Lubricants for Wind Power

• 360° Application Guide
• Lubricants for Wind Power
• Use our 360° Application Guide to get closer to how we are improving energy efficiency and enhancing equipment protection through lubrication.
• Welcome to our virtual wind power production scene: Powering progress with more and cleaner energy solutions.
• Shell offers holistic maintenance solutions and a complete lubricant portfolio for wind turbines, including high-performance gear oils, greases, hydraulic oils, transformer oils and coolants. Shell is dedicated to both product cleanliness and quality assurance, and our global standards meet APQP4Wind requirements.

Navigating the tool is simple on either desktop or mobile:

• On the initial screen, click/tap and hold to rotate your view
• Click/tap on the labelled hotspots to zoom in for more detail
• Scroll up and down (or pinch the screen with two fingers) to zoom in and out from the hotspots
• Click/tap and hold to rotate your view when zoomed into a hotspot
• Zoom out from a hotspot to return to the initial screen
• Click ‘Start’ to begin the experience!
• Please note, this tool is for illustrative purposes only. The size, layout and detail of the equipment, machinery and processes displayed may not show a 100% accurate representation relative to each onshore wind turbine operation set-up.
• Main Gearbox: Preventing main gearbox wear with gear oils
• Our most technologically advanced gear oil, Shell Omala S5 Wind 320 delivers oil drain intervals of more than 10 years.¹ This means that, over the 25-year life of a wind turbine, it can reduce life cycle costs by 50%. Through industry-leading wear² and yellow metal corrosion protection³, it extends gearbox component life and oil life. Its superior filterability⁴ prevents gear and bearing failure while enhanced low temperature flow improves equipment efficiency in cold climates – including increased speed to the grid. Trusted by all major gearbox OEMs, Shell Omala S5 Wind 320 is compatible with a wide range of gearboxes (including yaw and pitch gearboxes). This allows operators to consolidate their gear oil inventory, saving costs by simplifying logistics and avoiding additional oil changes.
• Recommended product: Shell Omala
Read more about Shell Omala
• Pitch/Blade Bearing: Extending bearing life and reducing turbine downtime
• Formulated for long grease life and improved system efficiency, the Shell Gadus range of greases for blade bearings, main bearings, and pitch and yaw bearings deliver outstanding performance and protection for these critical turbine components. Shell Gadus S5 V110KP 1 protects blade bearings from false brinelling, wear and fretting corrosion, providing an effective film thickness in extreme temperatures – with a range that goes down as far as -55°C. It also delivers exceptional protection in the face of challenges such as vibration, low speed and high torque. Shell Rhodina BBZ blade bearing grease is specifically designed for demanding outdoor applications, especially where protection against false brinelling and fretting corrosion is required – even at very low temperatures. Shell Gadus S5 V460KP 1.5 is designed to reduce main bearing failures, helping to extend bearing life and reduce equipment downtime. Featuring a unique combination of thickener and synthetic oil, it protects components from wear, corrosion and fretting even at low temperatures.
• Recommended product: Shell Gadus
Read more about Shell Gadus
• Hydraulic Brake and Pitch: Delivering durable operations with hydraulic fluids
• Delivering proven wear protection, our high-performance hydraulic fluids can help to reduce downtime and cut maintenance costs. Shell Tellus S4 VE 32 and Shell Tellus S2 VX 32 (Fine) provide extended oil life, increasing wind turbine uptime by reducing the need for oil changes. They also drive productivity savings through excellent air release and shear stability – and operate effectively in extreme temperatures.
• Recommended product: Shell Tellus
Read more about Shell Tellus
• Transformer: Protecting equipment in extreme temperatures with transformer oils
• A critical link between wind turbines and the distribution grid, transformers need the ability to operate safely, efficiently, and reliably – often in challenging conditions. Protecting components is a vital part of delivering this reliability by reducing costly downtime and making sure equipment can work harder for longer. With outstanding oxidation protection, the Shell Diala range of advanced transformer oils helps to ensure the efficient delivery of power from wind turbines to the grid. Longer oil life also extends maintenance intervals, keeping your transformers operating at peak performance for as long as possible. Shell Diala S4 ZX-I and Shell Diala S4 ZX-IG are designed to meet the challenges of power transformer operations and are suitable for use in highly loaded applications. They provide outstanding oxidation performance and extended oil life while good viscometric properties ensure proper heat transfer – even at extreme temperatures. Shell Diala S5 BD is designed to provide excellent cold temperature performance, helping to overcome the unique challenges of operating transformers in extremely cold climates and keep equipment running optimally in arctic conditions. Able to operate to -51°C, it prevents equipment damage from freezing oil, provides excellent heat transfer and avoids the need for operators to keep equipment running constantly through its excellent Lowest Cold Start Energising Temperature (LCST).
• Recommended product: Shell Diala
Read more about Shell Diala
• Shell Lubricant Services: Managing wind turbine performance with Shell Lubricant Solutions
• With lubrication playing an important part in maintaining productive and reliable wind power operations, you need the ability to manage your systems, greases, and oils to help you to reduce unplanned downtime and extend equipment life through preventative maintenance. Using our expertise in lubrication services, we can advise on every aspect of lubricant management; helping you to identify potential problems, comply with environmental standards, and find hidden efficiencies you did not know existed.

Our services include:

• Shell LubeCoach – Shell technical experts can coach your team to deliver better performance through both in-person and online lubrication training programs.
• Shell LubeAdvisor - Our technical experts can advise you on which lubricants to use to help improve efficiency and reduce operating costs, including maintenance and lubricant portfolio consolidation.
• Shell LubeAnalyst – Get an up-to-date overview of lubricant performance with our oil condition monitoring offer, supported by our easy-to-use digital platform that provides you with the insights to make preventative maintenance decisions.
• Recommended product: Shell Lubricant Services
Shell Lubricant Services
• Sustainability: Driving sustainability with carbon-neutral lubricants
• Shell offers a variety of carbon-neutral⁵ products, including gear oils, greases and hydraulic oils – all with full transparency on certification. This is delivered through Nature-Based Solutions certificates that offsets the carbon footprint of the lubricants across the end-to-end product lifecycle. Nature-Based Solutions are independently verified projects that protect, transform or restore land – enabling the absorption of CO2 emissions from the atmosphere. Shell can also provide access to its Nature-Based Solutions portfolio as a service, allowing operators to offset emissions from across their value chains to further increase the sustainability of their operations.
• Recommended Lubricant Application: Lubricants to support sustainability credentials
Explore Sustainability Solutions

Disclaimers:

1. Warranty conditions apply.
2. Based on industry standard corrosion testing.
3. Based on ASTM D2893 testing.
4. Shell Omala S5 Wind 320 gear oil was tested for 50,000 cycles in a Hydac multi-pass test-rig using 3µm filter material and retained anti-foam performance, longer than every competitor oil, which all failed after 5,000 cycles.
5. “Carbon neutral” indicates that Shell has engaged in a transaction where an amount of CO₂ equivalent to the CO₂e amount associated with the raw material extraction, transport, production, distribution, usage and end-of-life of the Lubricants has been avoided as emissions through the protection of natural ecosystems or removed from the atmosphere through a nature-based process. CO₂e (CO₂ equivalent) refers to CO₂, CH₄, N₂O.