In his role as the new Head of Metrology at Green Wind Engineering GmbH, Martin Peters is the point of contact for the technical aspects of engineering. He provides support throughout the entire project process, from technical consulting in sales via project preparation and planning through to team planning and support for measuring campaigns (the photograph shows him with student trainee Constantin Jäkel). He is currently also onboarding the metrology engineers Dipl.-Ing. Johannes Fischer and Viktor Morell, M.Sc. with a view to the company’s international market expansion. The engineering unit specializes in engineering services for the technical optimization of wind turbines. It focuses on balancing, blade angle measurements, tailored measuring campaigns, and surveying and consulting. Its specialty: rotor dynamics.

We asked Martin about the innovations used and how customers benefit as a result.

Martin, you have an M.Eng. in Renewable Energies and have been with greenwind since 2021. What innovations does your engineering team use to optimize wind turbines?

When it comes to blade angle measurement, we use our tried-and-tested optical technique. Conventional single-lens reflex cameras allow us to accurately measure blade angle deviations down to 0.1 of a degree. One of the applications of the video-based measuring technique we have developed in-house is for simplified vibration testing across continents, as the measurements are easy for our cooperation partners to learn and do not require special measurement technology. However, video-based measuring also allows us to perform special campaigns such as tower clearance measurement or blade twist measurement without having to interrupt turbine operation.

What are the specific benefits of these measurements for customers?

The video-based technique allows us to quickly, reliably and cost-effectively check whether a turbine is suffering from rotor imbalance or other notable vibrations. If these issues remain uncovered, this can result in increased wear and tear and require corresponding repairs. It often also means components failing altogether, which can lead to long downtimes. Every downtime means lost revenue, and that can soon add up to hundreds of thousands of euros – as we discovered only too painfully with one of the group’s own wind turbines. The turbine ran for three and a half years with a faulty blade angle of 4.2 degrees on a rotor blade that went undetected. The azimuth gears had to be exchanged after the first year, followed by a broken bolt in the gearbox and the transformer one year later. When the azimuth gears broke down again in the third year, we were commissioned to examine the turbine. We identified the faulty blade angle and were able to rectify the misalignment. If we had done this three and a half years earlier, we could have averted the need for the repairs and the resulting downtime. The cost came in at almost €200,000.

Is that true for onshore as well as offshore turbines?

Vibrations affect more than just offshore turbines. However, their impact is far greater offshore due to the issue of accessibility and the higher output of the turbines. That is why it is all the more important to ensure that offshore turbines work well and need to be repaired as little as possible throughout their service life.

What are you currently working on and what is your goal for this year?

I am working with our sales team to establish global cooperation partnerships. The ability to perform basic measurements is easily learned, and when partners upload the readings to our cloud, that means we can evaluate the data from our Berlin office. I myself have flown to Brazil countless times over the years to balance wind turbines. It’s a fun experience and one that teaches you a lot – including about the country and its people – but the high travel costs, the carbon emissions for the flights and the customs and EHS requirements make these projects complicated. That is why I hope to have concluded some partnerships by the end of this year, including outside Europe. The aim is to optimize the greatest number of wind turbines around the world so that they can generate as much clean electricity for us as technically possible.

What do you especially enjoy about working for greenwind?

The group’s departments are extremely diverse and cover the wind turbine life cycle in its entirety. I have got to know many open and supportive colleagues from whom I can learn a lot. This helps me to take a broader view beyond my own area of expertise in engineering. I particularly enjoy feeling like my colleagues get real pleasure out of their work.

Thank you!

The interview was conducted by Anke Kuckuck