ERIKS new yaw gearbox cell slashes onshore wind turbine downtime

ERIKS HAS launched a dedicated Yaw Gearbox Cell at its Centre of Excellence for Renewables in Aberdeen, delivering rapid, high-performance refurbishment of yaw gearboxes for onshore wind turbines. The service addresses a well-documented failure mode in certain yaw gearbox types and has the potential to reduce turbine downtime from months to hours. The new cell has seen an investment of £500,000 with upwards of £750,000 having been invested in the Aberdeen site in the last 12 months. 

Reducing downtime from months to hours

Designed in collaboration with ERIKS’ European Centre of Excellence in Pensnett and refined through collaboration with leading UK operators, the new cell enables ERIKS to receive, inspect and refurbish yaw gearboxes in as little as 16 hours. This compares to current lead times of up to nine months for new replacement units; a delay that can equate to more than £450,000 in lost generation revenue per turbine. 

"We’ve listened to our customers and designed a solution to a problem that was causing long-term outages. This solution now restores functionality in less than a day. Through careful materials testing and process innovation, we’ve not only addressed the cause of the failure but created a stronger, more sustainable alternative to new gearboxes," said Peter Mitchell, renewables director at ERIKS.

The yaw gearbox cell focuses on 2.3MW turbines that are widely used in UK wind farms. Each turbine contains eight yaw gearboxes responsible for aligning the nacelle with the wind. These units were found to suffer from frequent failures in the fourth-stage carrier, leading to premature failure under normal operating loads.

With OEM support for spares limited, ERIKS reverse-engineered the critical components, using 3D scanning and full metallurgical analysis before upgrading and recasting parts to a higher material specification. The result is an enhanced design that improves upon the original by increasing robustness and incorporating improved bearings, advanced polymer seals, and greater load handling capacity. 

The facility in Aberdeen, equipped with clean and dirty zones, craneage, custom tooling, and full test rigs, is fully stocked with replacement components to support a rapid turnaround. 

Building resilience into renewables

"This isn’t just a repair service - it’s a complete production cell, designed for speed, quality, and traceability. Every refurbished unit includes a laser-etched QR code linked to our Smart Asset Management system (SAM), giving operators instant access to its full repair history, inspection reports and material certificates. We’re supporting both uptime and asset governance in one package," Mitchell continued.

"Our yaw gearbox solution is a textbook example of what we mean by life extension. We’re reducing risk, increasing reliability, and giving operators confidence to keep turbines running longer. It’s about cost, sustainability, and resilience - and it’s exactly what the sector needs."

For more information:

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