In wind power operations and maintenance, the timeliness of spare parts supply directly determines the extent of downtime losses. In the early days, wind farms mostly adopted an independent stockpiling model, which not only tied up substantial capital but also frequently led to an imbalance—some sites had excessive spare parts in stock, while others faced shortages. Data shows that under the traditional model, the average lead time for supplying critical wind turbine spare parts can reach 5 to 10 days, resulting in daily downtime losses per turbine amounting to several thousand yuan.

In recent years, the industry has gradually begun exploring a regionalized spare-parts joint storage mechanism. Led by industry associations, several wind farms within the region have joined forces to form a joint-storage alliance. By leveraging big data analytics to forecast the frequency of spare-part demand for various turbine models, these alliances have established shared reserve centers at transportation hubs. These centers stock over 20 categories of critical spare parts—including main shaft bearings, control systems, and hydraulic components—and cover more than 80% of the mainstream turbine models in the region.

Operational data from the East China Regional Power Dispatch Center show that, since its launch, the average time required to repair wind turbine failures in the region has been reduced from 72 hours to 36 hours, and the total cost of spare parts inventory has dropped by 30%. The power dispatch platform has also established a dynamic allocation mechanism: an intelligent system continuously updates the spare parts demand and inventory status of each wind farm in real time, enabling precise scheduling of spare parts. For wind farms located in remote areas, the Regional Power Dispatch Center has partnered with logistics companies to set up green channels, ensuring that spare parts can still be delivered promptly even under adverse weather conditions.

To enhance the quality of joint reserve parts, the alliance has established unified standards for the入库 (inbound) of spare parts. All spare parts entering the warehouse must undergo performance testing by a third-party inspection agency. At the same time, a full-lifecycle management system for spare parts has been put in place, enabling end-to-end traceability of storage conditions, usage records, and wear-and-tear status. “The joint reserve is not merely a haphazard assembly of spare parts; rather, it achieves efficient resource allocation through standardized management,” said an industry expert.

Currently, six regional spare-parts joint storage centers have been established across the country, including in North China, East China, and Northwest China, covering wind farms in more than 20 provinces. In the next step, the joint-storage model will be extended toward greater specialization, with dedicated spare-parts reserves being set up for specific scenarios such as offshore wind power and high-altitude wind power. At the same time, we will explore deeper cooperation with equipment manufacturers to achieve integrated operations encompassing spare-parts production, stockpiling, and distribution, thereby providing more reliable support for wind-power operation and maintenance.