TÜV SÜD – reliable partner in the expansion and optimised use of wind power resources across Europe

The EU Commission’s launch of its European Green Deal (EGD) sets up ambitious targets. For instance, under the EGD’s proposals the EU needs to cut its GHG emissions by at least 55 per cent by 2035 and become climate-neutral by 2050. “Major expansion of wind-power resources will be essential for reaching this goal”, says Enrique Martínez de Ubago López, Head of Wind Energy at TÜV SÜD Industrie Service GmbH. TÜV SÜD has been supporting the expansion of wind power resources by offering an extensive service portfolio for onshore and offshore wind turbine generators (WTG). These services cover support with planning, construction, operation and investment decisions – for example, by supplying risk analyses and occupational health and safety concepts, quality control during construction and periodic tests and inspections. The wind reports, wind-potential, site-suitability and structural analyses and the certificates supplied by the TIC company’s experts not only lay the foundation for the planning and realisation of new wind farm projects; their services in WTG lifetime assessment also provide a reliable basis for the decision-making over decommissioning, repowering or extending the lifetime of a turbine after the end of its design life.

Support for innovative technologies and complex projects

Offering its expertise and experience, TÜV SÜD also supports the development of new and innovative concepts and technologies as well as the networking and integration of multiple energy carriers. Examples include floating offshore wind energy, which opens up the possibility to erect offshore wind farms in deeper waters. As a member of German lighthouse project Aquaventus, TÜV SÜD combines experience in offshore wind energy with extensive hydrogen expertise. Planned to provide ten gigawatts of production capacity by 2035, the Aquaventus initiative has the objective of producing up to 1 million tons of green hydrogen in the German North Sea. “With their broad skills base in wind energy and hydrogen, our multi-disciplinary teams of experts enable an integrated approach to be adopted for complex projects, but also devise individual solutions for a host of different terms of reference”, explains Enrique Martínez.

This also applies to cybersecurity – an area of increasing importance, as demonstrated by the significant rise in cyberattacks on critical infrastructures, including power and supply networks, in recent years. Operators of wind turbine generators (WTGs) and wind farms face the challenge of warding off these threats and guaranteeing the reliable operation of their installations. A certified Information Security Management System (ISMS) in accordance with ISO/IEC 27001 is key to achieving systematic and structured optimisation of information security aligned to the specific requirements of the windenergy sector. A solid ISMS ensures improvement throughout the entire IT infrastructure and provides protection against cyberattacks and the associated unplanned downtime.

More in-depth information about the comprehensive services of TÜV SÜD in the field of wind energy is available at www.tuvsud.com/wind-power and www.tuvsud.com/….