If until 1989, the word “maintenance” didn’t exist in Romanian technical literature, it has been gradually adopted from other languages to redefine the equivalent terms of “keeping and repair”, says Elena Popescu, CEO Elektra Renewable Support. The word was then also adopted by the Romanian Energy Regulatory National Authority, ANRE, in the official documentation.
”Maintenance programs are set for all our customers according to their requirements, applicable legislation, installation and its specific requirements, including manufacturers requirements. A document results that we follow and adjust as we perform these programs. Planning and scheduling are very important, but also tracking the maintenance actions, aiming to eliminate production losses as much as possible. During summer periods we perform wind power plants preventive maintenance, due to low wind, and in the cloudy periods, especially in the autumn, we are working on photovoltaic plants preventive maintenance,” she said at the conference “2021: The role of maintenance for industrial recovery”, organized by Energynomics.
For the PV industry, spring is the optimal period, some losses occur in summer as solar cells overheat and expand.
“In our maintenance programs, we discover the existing problems and substantiate the need for their upgrading and rehabilitation, including upgrading the facilities or the system. This year, we have already started some projects to improve facilities for some of the plants we operate,” she added.
“By upgrading it, the facility will be maintained more easily and there will be fewer interventions. By reducing execution errors and reducing the number of job redesigns, we once again maximize the production or continuity of a consumer’s energy supply. Every year or when we take a new customer, we optimize the spare parts stock,” she added, explaining that in practice the lack of a simple cable terminal, with a long delivery term, can lead to major delays for a wind producer.
It is also envisaged to improve exploitation conditions and establish databases. They contain the history of equipment and installation, the history of which can be compared and analyzed.
DOWNLOAD THE PRESENTATION OF ELENA POPESCU
“If at first, I make a larger investment in equipment or installation, the maintenance cost will be lower because I will encounter fewer failures. Our recommendation is to have a fair price-quality ratio and, equally, an appropriate technical solution.”
Elektra group of companies has been present in the energy market since 2005. “We are also manufacturers, we have 46 MW in the wind and 9 MW in solar, which allowed us to have the producer’s perspective when the service is carried out. This is a major advantage because we understand perfectly what disconnection means and what losses it involves, we perfectly understand how to perform maintenance programs so that the customer can maximize production. We perfectly understand the link between the commercial power forecast department, the local dispatcher, from the control room, and the field operators, because good communication between them means an optimization of the power forecast,” Elena Popescu explained.
“Our services start from the development of the project – this is how we entered this renewable resources field, in 2009, when we decided to invest in the first wind energy capacities. We then developed in the field of operation and maintenance, because we needed these services in our own activity.” At the same time, the monitoring part 24/7, from Cernavodă, was originally carried out for us, and subsequently outsourced to external clients.
“We have improved the service portfolio, thus achieving, in fact, the facility management – that is, the execution of all needed operations to exploit an energy capacity in very good conditions. We are also carrying out operation and maintenance programs for wind turbines, inverters; practically, for the entire installation” she said.
The conference “2021: The role of maintenance for industrial recovery” was organized by Energynomics, with the support of our partners Eaton România, Elektra Renewable Support, Elgeka-Ferfelis, Terraverde Laboratory.
More than 120 people registered on MyConnector platform to participate in the dialogue.
