Release
Rheine, 09.11.2015. Availon, the leading multi-brand independent service provider for wind turbines, announced today a record year for the company, with the addition to its global portfolio of 620MW of wind turbine generators under operation & maintenance (O&M) contracts. Mature European markets such as Germany, Spain and Italy, which have a great number of wind farms coming out of warranty, represent the lion’s share of Availon’s recent performance.
“This year, we have so far added 390 wind turbine generators to our existing fleet. Compared to the previous year, which was also very strong, this means a 20% growth. The base of our success is not only the broad range of services and turbine types that we cover, but also the fact that asset owners see, that we are able to offer a flexible and very reliable service to get the highest availability and energy yield.", commented CEO, Ulrich Schomakers.
Availon has built its competitive advantage by consistently adding new turbine models to its offering. The company is for instance the first ISP able to offer full service O&M contract for Gamesa wind turbine technology in the world. “What is really new here is that many of the newly contracted wind turbine generators have been manufactured by Gamesa. The capital we invested in building up a state-of-the-art expertise in Gamesa turbine technology is really paying off", explained Schomakers.
A significant increase in new O&M contracts was also recorded for GE and Vestas turbines, which still make up for the majority of turbines under contract at Availon. Further, the average age of turbines under contract has dropped because more and more wind farm owners decide to change from OEMs to Availon as soon as the warranty ends.
This trend is set to continue. MAKE Consulting forecasted a 10% growth, on average, per year, over the next six years in its Global Wind Turbine O&M 2014 report. “Customers, banks and insurers know that Availon is an attractive alternative to the turbine manufacturers for aftermarket service, and push even for a switch over. There will be plenty of opportunities available to us in the booming O&M market and we are well positioned to take full advantage of them”, concluded Global Sales Manager, Michael Richter.