Background:

With extended experience in performing service and troubleshooting wind turbines, GNL Service in 2016 entered an agreement with Envision’s local subsidiary in Denmark, for ongoing service and operation of their 3.4 and 3.6 MW test turbines in Østerild and Thyborøn. Both turbines (which today have been decommissioned again), were test turbines designed for offshore use. Here, GNL-Service also was involved in dismantling the turbines after the end of the testing period. The 3.6 MW turbine in Thyborøn was demolished in 2019, whereas the 3.4 MW turbine from Østerild was taken down in the summer of 2020.

As part of the agreement, GNL Service was responsible for all site work, daily operation, delivery of crew for service and maintenance as well as repair and troubleshooting of the test turbines. In addition, GNL Service has been responsible for the replacement of main components and supplied the necessary equipment for this in the form of both heavy lifting equipment for the replacement of blades, bearings, generator and switchbox on the wind turbines, as well as for a larger test of an EcoSwing-drivetrain.

The EcoSwing Project:

The EcoSwing project, was a project aimed to test a solution consisting of an electrical-superconducting, low-cost, lightweight-drivetrain for MW wind turbines. The overall characteristic of an EcoSwing drivetrain, is that the weight has been significantly reduced by as much as 40%, compared to a regular magnet-driven drivetrain. With this, the Envision turbine in Thyborøn reduced the weight of their nacelles by 25% (only the turbine from Thyborøn was tested with the EcoSwing Project).

But production of EcoSwing-drivetrains is also cheaper than conventional drivetrains and will through a series-production, have a reduced production cost which is up to 40% lower compared to a conventional drivetrain. The EcoSwing Project was an EU-funded project, consisting of a consortium of players from the wind industry, including Envision Energy Denmark, which supplied the turbines to test the solution.

Source: https://ec.europa.eu/inea/en/horizon-2020/projects/h2020-energy/wind/ecoswing