Agenda
Blades USA 2022
FEBRUARY 22-23
AUSTIN, TEXAS
DAY 1 – TUESDAY – FEBRUARY 22ND
9:00 – 9:10
WELCOME REMARKS FROM THE CHAIRPERSON
9:10 – 09:30
KEYNOTE ADDRESS
David Kaskie, Vice President of Products & Services Division, Sensoria™ by MISTRAS
09:30-10:30
PANEL DISCUSSION: PREDICTIVE, PREVENTATIVE AND AUTONOMOUS MAINTENANCE: BUILDING A SYSTEM OF CONSTANT CONDITION MONITORING
- To what extent is building a predictive model limited by only using existing experience as an input?
- What is the impact of the constantly evolving and improving blade technology and how are newer composites changing the way in which blades need to be maintained?
- Transparency as the key to get to the next stage of predictive maintenance, what can we do as an industry to foster a more collaborative working relationship across the sector?
- What should a good service contract look like to ensure proper blade care based on site specific parameters?
Speakers: John Hall, Associate Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Buffalo Valery
Godinez-Azcuaga, Vice President of Engineering and Product Development, Sensoria™ by MISTRAS
Harriet Green, Operations Manager – Empire Wind & Beacon Wind, Equinor
Megan Rotondo, Senior Consulting Engineer, Onyx Insight
10.30 – 11:00
Speaker: Tom Brady, CTO, SkySpecs
11:00 – 11:30 NETWORKING COFFEE BREAK AND OPPORTUNITY TO EXPLORE EXHIBITION AREA
INNOVATORS & INSIGHTS
11:30-12:15
PECHA KUCHA STYLE PRESENTATIONS: 6 MINUTES. 6 SLIDES. 6 INNOVATIONS.
- 6 slides. 6 minutes. 6 innovations to help you protect, maintain or repair your blades from the environment.
- Each presenter will only have 6 minutes and 6 slides to demonstrate their innovation.
- Once all have presented there will be a Q&A session and the audience will anonymously vote for which one they think is the best.
Speakers: Valery Godinez-Azcuaga, Vice President of Engineering and Product Development, Sensoria™ by MISTRAS
Senior Representative, Arctura
12:15 – 13:45: LUNCH BREAK
13:45-14:15
PRESENTATION: STRATEGIC BLADE O&M PLANNING: A SOLUTION PROVIDER’S PERSPECTIVE
- Using smart data to make better decisions and avoid high levels of uncertainty in blade degradation
- How to incorporate analytical methods to blade O&M to reduce costs and improve performance
- What software is available to monitor, analyse and offer operational changes to improve performance?
- How should one consider the carbon footprint and logistics of blade transportation throughout the life of a blade?
Speaker: Obdulia Ley, Technical Support Manager, Sensoria™ by MISTRAS
14:15-15:15
PANEL: THE FUTURE OF BLADE DESIGN: SUSTAINABILITY, ACCESS AND LONGEVITY
- How are designs changing to create bigger blades and are the new blade composites more difficult to maintain?
- How are OEMs balancing the risk with trying new technologies and materials with blade performance in field?
- How does feedback from in field operations affect the choice of composites used?
- What AEP gains can you expect from recently designed blades?
- What are the O&M risks associated with using newer blades with less data on failure trends?
- How does customer data on common fleet issues translate into a change in future designs?
- Using modeled environmental conditions to assess power performance and structural changes in new blades
- Could giving owners more insight into the build process improve blade performance and aftercare?
- How are transporting costs impacting overall blade costs?
Speakers: Edward Stewart, Senior Engineer, RWE
Kristian Dixon, Team Lead – Conceptual Blade Design, Envision Energy
15:15-15:45: NETWORKING COFFEE BREAK
15:45 -16:15
- Setting up systems for internal and external autonomous inspection
- How to choose inspection intervals that fit your site conditions and resources available
- Can you deal with serious damages outside of the repair season by using smart weather reports?
- Using automated analysis to create inspection workflows and reduce cost of repair
16:15 -17:15
PANEL DISCUSSION: HOW CAN THE INDUSTRY IMPROVE DIAGNOSTICS AND STANDARDISATION OF BLADE DAMAGES
- Do certification agencies need to step in to set standardised damage categories across the industry?
- Should the maintenance regime be guided by industry standards, an independent body or by the OEM? How can collaboration and data sharing help?
- Will improved sensor technology be the best way to assess structural integrity of blades?
- Is it possible to have a one fits all solution to monitor blade health? And how can you determine a good monitoring system from a bad one?
Bob Gallaher, Structural Engineer – Wind Fleet Blades & Structures, Nextera Energy
Matthew Malkin, Principal Engineer, DNV.GL
Carsten Westergaard, President, Westergaard Solutions Inc.
