DNV GL Releases Standard for Wind Turbine Lifetime Extension

DNV GL has developed a standard for safe operations and service specification for certification of onshore and offshore wind turbines beyond their original designed lifetime.

Taking into account the different perspectives and needs of operators, manufacturers and energy suppliers, DNV GL said it further developed its approach to extend turbine’s lifetime that has been introduced with publication of the ‘Guideline for Continued Operation’ in 2009.

The company has developed different methods in order to provide more guidance on possible approaches for lifetime extension and to offer adequate solutions to operators of single wind turbines, as well as of large wind farms, or even to manufacturers. These methods have been implemented in the new service documents DNVGL-ST-0262 ‘Lifetime extension of wind turbines’ and DNVGL-SE-0263 ‘Certification of lifetime extension of wind turbines’.

All methods evaluate the suitability of a turbine for the life time extension, and depending on the purpose, they have a different level of detail. The methods ‘simplified approach’, ‘detailed approach’ and ‘probabilistic approach’ consist of an analytical and a practical part, and include quantification of the remaining useful life based on different procedures.

Source: DNV GL