Energy · Wind farm developer, Saudi Arabia · 2024
Al Jouf yaw drives
180 yaw drive units, each a motor and a four-stage planetary gearbox, for 30 turbines in the Al Jouf region of northern Saudi Arabia.
The result
- yaw drive units
- 180
- Six per turbine, 30 turbines
- warranty claims
- 0
- In the first eighteen months
- lighter
- 12%
- Than the drives they replaced
- deliveries, all on time
- 5
- Matched to the turbine build schedule
The challenge
Yaw drives turn the whole nacelle to face the wind, thousands of times a year, in sand-laden wind and temperatures from near freezing on winter nights to 48 °C in summer.
The developer needed 180 identical units delivered in batches to match the turbine build, and a lighter design to ease installation at hub height.
What we did
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Design
A brake motor and four-stage planetary gearbox designed together, with a sealed output bearing.
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Qualification
Two units run for 2,000 hours on a fatigue rig in Jebel Ali before production.
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Production
Built in Jebel Ali in five batches, each tested and trucked to site.
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Support
A spares stock at the wind farm and a ten-year service agreement.
On site
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Wind farm developer, Saudi Arabia, 2024 -
Built in Jebel Ali in five batches, each tested and trucked to site.
180 yaw drives, five deliveries, every one on the agreed date and no warranty claims in eighteen months. That’s the whole review.
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