Full scope management goes (much) beyond maintenance and inspections

Along the sea dike on the east side of Goeree-Overflakkee, the eight wind turbines of Windpark Oostflakkee generate enough green power each year to power about 30,000 households. GreenTrust supported power producer Kallista Energy, owner of the wind farm, during construction of the wind farm. Recently, full management has also been entrusted to us. But what does that actually mean?

Technical, financial and administrative management
“Managing a wind farm like Oostflakkee is not just about whether the turbines are turning,” says Senne Koetsier, operations manager at GreenTrust. “There is much more involved. Besides operational management – such as troubleshooting and performing inspections – we also do financial and administrative management, including contract monitoring and preparing financial statements.” Financial and contract manager Corine van Woudenberg is well versed in this. She was already responsible for the 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 strive to get more out of it. That means looking back and looking forward. We go through an annual cycle – from budgeting to periodic reports for the bank, shareholders and board, through to financial statements and tax returns. We constantly compare results with expectations. This allows us to identify developments early and make timely adjustments. In other words, a proactive approach.” GreenTrust always takes a critical look. We also build in the necessary quality assurance to manage risks. Corine: “For example, we use the four-eye principle for invoice checks and payments and strictly monitor deadlines, such as for tax returns. We also maintain contact with key stakeholders, such as landowners, suppliers and financing banks.”

Contract Management
Managing contracts is a discipline in itself. “There are constant changes in the market,” says Corine. “Think of the negative electricity prices. It is important to check whether existing contracts are still in line with current trends. There are also more and more auxiliary systems coming on the market, such as bird and bat detection systems. If you add such a component to your wind farm, you also need to check if it fits within existing procurement, installation and management contracts.”

From troubleshooting to optimization
Stakeholder management is crucial for all aspects of management. Senne: “There are many different parties involved in a wind farm – from the turbine manufacturer and auxiliary system suppliers to IT providers, grid operators and power consumers. We maintain communication with all of them. That way you can respond quickly in case of failures. Of course, we do everything we can to prevent breakdowns. During annual inspections, we assess the technical condition of the turbines and systems and check that everything meets safety and other requirements. Any problems we identify are addressed in planned maintenance. We also conduct technical analyses and collect and interpret data on energy production, downtime, malfunctions, repairs, component wear, and system efficiency. This helps us identify bottlenecks, such as reduced output due to wear and tear or inefficient fleet layout. Based on this, we make concrete recommendations to optimize performance.”