The growing pressure on operators to squeeze every last megawatts out of their assets isn't new. But there are different ways of looking at asset management. An owner looks at what drives the profitability of the market. One wants to maximize the production because that production is what represents the revenue. And then, of course, as a management point of view one wants that asset to perform in the most efficient way.
"The balance between production increase and the health of the turbines is a tricky one. You will also need to consider the asset and the impact on the integrity of the turbines. When an asset has a level of support from the government, you're under the honeymoon phase" - says Yufan Cai, Head of Commercial Finance, London Array.
So how can one balance these two objectives - the commercial and technical?
"Adopting technology early that will monitor these turbines so that way you can extend the life... to capture those megawatts I think one thing that we've we've missed in the past is we don't adopt the technology early, when we get these projects financed." - Meghan Semiao, Director of Asset Management, Longroad Energy
We know that there is technology out there that can prevent some of the issues that come after the 5 year warranty period from the manufacturer, the "honeymoon period"... So being proactive in the first five years will have a greater impact on the megawatt of activity for the remaining life of the project.
