GE opens Global Wind Turbine Drivetrain Repair Innovation Lab in Albany

GE company

GE  has opened its Global Wind Turbine Drivetrain Repair Innovation Lab at the site of GE’s Power Generation Repair Technology Center in Albany, N.Y.

The facility is equipped with advanced technologies to support fast development and innovation for repairs to the wind turbine’s gearbox and rotor, creating a lab environment to simulate and solve problems that previously had to be worked on more than 100 meters in the air and at remote sites, GE said.

The Innovation Lab has capabilities including rapid prototyping tools such as 3D printers and computer numerical control machines; robotic welding and advanced machining tools; repair of various gearbox models; and turbine generator repair.

GE company

Andy Holt, general manager of global wind projects and services, said, “This is the first facility of its kind dedicated to developing repair technologies and capabilities that reduce the life cycle cost of wind turbines.”

The Innovation Lab aligns GE with customer needs by helping reduce maintenance and operating costs. GE engineers will have the space and resources to rapidly prototype and develop new technologies to apply to field service repairs.

The team will focus on innovative approaches while fully vetting tooling and processes, keeping in mind safety, cost and the ability to address multi-unit configurations. With proximity to GE’s renewable energy headquarters in Schenectady, the team at the Innovation Lab also will work closely with product engineering to improve serviceability.
Over the last four years, GE has invested more than $400 million in the Capital Region including the opening of the GE Energy Storage Durathon battery manufacturing plant in Schenectady, GE Healthcare Digital X-Ray Detector Manufacturing Facility in Troy, and expansion and relocation of GE’s Licensing business in Albany.

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