Wind testing and inspection services

The energy transition is in full swing. There are plenty of ways to generate energy without using fossil fuels and wind energy is one of the renewable energy solutions. In many (European) countries electricity generated by wind turbine generators (WTG’s) already accounts for a significant part of the available green energy and the growth is picking up.

To assure efficient and safe operation of the turbines, regular testing and inspection is logically of the high importance. Kiwa is specialized in all types of technical analysis, (drone) inspection and non-destructive testing (NDT).

Our services cover the entire lifecycle of wind turbines and wind farms, from manufacturing to construction to safe decommissioning of depreciated installations. If you are an owner, operator or manufacturer, we are there to help you and enable you to control the lifecycle of your wind turbine.

Wind turbine inspection services

Kiwa's range of wind testing and inspection services covers all the quality, safety and structural aspects of the turbines. We offer inspections on:

• Safety equipment and anchors
• Pressure equipment (accumulators)
• Electrical safety
• Fire Fighting Systems
• Cranes, Lifts and Hoists
• Blades and lightning protection systems
• Bolts and welds
• Foundations

During construction and manufacturing we offer the following inspections:

• Vendor inspections and Quality assurance during manufacturing
• Safety coordination on site
• Welding inspections
• Cement and concrete inspections

All these services can be supported by NDT. When defects are found we can detect the gravity and scale by using the right methodology. Per example Magnetic Particle testing on bearings, Phased Array Ultrasonics on bolts, Magnetic particle test one bed plate cracks or Holiday spark testing on coatings. 

Walkdown inspections

Since we are already working on the turbines we also offer fullscope walkdown inspections. This type of inspection is usually done by the owner or operator, however having an independent third party for inspection can be beneficial in multiple ways. Next to this we also provide additional services which may come in handy when defects are found. For example: non-destructive testing on corrosion, bearings and bolts or electrical safety checks.

Life time extension

Based on inspection and testing data predictions and estimations can be made on the remaining life time of your turbines. Our consultants can calculate failure mechanisms based on risk an degradation speed. This is what we call Risk Based Inspection (RBI) and Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM).With this information you can apply the right maintenance strategy, repairs or you can consider repowering your site. This goes hand in hand with our Technical Due Dilligence services.