If you want to “harvest” wind, you have to know what you are talking about

27 years of experience in harnessing wind energy
There is hardly any other technology which has made the same progress as wind energy in the past few years. Nordex is one of the fathers of this development. After all, we have been setting standards since 1985 with ever larger and thus increasingly more efficient turbines.

Many years of wind energy expertise, systematic engineering skills and customer-oriented product development are incorporated in each of the over 4,800 wind turbines which we have produced. Our range offers sophisticated and innovative wind energy systems for all geographic regions including coastal and non-coastal, strong-wind and weak-wind sites. Day for day, our hot and cold-climate models demonstrate their suitability for deployment in extreme desert and permafrost conditions.

Engineering expertise
When we launch a new product, we attach importance to reliability. Our philosophy is to avoid implementing technical changes during operations. Today, we have the greatest experience in the 90 meter rotor segment of the market.

As well as this, we perform an FMEA (failure modes and effects analysis) at Nordex on the turbine components, their modifications and the new solutions implemented in our equipment. Using “what-if” scenarios, each component is scrutinized to determine its response in a non-standard situation, e.g. in the event of a power failure. Potential errors and their impact are examined and evaluated in order to improve the quality, safety and reliability of the measures taken before they are applied out in the field.

After the safety analysis and simulation under laboratory conditions have been completed, the new solutions are initially tested in prototypes and test-field systems. This step-by-step approach is applied to all modifications and simultaneously ensures system availability. Only after the new solutions have proven themselves at this stage are they implemented on a series level.

Comprehensive range of technical services
Thanks to our global experience in the technical planning of wind farm systems, we are also able to complete wind farms including grid connections on a turnkey basis. Using micrositing methods, we support our customers on a comprehensive and individual basis in determining suitable wind energy turbines and their precise positioning within the wind farm.

Internal production of key components
Rotor blades and the Nordex Control system management and visualization software are key components of wind energy systems. The rotor blades materially determine the system output, while Nordex Control manages and controls the wind turbine to ensure maximum yield. We have been producing our own rotor blades – solely for megawatt-class turbines – since the end of 1999. Established in 2001, our production facility in Rostock has a floor area of 12,000 square meters and covers part of our own requirements of rotor blades using methods taken from the aviation industry. We procure other blades from renowned partners.

Nordex utilizes real-time simulations to identify and eliminate potential programming errors in the Nordex Control 2 automation system prior to field deployment of the turbine. In this way, it is possible to test Nordex Control as well as wind turbine response under real conditions in the laboratory. The Nordex Control 2 controlling software is particularly used with the multi-megawatt Nordex N90, N100 and N117 turbines. Today, all turbines of this type are fitted with the new, quality-checked system. At the same time, Nordex has been able to implement an automation software system for wind turbines which creates audit trails.

Nordex quality
Nordex has DIN ISO 9001 certification covering the planning, supply, construction and start-up of all electrical and automated systems as well as infrastructural activities related to wind energy systems and wind farms. Nordex quality management rests on three pillars: First and foremost, quality checks of all components and parts sourced from external suppliers; secondly, safeguarding quality throughout the entire turbine production process including after-sales service, and thirdly creating feedback on measures for enhancing quality during production as well as in components as part of an ongoing improvement process.

Service
We monitor the availability of each individual wind turbine on a 7/24 basis. Our service staff at the regional support centers ensure swift on-site service with minimum response times to ensure smooth turbine operation.

Our central Nordex spare parts depot is located at our European production site in Rostock. The depot supplies all service bases around the world with the necessary parts. Materials for all system generations and types are stocked there. The central depot operates on a 365-day basis. Parts in stock ordered before five in the afternoon are dispatched on the same day. The parts are then delivered within Germany by nine on the next morning and in Europe within 24 hours depending on the destination.

On this basis, it guarantees a wind farm availability. Nordex customers are able to obtain this service in the premium and extended service packages with a term of up to 12 years thanks to the close ties between ongoing training of Nordex’s own staff, an end-to-end information system as well as a full-maintenance concept with condition-oriented maintenance.

Digital Services & Modern Concepts

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