20 years of maintenance contract with Availon
After the financial crisis in the late 00s, we saw an increase in our customers’ demand for stability. As a result of these changes, Momentum has played an important role in establishing a 20-year full maintenance contract for wind turbines in collaboration with Availon in Reine, Germany.
After the financial crisis in the late 00s and early 10s, a frozen market emerged, which led to a number of failing projects.
Both banks and customers feared that major parts of wind turbines (such as gearboxes, generators and rotors) would break down and cost a fortune to repair if not covered by a warranty or insurance. There was a high demand from financial institutions and owners for sources that could cover this risk, make the situation less stressful and bring peace of mind back to the project and its owners.
Back then, it was not possible to get a full maintenance contract covering a period of more than 10 years from commissioning, and it was even harder to get one if the project was already in operation and the owners had not signed a full wind turbine maintenance contract at commissioning.
We decided that this needed to change, so we contacted our service providers to share our idea of creating a 20-year full maintenance contract for wind turbines to coincide with the end of the German subsidy scheme (EEG).
Back then, however, there was little interest in establishing such a contract, as manufacturers were more focused on delivering wind turbines. We received an invitation from the board of Availon, requesting that we present our concept to them in Reine, Germany.
After a short but intensive period, we developed the product and tested the concept with our customers and their financial partners. They were extremely satisfied.
New market standard
Today, most of our wind energy projects include a 20-year full wind turbine maintenance contract.
All wind turbine manufacturers now offer 20-year full maintenance contracts for wind turbines when delivering projects, and this has become the new market standard. Many independent service providers have since grown in the market and are able to offer competitive solutions to wind turbine owners.
Our goal is stability and longevity
We are proud to be at the forefront of this trend, where investors seek stable cash flows that minimize surprises while assets are in the hands of investors. Momentum is implementing solutions that cover the first 20 years of an asset’s lifespan, extend its technical lifespan by up to another 30 years and improve owner returns.