With more than 250,000 skilled employees required annually to meet wind’s demand through to 2024, Castrol’s new Wind Academy aims to address the skills gap in the industry.

“Operations technicians and site managers are at the heart of the wind energy industry,” said S Ramchander, Chief Marketing Officer and Global VP of Marketing at Castrol & BP Lubricants. “It is important that they are up-skilled and trained to implement best practice operations onsite as conditions in the market are intensified over the coming years. The Castrol Wind Academy has been launched in response to the core challenges being faced in the industry and to directly address wind energy’s skills shortage.”

Maintenance teams are increasingly faced with a confluence of challenges in the industry: the reduction of subsidies, the end of warranties, and the development of new technologies. It is more critical than ever for technicians to keep their skills up to date to preserve wind farm competitiveness and profitability. As it stands, 78% of wind energy stake holders stated that finding suitably trained staff was either “difficult” or “very difficult,” according to Castrol.

With continuous pressure to reduce Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE), operations technicians and site managers are expected to simultaneously improve efficiencies and maintain up-time in wind turbine operations.  However, the rapid growth of the wind industry means there is a growing skills gap, with the need for technicians and site managers in wind operations set to triple in the next three to four years.

“The Academy aims to empower operations teams to effectively support the growth of the industry through education, certification and best practice,” added Ramchander.

Aimed at technicians with five years of experience or less, the Academy is a “capability building” program for technicians and site managers. It is made up of online courses, seminars, webinars, and face-to-face training sessions. The program consists of three stages, the first of which is an online training course to educate technicians on wind O&M basics — from gearbox and drive train technologies to predictive maintenance.

The second stage sees advanced topics taught via a virtual class and the third, an in-person training session on site. Stage 1 and 2 can be completed at a time that suits the technician, to ensure a convenient learning experience. On completion of the course, technicians will be awarded a certification by the Castrol Wind Academy.

“The Castrol Wind Academy pilot course was very successful and, building on a collaborative development process, we are now looking forward to welcoming our first intake of technician teams into the Academy course,” said Charudatta Joshi, Global Marketing Offer Development Manager at Castrol Lubricants.

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Castrol Optigear provides a range of leading high-performance gear oils, proven to reduce friction, actively resist wear and extend the life of a gearbox.

Maximizing the efficiency of every gearbox depends on the control of friction. Gearbox friction generates excessive heat, putting thermal stress on system components which causes wear and pitting. This shortens the life of component parts and reduces gearbox performance, causing unscheduled downtime and replacement/labor costs.

Castrol Optigear, a solution to the problems listed, provides a range of leading high-performance gear oils, proven to reduce friction, actively resist wear and extend the life of your gearbox. Take control of your energy costs and keep your turbines turning for longer, opt for Castrol Optigear.

Castrol Optigear Synthetic CT320, one of several blends, is a premium synthetic oil for wind turbine gears operating in wide temperature range and under high loads.  Castrol Optigear Synthetic is suited for high-capacity wind turbine gears and delivers robust surface protection and reduces gear friction.

• Castrol Optigear Synthetic CT 320 retains half the water PPM on average than our nearest competitor using similar types of chemistry**
• Ultra-low water retention: 70 PPM average in service – particle counts remain low over 8 years
• Higher viscosity index ( VI= 180) for wider operating temperatures
• Advanced “ash-less technology” that is proven to run cooler ( up to 8°C ). Provides consistent wear protection for up to eight years of oil life.
• 20% less foam than competitors
• Formulated for easy conversion from other competitive oils and a favorite of operators with mixed turbine fleets or complex maintenance schedules

After over 8 years in the field, visual and borescope inspections show gearboxes to be in excellent condition with exceptionally clean parts, no abnormal wear.  Performance testing demonstrates tremendous advantages under like for like conditions and fully supports the excellent field results.

Castrol  Optigear has been the exclusive fist fill with Vestas since 2013 with over 40,000 MW and growing globally.  Other gearbox approvals are Winergy, Bosch Rexroth, ZF, and Moventas.

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Castrol and Romax have formed a new joint venture, with the intent of making physics-based and data-driven predictive analytics available to more turbine operators — and to potentially reduce wind-farm maintenance costs by up to 30%.

With over 30 years’ experience working in the wind sector, this deal will combine Castrol’s global reach and knowledge of turbine lubrication with Romax InSight’s expertise in predictive maintenance, software, and data analytics for wind turbines.

The lubrication and maintenance of a wind turbine’s expensive gearbox is critical to optimizing its performance and reliability.

Romax InSight is a rapidly growing predictive maintenance provider, designing software and engineering services, which monitor the condition of turbines and predict breakdowns – potentially resulting in a saving for its customers by up to 30% in maintenance costs.

“We’re incredibly excited about the potential this joint venture will create, both for the new business and also our existing customers,” said Mandhir Singh, COO, BP Lubricants. “By working together, I believe we will create a powerful, faster-growing business in the wind sector and beyond.”

Over the past two years Castrol has supported the development of a number of digital solutions, which complement its core lubricants business. This includes:

• GreenSteam, a data-analytics company specializing in fuel-saving solutions for the marine industry;
• Castrol OPTIS, a technology company providing leading-edge machine and operational efficiency solutions to the manufacturing industry; and
• Castrol Carama, a digital market place that connects consumers seeking car service and repair to trusted workshops.

“The aim of Romax InSight is to combine our deep understanding of design and operation of wind turbines with advanced data analytics to provide practical solutions that reduce operations and maintenance costs,” said Andy Poon, Romax Technology CEO. “We are delighted to find in Castrol a partner who shares this vision and can provide a platform for growth. We look forward to working closely alongside them to take InSight to the next level.”

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