5 Ways We Ensure Wind Turbine Blades are Repaired with Care

April 11, 2023

2 workers on top of wind turbine in a mountain desert area

With an estimated 700,000 wind turbines in operation globally, an average of 3,800 blade failure incidents occur each year. Blade damage typically stems from natural elements like sand, ice, rain, sun, and lightning, but there may be initial underlying issues caused by manufacturing defects and transportation damage that contribute to the deterioration of the blade. Every blade in operation needs some level of repair approximately every 2 – 5 years.

The condition of turbine blades is vital to generating power and insuring optimal turbine performance. When blade repairs are necessary, you can trust our team of experienced blade repair professionals to inspect and repair your blades with the utmost care, getting them back to healthy working condition and giving you peace of mind.

Here are 5 ways Pearce ensures your damaged blades are repaired with care.

1. Our Dedicated Composite Team

Pearce has invested heavily in expanding our blade repair service offering by building a team to support OEM customers for blade and other composite repair services. Our team of professionals have 15+ years of extensive subject matter expertise in multiple turbine models. They have performed hundreds of composite repair services in addition to thousands of structural blade repairs, retrofits, and lightning strike or weather-related repairs. We also perform routine preventative internal and external blade inspections to find and treat potential issues before they become larger repair problems.

2. Our In-House Engineering Team

With 25+ years of combined experience, ranging from manufacturing, and production and quality engineering for multiple blade manufacturers, we can provide a quick analysis of damages, as well as effective and efficient repair plans for all severity levels. Blade repairs can range from a simple restoration to a much more complex, multi-system rebuild event. From separation of layers, cracks in the blade surface, structural laminates, the blade components, debonding, or installation of addons and erosion prevention, we have you covered. Our Composite team will evaluate the severity of the damage and partner with our in-house Composite Engineering team to determine if special configurations are needed to perform the repair. There is no repair we cannot perform to get your blades back to healthy, operating condition.

3. Our State-of-the-Art Technology

Grinding away composite materials up to 120 meters in the air, performing lamination, and repainting areas of 70+ meter long blades requires extensive safety training and specialized skills, tools, and procedures. To ensure the safety of our technicians and your blades, we use a blade access platform that allows us to keep enough distance from the blade and provide ample room for our repair specialists to perform the work. The access platform enables us to perform complex work safely and efficiently, reducing your downtime and increasing your optimal production. We also utilize UV curing technology and materials to reduce processing time and increase the quality of repairs.

4. Major Component Exchange Experience

A huge differentiator for Pearce is our ability to work on projects requiring major component exchanges. We specialize in performing major component exchanges across many platforms. Our team leverages advanced crane technology to safely and efficiently remove and install large wind turbine components, from entire nose cone replacements to gearbox and generator exchanges. By utilizing our major component exchange partnerships, we can minimize downtime and lost revenue for our clients, ensuring that their wind energy assets are back up and running as quickly as possible. Although no one likes to talk about it, catastrophic failures happen. Our industry-leading decommissioning and demolition teams can be the “easy button” for remediating your site.

5. A Proven Track Record of Excellence

At Pearce, we strive to be your trusted partner, limiting and managing risk for you and your wind assets across the nation. Leave it to us, your blade repair specialists, to evaluate and repair your blades for any turbine model with care. We are here to give you peace of mind and keep your assets running optimally all day, every day. Pearce Renewables and our subsidiaries have been providing safe, fast, and quality work for clients across the nation for more than a decade. As the largest independent solutions provider (ISP) for mission-critical renewable energy infrastructure in the U.S., we have a reputation of excellence and professionalism that has been earned, not given.

We are Here to Serve You

From our technology to our training, Pearce Renewables has the tools and expertise to deliver exceptional results for our clients in an ongoing or on-demand basis. With wind clients in 43 states nationwide, Pearce Renewables can provide cost-effective service solutions no matter your location. Learn more about our services at https://www.pearce-renewables.com/wind/