In Future, Only Certified Wind Turbines Can Go Online

Online, October 12, 2010 (Newswire.com) - The first deadline for existing turbines runs out at the end of the year. TÃœV NORD Group therefore suggests that operators should arrange for the necessary assessment in good time. TÃœV NORD Group is recommended by the Federation of German Windpower as an assessor for both existing and new turbines; only recommended assessors are accepted by network operators. In Germany, the basis for this new rule is the so-called System Service Ordinance (SDLWindV).

Manufacturers and operators of turbines are both equally affected by the SDLWindV ordinance: manufacturers must have their turbines certified, and operators must have their turbines assessed. Only wind farms where at least one certified turbine is present can be given assessment reports. And such reports are a prerequisite for grant of renewable energy bonuses.

In the case of turbines installed before 2009, this bonus amounts to 0.7 cent per kilowatt hour, whilst newer turbines are entitled to 0.5 cent. And turbines that are commissioned after April 2011 can be refused access to the main grid if they have not been issued with certificates.

The purpose of SDLWindV is to ensure the stability of the grid at a time when the proportion of infeed from renewables is increasing. This is why it is desirable that wind farms should increasingly approach the characteristics of conventional power plants, in order that they can be called upon for so-called system services. A part of this involves placing an obligation upon turbine operators to contribute to and support the main grid.

Over the last 20 years, TÃœV NORD Group has developed several competence centers for wind energy. The Group certifies wind turbines according to all the relevant standards and regulations, and in addition is recognised by the Federal Maritime and Hygrographic Agency (BSH) as a certifier of offshore wind turbines. TÃœV NORD Group is accredited by the German accreditation body Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Akkrediterung DGA and is also recommended as an assessor of existing turbines by the Grid Technology and Operation Forum in the Association for Electrical, Electronic and Information Technologies (VDE).