Operations and Maintenance Service Business to the Wind Energy Sector

Oneworld provides operations and maintenance services to the wind energy sector in North America and Europe.  These services consist of service, repair and maintenance of wind turbine blades (through Composotech Structure Inc.) and operations and maintenance of a 1.5 MW wind farm located in Germany (through Oneworld Energy Denmark).

North American Operational Activities

Composotech focuses on four distinct categories of customers and services:

1. After-Market Blade Service and Replacement — provided to owners and operators of wind farms  (e.g. utilities and independent power producers in North America)
2. Blade Repair and Field Service — provided to OEMs
3. Quality Control — provided to owners requesting independent manufacturing oversight in OEM’s blade facilities
4. Blade Moulds, Prototype blades and Tooling — supplied to OEMs and owners/operators of wind farm owners

Opportunities exist to develop relationships with, or to acquire, businesses providing the blade maintenance and repair, operations and maintenance of wind farms and gear box repair services.  In addition, opportunities exist to develop relationships with Europe based wind farms owners or European-based operational and maintenance service providers needing Composotech’s expertise.

Blade Repair and Field Service

Blade repair and field services are provided to two distinct client groups: (i) as an authorized service representative for wind turbine OEMs; and (ii) providing field service for the owners and operators of wind farms. The market in North America remains quire fragmented with most competitors being smaller, locally-based companies.

According to AWEA, the installed wind capacity in the US doubled over the two year period (in 2007 and 2008) as compared to the total installed capacity as of 2006.  Blades are usually under warranty for two years and then it is up to the owner/operator to maintain and repair their blades.  However, lightning strikes which account for an estimate 5% of the fleet/year are not covered under the warranty and are the owner/operator’s responsibility to repair.  The majority of installed wind turbine blades are no longer under warranty from the OEMs and will require service within eight years of operation.  The increased installed capacity in the U.S. wind sector should create additional opportunities.  As the wind power industry in North America continues to mature and turbines extend further into their life cycle, additional opportunities should arise.