as a leader in wind turbine service and maintenance. It takes the bravest and most dedicated workers to climb up to a work space of not even three feet to complete “routine” maintenance from vibration analysis to slip-ring or bearing replacement on the generators enclosed in these soaring structures. Imagine if your commute consisted of a four hour hike up four levels totaling nearly 300 feet just to get all your tools up to your job site. Some heavy equipment, such as the portable crane used to lift machinery, must be hoisted up tower. Precautions are taken with such heavy equipment since the towers are constructed of fiberglass that is only about ¼” thick. In order to ensure the platform levels do not cave in, plywood is set underneath heavy equipment. Of course, this is all after an extensive safety training course. Safety equipment alone includes radios for constant communication, ladder, safety glasses, leather gloves, hard hat, and a safety harness. Service engineers will climb up and back down normally twice during their long shifts or as many as six times as these jobs can take from two to three days to complete. 3-D Service’s field service engineers, Charles Wood and Bob Evans, are only two of a handful of skilled and dedicated employees who are willing and able to complete this not-so-routine maintenance. The heights, the danger, and the restricted space never stop them from giving their all. They consider their field work “something you would have to see to believe because you can actually watch the wind currents move in as they wave from tower to tower and make such an exhausting, enclosed experience worthwhile. To be on top of a wind tower and to look out to miles of blue skies and currents of wind power that so many have played a part in constructing and maintaining is truly breathtaking and unbelievable.”

3-D Service engineers like Wood and Evans have been completing routine maintenance on these massive wind turbines since 2004, including comprehensive inspections, filter and lubricant replacement, bearing and slip ring replacement, coupling and gearbox service, balancing and alignment, and predictive maintenance. As an authorized distributor and service provider for ABB and GE, 3-D Service is leading the way in wind energy maintenance and repairs. As a member of the American Wind Energy Association, 3-D Service will be there to provide complete up-tower service and comprehensive in-plant service.