A world-class induction

Successfully commissioning a wind farm with full production capacity from day one is a challenge. But with careful planning, close co-operation and a shared vision, anything is possible. The Årjäng NV2 success story is proof of this. By appointing a launch team, Rabbalshede Kraft and Vestas managed to achieve almost full availability of the wind farm just three months after the turbines were commissioned.

About four kilometres west of Årjäng in Värmland municipality, the eight turbines of the Årjäng NV2 wind farm are spinning at full speed. The wind farm, which was commissioned in August 2022, has an installed capacity of 4.2 MW per turbine and an estimated annual production of approximately 111 GWh. This production capacity is expected to be achieved thanks to a successful commissioning of the wind farm.

The launch team - the key to a successful roll-out
An important factor in the success was the close co-operation between Rabbalshede Kraft and Vestas. Early on in the construction phase, a launch team was formed and worked together to optimise the commissioning process and ensure a smooth start-up of the wind farm. The team consisted of specialists from both companies who worked on testing and adjusting each turbine individually to optimise performance and avoid operational disruptions.

- The idea of the launch team came about as a result of lessons learnt from previous projects. We wanted to create a connecting point that could follow the progress of the project during the construction phase, prevent shortcomings and ensure that the handover of the wind farm would be as smooth and frictionless as possible, which we succeeded in doing," says Fredrik Bernhardsson, Technical Manager at Rabbalshede Kraft.

98 per cent availability after three months
Building a wind farm is a multi-step process that requires great care to avoid errors and disruptions. It is not uncommon for delays and teething problems to occur along the way, especially during the handover and commissioning phases. For Årjäng NV2, the commissioning was carried out with the highest possible quality and resulted in almost full availability of the park only three months after commissioning.

- It's not uncommon to encounter some teething problems in wind power establishments, but fortunately we were able to avoid this in Årjäng NV2. By forming the launch team six months before handover and commissioning, we got the project off to a good start and were able to identify and prevent problems well in advance. The biggest challenge we encountered was that we had to replace a gearbox bearing in a turbine quite immediately, but only three months after the park was commissioned, we had an availability of 98 per cent, which is an exceptionally good result," says Fredrik.

Important key competences
The launch team consisted of key competences in construction, operations, maintenance and IT from both Rabbalshede Kraft and Vestas. The composition of competences was carefully selected to provide valuable expertise throughout the different phases of the project, from construction to commissioning.

- One of the success factors of the launch team was that we had important key competences that were synchronised and updated on the progress and status of the project. Everyone was very focused on making sure that the turbines that were handed over had been tested, had no remarks and were 100 per cent ready to go and ready to produce.

Viktoria Ekberg, customer manager at Vestas, agrees that the launch team concept was a success factor. Above all, the co-operation helped all parties involved to have a common understanding and goal for the project.

- The launch team ensured a common understanding and project vision for everyone involved, which paid off on several fronts. Since everyone was focused on the same goal, we were able to keep delivery time and create efficient decision-making paths, which favoured the start of production and handover. We always value close co-operation with our customers, so Rabbalshede Kraft's initiative was much appreciated," says Viktoria Ekberg.

Further development of the concept

Årjäng NV2 was commissioned in August 2022 and achieved 98% availability already in January 2023. Several factors contributed to the success of the project.Among other things, a first-class turbine model, an excellent collaboration between Vestas and Rabbalshede Kraft, and the fact that the launch team prepared everyone involved for the handover of the park in a good way. Fredrik Bernhardsson looks forward to developing the concept further in future collaborations and projects.

- "We will definitely continue with this concept. Thanks to the launch team, we have achieved improved cooperation and closer dialogue between our internal departments.In fact, we have already started a launch team with a turbine supplier we are working with in a future project, where we have further developed the concept. Among other things, by producing checklists and a timetable so that everyone can visually follow the progress of the project," says Fredrik Bernhardsson.

In the picture: Fredrik Bernhardsson from Rabbalshede Kraft and Christofer Norinder from Vestas during work in our wind farm Årjäng NV2.