GE Renewable Energy and the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult are supporting a new technology that aims to reduce manual working at wind farms and cut maintenance costs by 80%.
The EchoBolt technology is the brainchild of Peter Andrews, founder of UK company Energy Integrity Services.
Once fully developed, it aims to reduce the cost of inspecting and retorquing wind turbine bolts – a major maintenance task for wind farm operators.
The cost saving for the European wind industry – offshore and onshore – will be an estimated £250m a year.
The project, which is funded by Innovate UK, will develop the existing EchoBolt prototype for deployment and testing at ORE Catapult’s Levenmouth demonstration turbine and then on one of GE’s operational turbines.
EchoBolt uses ultrasonics to test the tension on the bolts recording sound echoes within the structures and showing exactly when a bolt needs retightening.
The device also delivers data that wind farm operators can use to predict the loss of tension likely on a turbine’s bolts and schedule routine inspections more accurately, reducing unnecessary work days spent offshore.
Andrews came up with the idea after working as a wind farm O&M manager and founded Energy Integrity Services to support the industry in driving down its maintenance costs.
He said: “The first time I visited an offshore wind farm, I witnessed technicians having to work in very confined, hazardous spaces in the foundations.
“I thought there must be a far less labour-intensive and safer way of doing the job. That’s when the seed for EchoBolt was sown.
“Working with ORE Catapult has enabled us to obtain Innovate UK funding, access their expertise and put us into contact with GE Renewable Energy.
“We now have the very precious opportunity to test the idea in both simulated and real-world conditions.”
Andrews expects to grow his company by an additional 10-20 employees in readiness for commercial roll-out.
ORE Catapult operational performance director Chris Hill said: “EchoBolt is set to reduce the need for manual work in a crucial operational area, bringing huge safety and cost benefits.
“This is also a story about a sole entrepreneur who has won heavyweight industry backing through sheer ingenuity.
“The UK supply chain needs many more stories like this one, and we will be providing EchoBolt with expertise from our engineering team, access to our world-leading test facilities and business development support right up to the point of commercialisation.”
GE Offshore Wind general manager for engineering and product management Vincent Schellings said: “We are excited to support an idea that has such potential to help us in our development of next generation technology for the wind industry.
“We look forward to seeing how EchoBolt performs in real-world conditions: digitalising operations is a focus of our own research for equipping the renewables industry of the future.”