Wind energy: TÜV Rheinland performs site suitability assessment for Siemens Gamesa

TÜV Rheinland has successfully completed two new site suitability assessment projects on behalf of Siemens Gamesa. One project assessed the suitability of 2.0/2.1 MW type G114 wind turbines for a wind farm in the USA, the other the suitability of the 2.65 MW version for a wind farm in North Africa. Background: not every wind turbine is equally suitable and certified for every site, so a site-specific design assessment is conducted by a neutral test body to assess whether the wind turbine in question is suitable for the site-specific conditions. This process prevents overloads on components during the operating phase. TÜV Rheinland assessed the system on the basis of the international standard IEC 61400-22 2010. The experts at the certification body for wind turbines at TÜV Rheinland were able to confirm the unrestricted suitability of the systems in question for the planned site and complete the project within the tight deadline set by the customer.

With this successful commission for Siemens Gamesa, a major global manufacturer, TÜV Rheinland can add another well-known reference for its certification activities. "We are pleased that we were able to implement this interesting project for our customer in the shortest possible time and to our customer’s full satisfaction", said Matthias Laatsch, Head of Wind Energy at TÜV Rheinland. "Our certification body was convincing on every level", said the expert. Imanol Iribarren, Corporative Chief Engineer in SGRE Global Engineering Directorate, expresses his point of view about TÜV Rheinland’s performance in these fruitful collaborations: “TÜV Rheinland’s customer oriented solutions throughout all project stages made these projects together smooth yet adding value to our company from the interesting technical discussions completed. We think our partnership with TÜV Rheinland will grow in 2018."

Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) is a leading provider of wind power products and solutions to customers around the globe. The company has installed products and technology in more than 90 countries, with a total installed base of close to 83GW. The united company was created in 2017. Previously, Siemens Wind Power’s history in the wind industry extends back to the early 1980s, and Gamesa’s to 1994.

TÜV Rheinland is accredited by DAkkS, the German accreditation body, as a certification organization for type and component certification for onshore and offshore wind turbines according to national and international standards, and is listed as an RE Certification Body by the IECRE. The company offers ambitious services such as location analysis, geotechnical exploration and verification of structural analysis but also manufacturer monitoring, quality inspection and construction monitoring. As an inspection body accredited by DAkkS according to DIN EN 17020, TÜV Rheinland offers wind turbine operators recurring and state-oriented testing, digitally assisted assessment of system conditions and special examinations by means of the latest destruction-free test methods. Special location reports, due diligence investigations and yield forecasting in turn serve to secure investments.