The Wind Turbines Surgeons

The working day of Dennis Schidlowski and Michael Chinedu Evoh starts early: At 6:20 am, the two Technical Assistants are already in the laboratory dealing with repair orders. They work on circuit boards, control units, and other components. "We are responsible for all the electronic components and computers installed in the nacelle and tower of the wind turbines," explains Michael, who has been working for Prokon for twelve years. "Our speciality is the control and power cabinets. They are essentially the brains of the systems: the complete software with computers, switches, and connections to the generator is housed here."

Usually, the around 400 wind turbines are running. However, if only one component is defective, it can cause the entire system to be out of service. "The service technicians remove and bring them to us. We identify the problem and repair the component so that it can be put back into operation as soon as possible," says Dennis.

Because time is money: if a wind turbine is idle for a week, up to £50,000 can be lost. Often, components are fixed in a few minutes, in other cases, repairs require detective work. This also depends on how large the components are and whether the service technician suspects an error.

"We are kind of surgeons for computers. The problem is: the patient doesn't talk to us. You have to look closely, feel and smell where it's getting warm or smoking," says Dennis. An exciting field for the 22-year-old. Since the beginning of 2022, he has been working part-time at Prokon. In the afternoons, he studies electrical engineering - a good mix of theory and practice, as he sees it."

The division of work with Michael in the laboratory works perfectly: while Dennis processes all circuit boards ranging from a few centimetres small to half a metre large, Michael takes care of the remaining electronics.

Together with Jan Krützfeld, the head of electrical maintenance, and colleague Sven Lorenzen, they regularly get the Prokon wind turbines back up and running. An efficient approach: "Others buy new spare parts, we repair. This is not only cheaper, but also more sustainable," says Michael. "Especially since many older types of units no longer have spare parts available." That's when you have to get into it and try out the different functions. "You need a lot of patience - and a delicate touch. Semiconductors are incredibly sensitive," says Michael.

When he's not repairing wind turbines, the 55-year-old enjoys playing basketball. With the second division team Itzehoe Eagles, sponsored by Prokon, he even made it to the regional league. Today, he also enjoys helping out at the street basketball tournament in Itzehoe - with success. The Prokon team has already won five times there. Dennis is also active in sports outside the laboratory: he does ballroom dancing and regularly participates in tournaments. In the electrical maintenance department of Prokon, the team spirit is strong - at all levels.