WIND TURBINE INSPECTION SERVICES MARKET ANALYSIS

Hydroelectric power plants and wind energy are among the most widely used renewable forms of energy sources. Hydroelectric power generation, which is the largest used renewable power source, is limited owing to the inadequacy of the generating resources to meet the global demands. Wind energy is available abundantly and can be used to meet the global energy demands. Requirement to harness these resources consistently, and maintain the high energy efficiency of these through the turbine life cycle is expected to drive the demands for related inspection services through the forecast period.

Increasing deployment for the energy source across the globe will drive the wind turbine inspection services market growth

According to Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), the total installed capacities of these farms was over 485 GW is expected to surge significantly over the coming years. According to Coherent Market Insights analysis, the total installed capacities would increase over double the installed capacities in 2016, by 2025. Turbines are highly crucial components for the energy generation and comprise number of smaller components that includes gearbox and generator, which are necessitated to be serviced and inspected on regular intervals to safeguard the optimal efficiency and performance. Thus, to ensure longevity and accurate information regarding the energy generation, farm contractors and operators are expected to drive the service industry requirements.

Wind Turbine Inspection Services Market Taxonomy

On the basis of services, the global wind turbine inspection services market is classified into:

• Quality assurance & quality control
• Nondestructive examination (NDE)
• Condition assessment/inspection
• Process safety management
• Outage & turnaround support
• Vendor evaluation & product assurance
• Welding & corrosion engineering

Inspection drones incorporated with advanced monitoring equipment and artificial intelligence is expected is among the key trend gaining traction in the industry applications

Wind turbine examination drones are small sized unmanned aerial vehicles that are utilized to accumulate information and images for the assessment, monitoring, mapping, and analysis of blades, towers and nacelles. Conventional methods for the examination includes the employment of specific teams suspended through cables and rope supports, using field telescopes and binoculars for the task. In conjunction with the human life risks, the method has several limitations such as difficulty to access some areas, exclusion of blade defects assessment invisible to the naked eye. Elimination of these drawbacks through utilization of these drones is expected to present considerable growth prospects for this market.

Integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in these drones to reduce the workflow errors and enhance detailed analysis within few hours is among the key trends gaining traction in industry. However, stringent regulatory standards against the use of these drones in some major economies such as FAA regulations in the U.S., regulations regarding VLOS and BVLOS and other regionally distinct regulations will present considerable growth to the drone adoptions.

Noise pollution and threat to wildlife, specifically flying creatures such as bats, birds, etc., are some of the major drawbacks that may hamper the industry growth rate

These energy sources cannot be used to meet the base load demands, without the additional investments for the energy storage. However, this may add up to the initial high investment required which is considerably higher in comparison to establishment of conventional energy plants. These factors are expected to consistently hinder the adoption of these means to generate the energy which will consequentially negatively impact the wind turbine inspection market growth.

Asia Pacific is expected to dominate the overall industry growth through the forecast period

China contributes to over 37% of the global installed units for the power generation accounting for over 168.73 MW in 2016, as per the GWEC. India contributed to the world’s fourth largest installed units. High deployments in these major emerging economies in the region is expected to attract significant investments in these economies. Other major attractive economies for the wind turbine inspection services include the U.S, Germany, Spain, UK, France, Canada, and Brazil.

Chief industry participants include Intertek Group Plc., UpWind Solutions Inc., Technical Wind Services Ltd., INVISO Services Ltd., Cenergy International Services LLC, UL International GmbH, ASC Engineering Service, Advanced Cleaning Technology Ltd., MISTRAS Group Inc., Midwest Underground Technology Inc., and MFG Energy Services.