{"id":4843,"date":"2026-06-23T18:47:32","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T17:47:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.growindsystems.com\/risk-management-in-wind-turbines-how-to-manage-the-technical-risks-of-a-wind-farm-fleet\/"},"modified":"2026-06-24T07:02:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T06:02:18","slug":"risk-management-in-wind-turbines-how-to-manage-the-technical-risks-of-a-wind-farm-fleet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.growindsystems.com\/en\/risk-management-in-wind-turbines-how-to-manage-the-technical-risks-of-a-wind-farm-fleet\/","title":{"rendered":"Risk Management in wind turbines: how to manage the technical risks of a wind farm fleet"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Risk Management in wind turbines: how to manage the technical risks of a wind farm fleet<\/b><\/strong><\/h2>

By Javier Abril Lerga, co-founder of Growind Systems<\/p>

In most wind farms, critical events rarely appear suddenly. They are the result of an evolution that builds up over time. And yet, when they finally occur, they always seem like a surprise. <\/span><\/p>

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This is the paradox of technical risk in wind energy operations: it is known, it is documented, and yet it is not managed. Over the past months we have published a ten-part series on LinkedIn on this topic, based on what we see every week working with real fleets. <\/span>This article summarises the main ideas from that series.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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1. Risks don’t fail, they degrade<\/span><\/b><\/h2>

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Most of the most relevant technical risks are not linked to sudden failures, but to progressive degradation processes that have not been contained in time. The problem is not that they exist, but how they are managed. <\/span><\/p>

In many cases, these risks are known: the manufacturer has identified them, the maintenance team has seen them, or the monitoring systems have detected them. Even so, their evolution is not always tracked systematically. <\/span><\/p>

A key mistake often appears here: the risk is treated as if it were an incident, when in reality it is a process. An incident is managed when it occurs; a technical risk requires follow-up before, during and after its development. <\/span><\/p>

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When there is no structured control \u2014 periodic inspections, clear intervention criteria, condition monitoring with evidence \u2014 the outcome is fairly predictable: the system absorbs degradation until it can no longer hold. When it finally fails, it seems like something isolated. But it is not: it is the accumulated consequence of degradation that was not contained in time. <\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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2. How an uncontrolled risk evolves: the case of mainframe cracks<\/span><\/b><\/h2>

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To understand how a technical risk behaves in operation, it helps to look at a concrete case. Cracks in the mainframe follow a fairly recognisable pattern: <\/span><\/p>

1. Origin.<\/span><\/b> The problem may stem from design or manufacturing and be aggravated by operating conditions. It is there from the start, even if not visible. <\/span><\/p>

2. Silent phase.<\/span><\/b> The crack is not visible in routine visual inspection. It evolves under load. It generates no clear signal in SCADA or CMS. <\/span><\/p>

3. Detection.<\/span><\/b> It appears in an inspection, an OEM report or a specific review. This is where the critical moment begins. <\/span><\/p>

4. No intervention.<\/span><\/b> It is documented but not acted upon. Or partial measures are applied \u2014 containment holes, reinforcement welds \u2014 without a clear follow-up plan. The risk is known but not controlled. <\/span><\/p>

5. Failure.<\/span><\/b> The crack reaches a critical point. The intervention can no longer wait, and its cost \u2014 in time and lost generation \u2014 is several times higher than early action would have been. <\/span><\/p>

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The failure was not sudden: it was the predictable result of an evolution that was not contained. At none of the stages 1 to 4 was reaching failure inevitable. <\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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3. Risks arising from the process, not the component<\/span><\/b><\/h2>

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Last year we reviewed a fleet where the same turbine model had a pitch failure rate three times higher in some wind farms than in others. Same manufacturer, same technology, different result. <\/span><\/p>

The difference was not in the hydraulic cylinders. It was in how they were maintained. <\/span><\/p>

When we analyse risks in operating wind farms, the same pattern always appears: hub leaks that have been “under control” for months, fans out of service that become normalised, damaged cables that never get prioritised.<\/span><\/p>

These risks do not usually arise in the design or manufacturing phase. They arise in the operation of the machines. And that has an important implication: they can be contained through maintenance<\/b>. <\/span><\/p>

They are risks associated with use, operating conditions and, in many cases, how maintenance tasks are carried out. They do not usually appear suddenly: small leaks, incipient wear, repetitive anomalies that, if not addressed in a structured way, end up developing further. <\/span><\/p>

Sometimes the owner has no direct ability to influence how the maintenance contractor carries out tasks. But that does not eliminate their responsibility. If you have the risks identified, you also have an obligation to follow up, to request evidence, to detect when something is not progressing as it should. <\/span><\/p>

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That is where it is decided whether the risk is controlled or allowed to evolve.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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4. “The risk is under control.” Are you sure?<\/span><\/b><\/h2>

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One of the phrases we hear most often in wind farm audits is: “we already have that risk under control.” When we ask to see the history, the intervention criteria and the follow-up evidence… the silence says more than any answer. <\/span><\/p>

Having a risk identified is not the same as having it managed. In many organisations, managing technical risks starts \u2014 and ends \u2014 with a list. <\/span><\/p>

For a risk to be truly managed, it needs:<\/span><\/p>