ExxonMobil Fuels & Lubricants announced that more than 300 new wind turbines are now protected by the high performance gear oil, Mobilgear SHC™ XMP 320. Four North Sea offshore wind farms have recently expanded their arsenal of wind turbines all of which are run using the Mobil-branded gear oil. This latest milestone is an example of why many of the world's top wind turbine manufactures are choosing Mobilgear SHC XMP 320 as their initial-fill gear oil of choice.
Mobilgear SHC™ XMP 320 can exceed the performance of traditional mineral oils by extending the interval between oil changes from 18 months to five years. In addition, it is designed to excel in the most demanding environments and temperatures. These benefits help wind farm operators minimise both maintenance and unscheduled downtime, reducing employee health and safety risks associated with more frequent used oil change and equipment failure. With extensive builder approvals, it lubricates more than 40,000 wind turbines worldwide including four of the latest offshore wind farms in the North Sea - namely, Alpha Ventus, Bard 1 Offshore, Trianel Windpark Borkum and Thornton Bank.
The 400MW-strong Bard 1 Offshore project consists of 80 BARD 5.0 wind turbines and its 200 km connection is the longest of its kind in the world. Officially inaugurated in August 2013, the wind farm is located 62 miles northwest of the isle Borkum in 130-foot-deep water. German-based 60 MW Alpaha Ventus has been using Mobilgear SHC™ XMP 320 to protect its fleet of six AREVA M5000-116 and six REpower 5M turbines since its connection to the grid. Trianel Windpark Borkum hosts an arsenal of 80 AREVA 5MW turbines with the total capacity of 400MW. And the largest offshore wind farm in the Belgian North Sea, Thornton Bank, has been running its 54 Repower wind turbines on Mobilgear SHC XMP 320 since its launch. With the total capacity of 325 MW, Thornton Bank provides electricity to 300,000 households each year[1].
Mobilgear SHC™ XMP 320 is part of the Mobil SHC brand of high-performance synthetic lubricants, which have been formulated to help wind energy companies operating in extreme environments to reduce unscheduled downtime and maximise availability. Mobilgear SHC XMP 320 gear oil can enable wind turbines to operate at temperatures significantly lower than traditional mineral gear oils[2].
"In an industry that relies on the performance of turbines, which may stand up to 400 feet high in the air, often in remote environments, there is no such thing as a simple oil change or routine maintenance. That's why more and more wind farm operators are choosing high performance Mobil branded lubricants. Mobilgear SHC™ XMP 320 can help boost turbine reliability, reducing operational costs of wind powered electricity generation and minimise downtime and extend equipment life," said Rainer Lange, Mobil SHC brand advisor - EAME, ExxonMobil Fuels & Lubricants. He adds, "Mobilgear SHC XMP 320 continues to prove its reliable performance in improving wind turbine availability and efficiency throughout the world and the latest cluster of North Sea wind farms is yet another confidence vote from the industry." [1]
