Progeco NeXT is committed in this sector to support its customers in the research and development phase, to analyse the locations of best profitability, in terms of site windiness studies, contributing to the design of innovative installation systems that reduce costs and increase their advantages. Our skills, in terms of design, range from electrical and mechanical engineering to civil engineering works, as well as design in terms of system power evaluation.

Progeco NeXT supports its customers during the construction phase of wind plants at every stage of their life, also providing customized service for project management, technical supervision work progress, including compliance with safety and health regulations for workers, starting from the construction of the site , its development (Commissioning activity), to the Take Over phase, before the plant is tested and the commercial use started.

We also support our customers in procurement and expediting activities, as well as all the necessary paperwork for connection to the grid, ESM (Energy Sevice Management) paperwork to obtain incentives and assistance on any financing allowed by the regulations in force at affiliated banks.

Progeco NeXT has as extensive expertise and experience in the renewable energy sector, particularly in wind power, which allows us to offer an extremely qualified service of visual technical inspection, at first gained through the participation in specific courses by our specialized staff and subsequently thanks to the huge experience gained directly in the field, at customer site. The purpose of the activity is to identify both any defect and the condition of the components subject to inspection, which, when communicated, to the customer, allows the appropriate and corrective actions to be taken, minimizing losses in terms of system efficiency.

The visual safety check is performed on:

• structures (tower, bolted elements, nacelle) and visible parts of the foundation and blades;
• mechanical components to check their operating status;
• components and/or electrical equipment (converter, generator, electrical panels, wiring, transformers, etc…);
• safety equipment and devices, such as ladders, rails, lifts, and /or elevators.

Among the inspection activities most requested by customers, with the least expensive solutions possible, we have the actual inspection and checking of the turbin blades. These elements are in fact constantly exposed to the action of atmospheric agents and flying animals, which could irreversibly damage the system. A high definition view of even the most hidden wind components allows to avoid serious consequences, such as irreparable deterioration of components, accidents and energy reduction up to the total collapse of the blade.

This maintenance can be carried out using the 3 solutions offered by Progeco NeXT:

• inspections by aerial platform, through lifting structures, the cost of which is higher, together with the possibility of exposing technicians to any risk;
• inspections through the use of drones, which obviously eliminate the risk for the technical staff , who can remain on the ground, ensuring a faster inspection speed, together with a greater frequency of carrying them out. In any case, this solution, like the one by the lifting structure, involves a considerable economic expense.
• “Rope access” or, rather, “inspection through the use of ropes”, which obviously requires highly qualified and trained personnel, whose cost is lower than previous solutions and therefore represents a very attractive service on the customer side, especially for those companies that have a large wind plant, like ERG for example, with over 600 turbines exclusively in Italy. Risks during “On rope activities” are certainly greater, but the careful and meticulous training of the personnel involved reduces the rate of possible accidents.

Onshore and offshore wind plants, in ordinary operating conditions, do not require close staffing and are able to operate independently so that the control of the system activities and management is carried out remotely. The presence of workers on the site takes place during maintenance activities, organized on the basis of any problem reported, sent from the site to the control centre. Continuous monitoring guarantees the structural integrity of the plant as well as a prolonged and optimize life cycle of the turbine, minimizing downtime and increasing as much as possible the plant operative life.

Monitoring allows to prepare continuous measurements regarding the structure conduct in order to:

• Optimize the design to validate new innovative methods and materials during the construction phase, with measurements deriving from tests and validations.
• Foresee potential problems, for a more effective approach to maintenance, to guarantee substantial savings.
• Reduce operational risks. Detecting possible damage in advance allows in fact to prevent dangerous structurall failures on critical elements, with a consequent reduction on intervention time and repair costs.
• Foresee energy production in a short period of time to schedule activities of particular interest continuously requiring electricity.

Remote monitoring requires the use of precision sensors and tools for testing and monitoring components, rotor blades, towers and foundations. These tools include electrical and/or optical strain gauges, sensors, data acquisition system and software, as well as data analysis service.

Progeco NeXTs team of experienced and certified project engineers provides and support professional installation of sensors in all environments. For projects involving very large sensor networks Progeco NeXT makes use of the experience of qualified partners, with whom it can integrate its solutions.

Progeco NeXT, in its sector, faces every day new technological challenges and new digital tools that are revolutionizing the market and changing the relationship between customer and supplier. Timeliness in satisfying customer requests, optimizing time and costs, is the fundamental factor that differentiates Progeco NeXT from its competitors, guaranteeing maximum efficiency and very high levels of availability of resources to operates quickly and anywhere in the world.

STAFF AVAILABILITY

We are also able to provide h:24 and 365 days a year support, to deal with every kind of emergency and anywhere in the world.

The availability of highly qualified personnel, even with a short time notice, is guaranteed by the presence of:

• Progeco NeXT staff willing to travel all year round and anywhere in the world
• Local presence of Progeco NeXT maintenance personnel, ensuring that all customer requests are met.
• Signed agreements with qualified partners who support us locally to find the required specialized resources.

STAFF RECRUITING

Another peculiar feature of Progeco NeXT is the ability to carry out recruiting activities on behalf of customers, given the specific experience in the wind energy sector, allowing us to select the most appropriate technicians to satisfy the requests. In fact, during the personnel searching activities, we support our recruiters, in technically evaluating the candidates, the same professional figures specialized in the wind energy sector, covering the same role/position the candidates will cover in customers companies. Our evaluation is therefore aimed at identifying the ideal profiles from a technical point of view and from the willingness to travel as well as from a human point of view and personal attitudes that must be necessarily identified and associated with the customers designated working context.

Future wind energy professionals will be required to fully master the principles of design, installation, operation and maintenance of wind energy plants, in order to become familiar with all systems attached to the turbine.
For this purpose, Progeco NeXT, supported by Progeco NeXT Academy, has planned to provide its customers with various courses, focused on topics of fundamental interest in wind energy sector and based on future technological trends. The courses are listed on the general training section.