Full scope management goes (far) beyond maintenance and inspections

Along the sea dike on the eastern side of Goeree-Overflakkee, the eight wind turbines of Wind Farm Oostflakkee generate enough green electricity each year to power approximately 30,000 households. Green Trust supported energy producer Kallista Energy, owner of the wind farm, during the construction of the wind farm. Recently, we’ve also been entrusted with the full-scope management. But what does that actually entail?

Technical, financial, and administrative management
“Managing a wind farm like Oostflakkee isn’t just about whether or not the turbines are running,” says Senne Koetsier, operational manager at Green Trust. “There’s much more involved. In addition to operational management — such as resolving faults and conducting inspections — we also handle financial and administrative management, including contract monitoring and preparing the annual accounts.” Finance and contract manager Corine van Woudenberg is well-versed in this. She was already responsible for financial management of the Kreekraksluis and Kroningswind wind farms, and now also for Oostflakkee.

Proactive approach
Financial and administrative management is a broad field. Corine explains: “As a good manager, you ensure a financially sound project, but you also aim to get more out of it. That means looking back and looking ahead. We go through a yearly cycle — from budgeting to periodic reports for the bank, shareholders, and the board, all the way to the annual accounts and tax returns. We constantly compare results to expectations. That allows us to identify developments early and make timely adjustments. A proactive approach, in other words.” Green Trust always takes a critical view. We also build in the necessary quality assurance to manage risks. Corine: “For instance, we apply the four-eyes principle for invoice checks and payments, and we strictly monitor deadlines, such as for tax returns. We also maintain contact with key stakeholders, including landowners, suppliers, and financing banks.”

Contract management
Managing contracts is a discipline in itself. “There are continuous changes in the market,” says Corine. “Think of the negative electricity prices. It’s important to check whether existing contracts still align with current developments. Additionally, more and more auxiliary systems are entering the market, such as detection systems for birds and bats. When you add such a component to your wind farm, you also have to verify whether it fits within existing purchase, installation, and management contracts.”

From troubleshooting to optimization
Stakeholder management is crucial to all aspects of management. Senne: “Many different parties are involved in a wind farm — from the turbine manufacturer and auxiliary system suppliers to IT providers, grid operators, and power buyers. We maintain communication with all of them. That way, you can respond quickly in case of faults. Of course, we do everything we can to prevent faults. During annual inspections, we assess the technical condition of the turbines and systems, and check whether everything complies with safety and other requirements. Any issues we identify are addressed in planned maintenance. We also perform technical analyses, collecting and interpreting data on energy production, downtime, malfunctions, repairs, component wear, and system efficiency. This helps us detect bottlenecks — like reduced output due to wear or an inefficient park layout. Based on this, we make concrete recommendations to optimize performance.”