Lifetime Extension Inspection

Extend the operating life of your turbines

Fully exploit the economic potential of your wind turbines and opt for a continued operation after the design lifetime has expired. In Germany for example, this requires the successful Assessment and Verification of the Lifetime Extension (ALE = BPW – Bewertung und Prüfung über den Weiterbetrieb). It consists of an analytical and an inspection part. Internationally relevant standards are DNV GL-ST-0262 "Lifetime extension of wind turbines" and DNV GL-SE-0263 "Certification of lifetime extension of wind turbines".

You can have the analytical part of this examination carried out by an assessor of your choice.

For the practical part, the inspection of your turbines, count on our many years of experience as an accredited inspection body – in Germany and abroad.

Lifetime extension certification from one single source

It is even more convenient for you to obtain your lifetime extension certification from one single source, benefiting from synergies and quick channels within the WindGuard group.

Our sister company WindGuard Certification is a pioneer in this field of expertise and introduced the lifetime extension certificate already back in 2014. As an accredited certification body in accordance with DIN EN ISO/IEC 17065:2013, the company it is among the market leaders with a total of over 1,200 lifetime extension assessments.

Deutsche WindGuard - Certification of Lifetime Extension
Extend the operating life of your wind turbines

Inspection focusing on safety for continued operation

During the analytical part of the lifetime extension assessment, WindGuard Certification’s experts create a simulation model to draw a comparison between design and actual site loads and to analyse potential weak points.

You can of course also provide us with the results of the analytical part in case you have commissioned a different service provider with this.

We use the results from the analytical review to examine the identified potential weak points very thoroughly when inspecting your wind turbines. This special focus on the key areas of "fatigue" and "wear and tear" is the plus in safety we provide you at this crucial point in the life of your wind turbine – in addition to the usual scope of the recurring inspection. We pay particular attention to:

  • Risks typically arising during the operating life of certain wind turbine types or within particular product series
  • Risks that are typical as a result of material fatigue and wear and tear
  • Risks that may occur as a result of the individual strain on the wind turbine at the respective site with its specific conditions
  • Up-to-dateness and condition of the safety systems
  • Up-to-dateness and condition of all devices serving occupational safety

With over 20 years of experience, our inspectors have detailed knowledge of a wide range of turbine types and know exactly what they need to pay extra attention to.

Based on this know-how and the turbine type, we may recommend additional individual inspection services which will provide you with valuable information on the condition of your wind turbine – so that you can evaluate the economic profitability of its lifetime extension even better.

We will be happy to provide you with an individual proposal.

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