Marc Hoffmann, Global Head of Sales & Marketing, Sulzer Schmid
17:15-18:00
ROUNDTABLES AND NETWORKING DRINKS RECEPTION: PROTECTING BLADES FROM EXTREME WEATHER
| LIGHTNING | ICING | HUMIDITY/MOISTURE/RAIN | HIGH WINDS |
Hosted by: Billy Martin, Independent DER Consultant, EME Consulting, LLC (to be confirmed) |
|
Hosted by: Guillermo Lozano, Blade Engineer, RWE |
|
18:00
CLOSING REMARKS FROM THE CHAIRPERSON
END OF DAY 1
DAY 2 – WEDNESDAY – FEBRUARY 23RD
9:30 – 9:45
WELCOME REMARKS FROM THE CHAIRPERSON
Brian Hayes, VP Asset Operations, EDPR
REDUCING AEP LOSS AND PROACTIVE REPAIRS
10:00 – 10:30
AEP LOSS AND ITS IMPORTANCE O&M DECISION MAKING AND BUDGET PLANNING
This workshop will provide you with a pro and cons analysis of using different factors when calculating your AEP loss and budget planning.
- How can you reduce factors that cause AEP loss?
- What conversations need to be happening with suppliers to create accurate forecasts for repair costs?
- What percentage of expenditure should an owner allow for costs of repair from detrimental environmental conditions?
Speaker: Harriet Green, Operations Manager – Empire Wind & Beacon Wind, Equinor
10:30-11:00
PRESENTATION: PLANNING FOR BLADE DEGRADATION: LEADING EDGE EROSION AND STRUCTURAL DAMAGE
- What leading edge protection systems are available?
- Educating operators on the best ways to monitor for and deal with leading edge erosion
- What are the energy production and cost implications of poor leading edge protection and maintenance
- How best to deal with blade root damage?
- Creating good contracts with your suppliers to ensure effective support and blade longevity
Speaker: Murray Fisher, Senior Engineer, DNV.GL
11:00-11:30 NETWORKING COFFEE BREAK AND OPPORTUNITY TO EXPLORE EXHIBITION AREA
11:30 – 12:30
PANEL DISCUSSION: UNIQUE DAMAGES, WARRANTIES AND PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE NEW DAMAGES
- Once we have achieved predictive maintenance, will we lose the ability to react to unique damages?
- Identifying the challenges facing inspection and repair for the upcoming generation of larger turbines
- What are the latest innovations in blade design that are going to change operations and maintenance in the future?
- Trend analysis and sub-component testing: What insight can service companies provide on systemic problems for blades?
- Will they ever be in a position to share this insight?
Chair: Brian Hayes, VP Asset Operations, EDPR
Speakers: Bob Gallaher, Structural Engineer – Wind Fleet Blades & Structures, Nextera Energy
Billy Martin, Independent DER Consultant, EME Consulting, LLC
Katelyn Reynolds, Mechanical Engineer, Invenergy
Arnold Wilmink, VP – Wind Turbine Engineering, RWE
Margaret Konsella Montanez, Strategic Markets & Account Executive – Renewables Energy Systems – North America, DNV.GL
12:30-14:00: LUNCH BREAK
DUE DILIGENCE FOR BLADES, RECYCLING AND REPURPOSING AT END OF LIFE
14:00-14:30
- How to assess whether the blades meet the limitations of the wind site before delivery
- Ensuring that the environmental conditions are accounted for in blade design and protection methods for blade longevity
- Will the blades meet recycling standards when it comes to end of life and is recycling a viable option considering the region and logistics
- What partnership agreements are currently being used in owner to supplier contracts that could be a good example of the way forward
- How can we repower and recycle in an environmentally conscious way?
Speaker: Markus Lehman, President, Navigatio Capital
QUICK FIRE PRESENTATIONS FOLLOWED BY Q&A PANEL DISCUSSION: RECYCLING & REPURPOSING BLADES
A series of short presentations showcasing some of the projects and work that is being done to improve the recyclability and sustainability of blades and wider turbines. Each speaker will present for 10 mins and then there will be a joint Q&A afterwards.
- What options are currently available to developers who are looking to recycle or repurpose their blades?
- Can owners do more to reduce the amount going to landfill?
- Is it possible to align secondary use with logistics in the design phase
- Creating repurposing blade data for use in civil and structural engineering
- Are there any repurposing/recycling projects already at scale?
- How can we create the circular economy of blades by mapping blades’ processing options
- The intellectual property challenge of recycling blades
- Who should bear the responsibility?
- What do the contracts for service providers currently stipulate
Chair: Brian Hayes, VP Asset Operations, EDPR
Speakers: Lawrence Bank, Research Engineer, Georgia Institute of Technology
Derek Berry, Senior Wind Technology Engineer, NREL (Unconfirmed)
15:45
CLOSING REMARKS FROM THE CHAIRPERSON
End of Day 2 and Close of Conference
