Kongsberg's New Wind Division Finds Home in Norway

Kongsberg Group announced today that it has chosen a new home for its new wind division ‘Centre for Optimum Wind Park Operation’ at its maritime facility in Trondheim, Norway. The new wind power division is a joint venture between Kongsberg Maritime and parent company KONGSBERG, and is tasked with tackling money saving solutions for wind park management and operations.

“Kongsberg Maritime is a world leading supplier of automation equipment to ships and the offshore sector. Our experience and technology is completely transferrable to the wind power segment and we believe that we can offer a strong portfolio of solutions to support wind park operational efficiency and predictability,” comments Andreas JagtÃ¸yen, Vice President, Merchant Marine Trondheim, Kongsberg Maritime.

Kongsberg Maritime already has a hand in wind power generation through the Windsense R&D project, which is supported by the Research Council of Norway and headed by the new wind power division at Kongsberg Maritime Lade, in partnership with eight other companies and R&D institutions.

Wind park management and monitoring are the two main focuses of the new division. The company says that the transition into the growing sector was a natural next step for Kongsberg Maritime, given a proven track record for their maritime and offshore systems.

Kongsberg has already seen great interest from operators on the possibilities of advanced monitoring and automation systems, as weather conditions can make wind parks inaccessible to personnel for long periods and any stoppage results could result in major losses. The wind park management focus will aim at maximum operational predictability and profitability of the wind park’s power generation.

“As more and more offshore wind parks are built, good systems for remote monitoring and diagnostics, as well as calculating remaining economic life, will be particularly important,” continues JagtÃ¸yen. “Our focused technology development will result in sophisticated systems for monitoring and condition-based maintenance, thus reducing maintenance costs and non-scheduled downtime. Such a system has clear parallels to the solutions we develop for integrated operations in the offshore oil and gas sector.”