First Wind has contracted with Winergy Drive Systems Corporation (WDSC) to rebuild gearboxes for some of its Clipper wind turbines at wind farms across the country, from Vermont to Hawaii, announced earlier this week.
“We are excited to enter into this agreement with Winergy and look forward to the delivery of our first rebuilt gearbox from them in 2015. Winergy is well-recognized within the industry as an established wind turbine gearbox manufacturer and we are excited about what they bring to the table in terms of capability, reliability and engineering prowess,” said EJ Martin, Vice President of Operations at First Wind. The company originally purchased the wind turbines from Clipper Windpower.
The multi-year contract confirms that WDSC has leveraged its expertise to expand its services to include remanufacturing of gearboxes built by competitors. WDSC will offer the ability to dissemble the 97,000-pound Clipper gearbox, replace parts with new components and complete a full-load test before returning it back to the customer.
“This agreement is indicative of the commitment Winergy has to support our key customer’s management of Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE), independent of original equipment manufacturer,” said Richard Nelson, Director of Aftermarket and Aftersales for Winergy.
Winergy’s American production plant was founded in 2001 and is the largest gearbox manufacturer and remanufacturer for wind turbine gearboxes and drive trains in North America.