In May 2015, Spica Technology retrofitted the first Wind World turbine for wpd windmanager GmbH which paved the way for the 9 more Wind World turbines in Nauen wind farm. This year, Spica Technology celebrates the 5-year anniversary on the lifetime extension project of the 10 Wind World W5200 750 kW turbines – all still running successfully with the Spica Retrofit Controller.

The collaboration between Spica Technology and wpd windmanager was initiated in 2014 – only 1 year after Spica Technology had conducted the first retrofit project on a Micon M1500 for H.P. Porskjær, the co-founder of Connected Wind Services Danmark A/S. Director of Repowering for wpd windmanager, Peter Spengemann, recalls that wpd windmanager had an interest in optimising their ageing turbines that were still in operation.

Also read: wpd sees great potential in retrofitting wind turbine control systems.

Peter Spengemann was contacted by CEO at Spica Technology, Benny Thomsen, at WindEnergy Hamburg in 2014. It led to a visit at Spica Technology’s facilities in Denmark and a trip to the Micon M1500 turbine to experience the Spica Retrofit Controller in operation and how it improved the output of an ageing turbine.

Since wpd windmanager did not have any Micon turbines in their portfolio, Peter Spengemann requested a customised retrofit with software for Wind World as they were challenged with accessing data from the original turbine controller.

In less than year, Spica Technology’s skilled software engineers had the customised software ready based on PLC from Bachmann electronic GmbH. The Spica Retrofit Controller was ready to be installed. As the first Wind World turbine retrofit was a success, wpd windmanager signed a contract for the remaining 9 Wind World turbines in Nauen wind farm.

Now, 5 years later, wpd windmanager is still very satisfied with the Spica Retrofit Controller. Peter Spengemann experiences that their 20-year old Wind World turbines are still performing better than before the retrofit with an improved steady dataflow.

The wind technician responsible for the 10 Wind World turbines, Michael Jakubek from psm Nature Power Service & Management GmbH & Co. KG, states:

“The usability of the Spica Retrofit Controller is clear and intuitive. The easy menu structure of the Dual Display contributes to this. Modern controllers work with faster interfaces compared to older ones and are superior to the original controllers in their level of detail of the signals and their visual representation.”

Michael Jakubek further adds that he also appreciates the ongoing partnership with Spica Technology and its technical support who is always available when he uses and adjusts the parameter settings.

Since retrofitting the 10 turbines in Nauen, Spica Technology has retrofitted two additional wind farms with Wind World turbines in Europe. To date, the lifetime extension project portfolio with the Spica Retrofit Controller consists of several ageing turbine types such as Micon, NEG Micon, Nordex and Wind World.

Spica Technology is committed to retrofitting by continuously developing and improving the Retrofit Controller which has led to the possibility to retrofit turbines with even bigger capacity than previously seen.

Also read: Spica retrofits two entire wind turbine farms.