Gallery: GEV Habitat platform prototype

UK: GEV Wind Power has unveiled its Habitat maintenance platform prototype currently in development.

by David Weston 6 March 2015

  • GEV Wind has constructed a prototype of its Habitat platform

    GEV Wind has constructed a prototype of its Habitat platform

  • The Habitat encases engineers in a climate controlled environment around a turbine blade

    The Habitat encases engineers in a climate controlled environment around a turbine blade

  • Being protected by the elements means workmen could carry out maintenance more easily

    Being protected by the elements means workmen could carry out maintenance more easily

  • The platform is designed to reduce maintenance days lost to bad weather, reducing costs

    The platform is designed to reduce maintenance days lost to bad weather, reducing costs

  • It is planned to use the platform on both onshore and offshore turbines

    It is planned to use the platform on both onshore and offshore turbines

  • Field trials for the platform are expected to begin this year

    Field trials for the platform are expected to begin this year

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GEV Wind has constructed a prototype of its Habitat platform, whic encases engineers in a climate controlled environment around a turbine blade.

Being protected by the elements means workmen could carry out maintenance more easily and in more weather conditions. The platform is designed to reduce maintenance days lost to bad weather, reducing costs.

The platform is designed to be used on both onshore and offshore turbines, with an onshore field trial expected to begin this year.

GEV Group managing director David Fletcher,said: "Habitat structures have worked well in the oil and gas sector for many years, and we decided to migrate the idea across to wind.

"Wind speeds, rain, temperature and humidity all significantly impact on an engineer's ability to complete scheduled maintenance. However, when you also factor in the length of time it takes to physically get an engineer out to a wind project, which is often a round trip of several hours, the window of opportunity available to undertake any maintenance is very narrow indeed.

"Our new offshore habitat structure will mitigate the weather risk and enable engineers, once on-site, to work unhindered in a controlled environment," he added. 

GEV will be at the EWEA Offshore 2015 conference in Copenhagen next week, as will “uåX˜äŠÊ˜·³Ç.