Offshore wind turbines operate continuously in humid, salt-laden marine environments. Air entering the turbine can carry both moisture and airborne salt, which can accumulate on internal structures and electrical equipment.
Controlling the internal turbine climate therefore requires more than removing moisture. It also means limiting the continued ingress of humid, salt-laden outside air.
Cotes has more than 20 years of experience applying dry-air strategies to offshore wind turbines — from transportation and installation through operation and retrofit.
Salt entering an offshore turbine can deposit on structural surfaces, electrical equipment and insulation.
Salt is hygroscopic — it attracts moisture from the surrounding air. As humidity rises, deposited salt can absorb enough moisture to form thin conductive electrolyte films.
These films create conditions for electrochemical corrosion and can reduce insulation resistance, increasing the risk of leakage currents and electrical instability.
This means offshore humidity control has two objectives:
Keep the internal environment dry — and reduce the amount of humid, salt-laden air entering the turbine.
Offshore turbines require different dry-air strategies at different stages of their lifecycle.
Cotes Wind Overpressure provides permanent control of the internal turbine environment by combining dry air with controlled positive pressure.
Cotes Mobile Wind provides temporary dry-air control during transportation, storage, installation, commissioning, service and retrofit.
The appropriate approach depends on the turbine lifecycle stage, moisture load, environmental exposure and the conditions that need to be controlled.
