750 wind turbines, 16 countries, one inspection standard
Location: Poland, Lithuania, Germany, England, Scotland, Ireland, Serbia, Croatia, France, Canada, Turkey, Spain, Sweden, Finland, Greece, Netherlands
Sutro Group, working in partnership with IAG, has completed a wind turbine inspection programme covering more than 750 turbines across Europe and Canada.
The work took our teams to sites in Poland, Lithuania, Germany, England, Scotland, Ireland, Serbia, Croatia, France, Canada, Turkey, Spain, Sweden, Finland, Greece and the Netherlands. The turbines ranged from 120m to 160m in height and from 2.7MW to 4.5MW in capacity.
One method, wherever the turbine stands
With a fleet spread across so many countries and manufacturers, consistency was the priority. Two-person teams, each including an NDT specialist, combined rope access with phased array ultrasonic testing (PAUT). They inspected hubs, tower welds and structural bolting, along with borescope inspection of blades.
Hub inspections used 360-degree encoded PAUT scanning, including the cast hub flange where the hub connects to the rotor lock shaft. Using the same process on every site means the data is comparable from one turbine to the next, whatever the location.
A strong safety record
The programme was completed with zero first aid incidents across the whole fleet.
Lukas, Operations Manager – Poland, led delivery on the ground. “Whether it’s a hub in Poland or a tower weld in Spain, the team applies the same encoded PAUT scanning process,” he said. “Completing that programme with zero first aid incidents is something the whole team should be proud of.”
Greg Drane, Commercial Director at Sutro Group, said the project shows the value of the partnership: “It combines our inspection expertise with IAG’s regional reach to deliver a consistent standard across a complex, multi-country fleet.”
Find out more
Our full case study covers the challenges, the inspection approach and the results in detail: Read the case study
You can also see the full range of work we carry out on turbines on our wind turbine inspection services page.
Contact Sutro Group
To find out how Sutro Group’s specialist inspection services can support your maintenance programme, contact our team:
0800 069 9395
info@sutrogroup.co.uk